How to choose them and use them.
While I use a camera and a computer to help me conceptualize my ideas, these are all the tools I use to transfer my ideas to paper. They are simple, but they work. The most complicated tool I use to create my work is my mind. I’m constantly reigning back in, making it remember that true beauty occurs in simplicity of idea and process.
Graphite Drawing Pencils
The graphite that’s used in regular pencils is the same graphite used in artist quality pencils. The only difference is the type and quantity of filler that’s mixed with the graphite to create different degrees of hardness, and quality control. The softest grade of pencil is a 9b, and the hardest is a 9h. The most common writing pencil is usually an HB (in the middle of the scale.) Artist’s pencils do, however, vary in quality.
Some companies don’t have good quality control, and their filler can leave hard grains in the softer graphite. It’s possible to tear the surface of your paper with one of these poorly made pencils. Here’s my detailed review of several artist grade graphite pencil brands.
If you don’t want to buy an entire set, I suggest that you at least buy grades 4B, 2B, HB, 2H, 4H of the same brand. If you come across one that’s ‘grainy’ (with a hard spot in the lead) sharpen past that point to see if the rest of the pencil’s lead is usable. If not, throw it away and buy another. Sometimes you just get a bad pencil. This is a good argument for buying a whole set, because the grade on either side of a lost or unusable pencil can substitute for it.
Pencil Grade Scale
I currently use Grafwood and Mars Lumograph pencils for my fine art. The Grafwoods are superb in their grade definition. Each grade is true and can’t be pushed much darker than its value range, but the pureness is astounding. They are the most expensive pencil on the market, but are well worth the cost considering how long they last. The Caran d’Ache Grafwood Pencil Set – Set of 6 is a good way to try them. Mars Lumograph pencils are rich and smooth, and each grade is solid. I’ve never found a piece of filler, so quality control must be tight. The Staedtler Lumograph Pencil Set – Set of 12
is a good medium priced option.
Derwent Graphic Pencils, Medium set, 6b thru 4h is a good lower end priced choice. Their grade definition has significant cross over, but they are a fine pencil for both fine art and sketching.
Erasers
Kneaded Eraser – A very soft eraser that you can roll into a point, pinch into a wedge, form into a ball, or make into any shape you need to press into the graphite and lift to make a shaped highlight.
I use this type of eraser most of all. I use it for so many things that I’ll skip to what it can’t do: A kneaded can’t remove heavily applied graphite.
And yet, in one of those odd Zen-like moments that happen in art, you’ll need one to remove heavily applied graphite.
To do this, use the kneaded eraser to lift all the graphite you can, and then finish the job with a vinyl, polymer, or a real rubber eraser.
If you try to erase a heavy layer of graphite with any other type of eraser without removing some of it with a kneaded eraser first, the graphite might smear. You might even drive the graphite farther into the paper. This has happened to me, and there is no recovering the paper tooth from a badly smeared erasing job.
I like General’s Kneaded Erasers because they are slightly sticky. They’re not only great for lifting a dense graphite layers they’re also good for creating delicate textures and details.
The Tombow Mono Knock Stick Eraser – These erasers are made of a vinyl type of material. They come in a plastic holder, and you can expose more eraser by clicking the top of the holder. This type of eraser can be cut into different shapes easily. A wedge shape can be used to erase thin lines if you draw it across the paper using the long edge of the wedge shape. A pointed shape can be used to create delicate detail and erase tiny highlights.
The Tombow Mono Zero Eraser has a very small eraser diameter that’s useful for tight areas. It’s stiff but won’t damage the paper. You can buy refills for it too.
The Sakura cordless electric eraser– A small nib eraser fits in the end of the eraser and spins when you press a button. You can spin the tip of the nib on a fine grit sandpaper block and sharpen it down to a fine point.
You can use this eraser to “draw” into graphite hatching to create interesting effects and fine details, and the nib never wobbles out of center.
Blenders
Brushes– A No. 2 straight or angled brush works well for delicate blending. They can be made more useful by trimming the bristles down to about an eighth of an inch long. This makes the bristles stiffer and easier to control. A larger flat brush works equally well for blending larger areas. Larger brushes can be trimmed back to about a quarter of an inch long. Read more about how to make your own blender brushes here.
You can also use brushes to ‘paint’ with powdered graphite. You can create watercolor-like washes, clouds, and other smooth or foggy textures. Here’s my How To Work With Powdered Graphite tutorial.
Specialty brushes – You can find round brushes with short thick bristles made specially for blending pastels, and some of them work for blending graphite too.
Holbein Pastel Brushes, Round Blender, Horse, 1/4″ with the black bristles in this image is the one I own and recommend. It applies powdered graphite onto paper quite well.
You can find brushes that are made for stenciling and decorative painting that are the same style as the Holbein, but are much less expensive. And they work with graphite just as well.
I’ve experimented with many different styles of brushes for working with graphite, and stiffer bristles work best. Stiff bristles “push” the graphite and blend it better than soft bristles.