To complete this step of the exercise you'll need an emery board, a pencil, and a small flat brush.
In many of my lessons I talk about something called "powdered" graphite and I usually instruct you to apply it with a brush. I'm going to talk about powdered graphite and different ways it can be applied in this series of exercises.
Did you know that graphite is so slick that it's used as a lubricant? You can find powdered graphite in hardware stores that's manufactured for that purpose and it's perfectly fine to use that type of "industrial" graphite for drawing. You can quickly and easily make your own powdered graphite, though. All you need is an emery board and a pencil.
To make your own powdered graphite, just rub a pencil tip back and forth over an emery board (best to work over a scrap piece of paper) until you have a small pile. A little powdered graphite goes a very long way, so a small pile of it will be plenty to start with.
Being able to "draw" with powdered graphite requires some practice. First "load" a small bush with a little graphite by dipping it into the powder. Then rub the loaded brush back and forth over a piece of paper to get the feel of it. The graphite will be dark at first and then will get lighter as you run the brush over the paper.
Unless you're trying to create a very dark value, always work the brush back and forth over another piece of paper until it reaches the value you want before applying it to your drawing. (It's always much easier to make an area darker than it is to make it lighter!)
Your homework for this step of the exercise is to make some powdered graphite and practice applying it with a small brush. As you're practicing, look at the textures you're creating and think of different ways you could use them in a drawing.
If you have any questions about this step, please ask them at Toad Hollow Studio's Drawing Forum. I've set up a special board for this subject there.
Powdered Graphite Exercise - Step Two
To complete this step of the exercise you'll need an emery board, a pencil, a small flat brush, and a larger brush.
Beautiful effects can be created with powdered graphite. The problem is that graphite is slick and a little tricky to control. Here are a few exercises that will help you learn to apply it like an expert.
First, make a pile of powdered graphite by rubbing a pencil tip over an emery board on a scrap piece of paper or into a jar with a wide mouth ... you'll need quite a bit to do all these exercises.
Exercise One: Make a Graduation
This is not quite as easy as it looks but will become easier with practice. Simply load your small brush with graphite and make a small area as dark as you can with it. Then work your brush away from that area and create a graduated swatch that ends in the lightest value you can make. You'll probably have lots of light streaky areas. If so, gently rub your brush over them until they darken to match that part of the graduation.
Exercise Two: Make Dark, Medium and Light Swatches
Make a dark, medium and light swatch using your large brush and loose graphite. I suggest that you start with the darkest swatch first. Try to make it as evenly toned as possible. You can use your small brush to "touch up" the light streaky areas as you did in the graduation.
Because it's always easier to darken an area than make it lighter, work the brush back and forth over another piece of paper until it reaches the value you want before applying it to your medium and light valued swatches. Use your small brush to touch up any light mottled areas.
Learning what your tools will do and how to control them will help you draw well, so you won't regret taking a few moments to work through these exercises. In the next step we'll draw a simple subject using powdered graphite.
If you have any questions about this step, please ask them at Toad Hollow Studio's Drawing Forum. I've set up a special board for this subject there.
Powdered Graphite Exercise Step Three
To help you gain even more control over your powdered graphite technique, I suggest that you "draw" something simple with it. An egg would make an excellent subject.
Here are some steps and rules to follow:
1. Make some powdered graphite. (I suggest finding a wide mouth jar with a screw on lid to use as permanent storage for your loose graphite.)
2. Place the egg on a white surface ( a sheet of drawing paper will work) and arrange your light source until you get an easy to see shadow pattern on the egg and a clearly defined cast shadow on the surface it's sitting on.
3. Lightly sketch the egg and its shadow on your paper with a medium hard pencil. Now put your pencil away.
4. Use brushes, stumps, chamois cloths, tissues, and erasers to apply and adjust the loose graphite to your egg drawing but don't use a pencil again!
The egg that you see below was drawn exactly like I've described. I used a small brush, a medium brush, a stump, a kneaded eraser and a chamois cloth.
(Hint: Be sure to test your graphite loaded brush on another piece of paper to make sure it is creating the right value before you apply it to your drawing.)
Post your powdered graphite egg drawings in Toad Hollow Studio's Drawing Forum, if you want feedback and comments about your work.
