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CHAPTER 1
BASIC TEXTURES IN PENCIL
A pencil's point can unleash a world of creative satisfaction. And although many artists may view it as a simple sketching tool, it can also be used to express the captivating textures of both the natural and manufactured worlds. A pencil can capture the fragile beauty of a butterfly's wing or the imposing form of a steel skyscraper. From the delicate lines created by a sharpened, hard lead point to the velvety, deep values of a soft graphite, the range of textural possibilities is infinite!
— Diane Cardaci
TOOLS & MATERIALS
Graphite pencil artwork requires few supplies, and fortunately they are fairly inexpensive. Choose professional pencils and paper, rather than student-grade materials; they will last longer and ensure a higher-quality presentation.
Pencils
Pencils are labeled based on their lead texture. Hard leads (H) are light in value and great for fine, detailed work, but they are more difficult to erase. Soft leads (B) are darker and wonderful for blending and shading, but they smudge easily. Medium leads, such as HB and F, are somewhere in the middle. Select a range of pencils between HB and 6B for variety. You can purchase wood-encased pencils or mechanical pencils with lead refills.
Wooden Pencil The most common type of pencil is wood-encased graphite. These thin rods — most often round or hexagonal when cut crosswise — are inexpensive, easy to control and sharpen, and readily available to artists.
Flat Carpenter's Pencil Some artists prefer using a flat carpenter's pencil, which has a rectangular body and lead. The thick lead allows you to easily customize its shape to create both thick and thin lines.
Mechanical Pencil Mechanical pencils are plastic or metal barrels that hold individual leads. Some artists prefer the consistent feel of mechanical pencils to that of wooden pencils; the weight and length do not change over time, unlike wooden pencils that wear down with use.
Woodless Graphite Pencil These tools are shaped liked wooden pencils but are made up entirely of graphite lead. The large cone of graphite allows artists to use either the broad side for shading large areas or the tip for finer strokes and details.
Graphite Stick Available in a full range of hardnesses, these long, rectangular bars of graphite are great tools for sketching (using the end) and blocking in large areas of tone (using the broad side).
Paper
Paper has a tooth, or texture, that holds graphite. Papers with more tooth have a rougher texture and hold more graphite, which allows you to create darker values. Smoother paper has less tooth and holds less graphite, but it allows you to create much finer detail. Plan ahead when beginning a new piece, and select paper that lends itself to the textures in your drawing subject.
Blending Tools
There are several tools you can use to blend graphite for a smooth look. The most popular blenders are blending stumps, tortillons, and chamois cloths. Never use your finger to blend — it can leave oils on your paper, which will show after applying graphite.
Stumps Stumps are tightly rolled paper with points on both ends. They come in various sizes and are used to blend large and small areas of graphite, depending on the size of the stump. You can also use stumps dipped in graphite shavings for drawing or shading.
Tortillons Tortillons are rolled more loosely than a stump. They are hollow and have one pointed end. Tortillons also come in various sizes and can be used to blend smaller areas of graphite.
Facial Tissue Wrap tissue around your finger or roll it into a point to blend when drawing very smooth surfaces. Make sure you use plain facial tissue, without added moisturizer.
Chamois Chamois are great for blending areas into a soft tone. These cloths can be used for large areas or folded into a point for smaller areas. When the chamois becomes embedded with graphite, simply throw them into the washer or wash by hand. Keep one with graphite on it to create large areas of light shading. To create darker areas of shading, add graphite shavings to the chamois.
Erasers
Erasers serve two purposes: to eliminate unwanted graphite and to "draw" within existing graphite. There are many different types of erasers available.
Kneaded This versatile eraser can be molded into a fine point, a knife-edge, or a larger flat or rounded surface. It removes graphite gently from the paper but not as well as vinyl or plastic erasers.
Block Eraser A plastic block eraser is fairly soft, removes graphite well, and is very easy on your paper. Use it primarily for erasing large areas, but it also works quite well for doing a final cleanup of a finished drawing.
Stick Eraser Also called "pencil erasers," these handy tools hold a cylindrical eraser inside. You can use them to erase areas where a larger eraser will not work. Using a utility razor blade, you can trim the tip at an angle or cut a fine point to create thin white lines in graphite. It's like drawing with your eraser!
GRAPHITE TECHNIQUES
The way you apply a medium to paper contributes to the overall mood and style of a piece. Arm yourself with a variety of effects by getting to know the following techniques. You can use many of these techniques for other dry media, such as charcoal and pastel.
Gradating with Pressure A gradation is a transition of tone from dark to light. To create a simple gradation using one pencil, begin with heavier pressure and gradually lighten it as you stroke back and forth. Avoid pressing hard enough to score or completely flatten the tooth of the paper.
Gradating with Hardness Because different pencil hardnesses yield different values, you can create a gradation by using a series of pencils. Begin with soft, dark leads and switch to harder, grayer tones as you move away from the starting point.
