Powdered graphite is the same graphite that pencil leads are made of, only ground into fine powder. You can “paint” it on paper with brushes to make watercolor-like “wash” effects, smooth textures, and cloudy backgrounds.
You can buy powdered graphite from art supply stores, but it’s easy to make your own.
Here’s how:
You’ll need an emery board or fine sandpaper, a pencil (any hardness), and a small flat brush. I like to use a No. 2 flat brush with the bristles trimmed back to about an eighth of an inch.
Rub the pencil tip back and forth on the sand paper over a piece of paper. A little goes a long way, so a small pile is plenty to start with.
A wide mouth jar with a screw on lid is a good place to store it.
Powdered graphite is messy to work with, but it’s worth the effort. Be forewarned, you will get smudged in the process!
Drag the brush through the powder and then rub it back and forth over paper.
Unless you want a very dark value, always work the brush back and forth like this until it reaches the value you want. (It’s much easier to add more graphite than it is to take it back!)
Three Powdered Graphite Drawing Exercises
You’ll need an emery board or sandpaper, a pencil, a small flat brush, and a larger brush.
Make A Gradated Graphite “Wash”
Dip the large brush into graphite and make one end of the gradation as dark as you can. This will take several layers of graphite. Drag the brush away from that area to create a gradated swatch that ends in the lightest value possible.
If there are streaks or blotches, gently stroke them with the small brush until they darken and blend in. For this blending to work, the small brush needs a little graphite in it. There should be some left in the brush from the last exercise, but if not, pick up a bit of graphite on the tip and test it. A few strokes should make a light smudge.
When the swatch is done, it should look smooth and similar to a watercolor wash.
You’ll have to work with powdered graphite a while to get a feel for it, so you might want to make a few gradations before you move on to the next exercises.
Dark, Medium And Light Swatches
Dark Swatch
Make the darkest swatch first. Begin as you did in the last exercise, but make the swatch one even tone. Use the small brush to blend in any light streaky areas.
Medium and Light Swatches
Because it’s always easier to darken than lighten, work the brush back and forth over another piece of paper until it reaches the value you want before applying it to the medium or light swatches. Use the small brush for touching up these swatches.
Now Draw (Or Paint) An Egg
To get even more control over this technique, draw an egg. You’ll need:
- HB or 2H pencil
- Smooth paper
- Small brush
- Medium brush
- Paper stump
- Kneaded eraser
- Chamois cloth
- any combination of similar tools will probably work.
1. Place an egg on a white surface (a sheet of drawing paper works well) and arrange the light, so there’s a dark shadow on the egg and a clearly defined shadow cast on the paper.
2. Sketch the egg and its shadow very lightly with the pencil.
~~~ Now put the pencil away. ~~~
3. Use only brushes, stumps, a chamois cloth, tissues, erasers, etc. to apply and adjust the graphite.
4. Use the Chamois cloth to lighten the graphite by “dabbing and lifting” with a folded corner.
Here’s a flower drawing lesson that uses brushed graphite for the base value of the petals.
Happy drawing,
Carol