Burnishing It is difficult to achieve a very dark tone with just one graphite pencil, even when using a soft lead. To achieve a dark, flat tone, apply a heavy layer of soft lead followed by a layer of harder lead. The hard lead will push the softer graphite into the tooth of the paper, spreading it evenly. Shown at right is 4H over 4B lead.
Scumbling This organic shading method involves scribbling loosely to build up general tone. Keep your pressure light and consistent as you move the pencil in random directions.
Stippling Apply small dots of graphite for a speckled texture. To prevent this technique from appearing too mechanical, subtly vary the dot sizes and distances from each other.
Crosshatching To crosshatch, place layers of parallel lines over each other at varying angles. This results in a "mesh" of tone that gives shaded areas a textured, intricate feel. For an added sense of depth, make the lines follow the curves of your object's surface.
Hatching Hatching is considered one of the simplest forms of shading. Simply apply a series of parallel lines to represent darker tones and shadows. The closer together you place the lines, the darker the shading will appear.
"Drawing" with an Eraser Use the corner of a block eraser or the end of a stick eraser to "draw" within areas of tone, resulting in light strokes. You can use this technique to recover lights and highlights after blending.
Indenting To preserve fine white lines in a drawing, such as those used to suggest whiskers, some artists indent (or incise) the paper before applying tone. Use a stylus to "draw" your white lines; then stroke your pencil over the area and blend. The indentations will remain free of tone.
UNDERSTANDING VALUE
One of the main challenges of drawing is making a flat, two-dimensional image look like a three-dimensional object. By shading (adding dark values) and highlighting (adding light values), you can produce the value variations needed to create the illusion of depth in your drawings.
Creating a Value Scale Making your own value scale will help familiarize you with the different variations in value. Work from light to dark, adding more and more tone for successively darker values.
Blending Values Now create a blended value scale — use a blending stump to smudge and blend each value into its neighboring value from light to dark. This will show you how one value blends into the next as they gradually get darker.
Adding Value to Create Form
A shape can be further defined by showing how light hits the object to create highlights and shadows. First note from which direction the source of light is coming. (In these examples, the light source is beaming from the upper right.) Then add the shadows accordingly, as shown in the examples below. The core shadow is the darkest area on the object and is opposite the light source. The cast shadow is what is thrown onto a nearby surface by the object. The highlight is the lightest area on the object, where the reflection of light is strongest. Reflected light, often overlooked by beginners, is surrounding light that is reflected into the shadowed area of an object.
TEXTURE, LIGHT & FORM
Light contributes to the texture of an object. As the light falls across an object with a strong texture, each individual aspect of the texture will create its own light and shadow effect. But these individual value changes must remain secondary to the form shadows, or the form will be lost.
When you are drawing an object with texture, first imagine it as a smooth object with no texture at all. Think of the texture of the object as a sort of translucent coat, so the under lying values of the form will show through. It is good practice to draw a few textured objects and develop a light, middle, and dark value for each of the objects. Then look at how the form changes as the values change.
Seeing Form A coconut (shown above as being lit from a three-quarter angle) has a form similar to that of an egg. Imagine the coconut with a smooth, egglike surface. Once you understand the way the light is hitting the object, you can draw its form.
Form vs. Texture A coconut is a good example of texture versus form. You might be tempted to use dark, heavy shading to portray the coconut's surface. However, in this case, the coconut's form is more important than its texture.
Studying Shapes To understand how the light source creates the form of this tree, break down the tree into a ball and a cylinder. Use rough paper to add some texture, and put down a layer of dark tone with the side of the pencil.
Adding Detail Using short strokes, create the leaves. Don't get caught up in drawing individual leaves — instead suggest the leaves with a pattern of texture. As you draw the leaves, leave the texture lighter on top where the light source hits the tree.
BOTANICALS
When drawing plants, it is important to remember that leaves and petals come in many shapes, sizes and textures. Besides their general shape, their edges (irregular or smooth), shininess (glossy or matte), and thickness must be carefully observed.
PETALS
Draw the outline of the petal, and add the general shape of its coloration and the raised center area.
Deepen the shading using long strokes that follow the direction of the petal. Darken the markings and center line, and then lightly shade the area where the petal folds back on itself.
LEAVES
Croton Leaf Outline the major patterns (top left), and then draw in the deepest values with a 2B. Blend the tone, maintaining the values that indicate the color changes. Lift out the details along the edge (top right).
Holly Leaf With the side of a 2B, lay in some tone (top left). Smudge the tone and lift out any areas that should remain white. The highlights will be important for creating the appearance of this leaf's glossy shine. Add deeper tones with a 4B (accenting the sharp points of the leaves and the raised veins), and then blend. Lift out the lighter veins (top right).
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Drawing: Basic Textures in Pencil"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Walter Foster.
Excerpted by permission of The Quarto Group.
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