This is a continuation of a series of posts about various art tools and their uses. I’m not going to dictate what you should use, I’m going to simply offer up what has worked for me and what I like or dislike about certain tools.
In previous posts I shared why I started using professional grade artist colors over student grade. Read that here. Also, my top 5 favorite painting supplies can be found here.
This week, I’ll share my top five favorite tools for colored pencil and graphite pencil artwork.
1. Erasers (particularly micro and kneadable)
I’m going to snitch on myself here, but for many years I didn’t understand the purpose of a kneadable eraser. I was embarrassed to ask since I starting sketching 40 years ago! Shouldn’t I know this already? Thanks to the internet, embarrassment no longer prevents me from learning new things! Now, I use my kneadable eraser ALL THE TIME! It has several functions but the main one I use it for is to lift off graphite lines that are too dark. This has really come in handy with sketches for watercolor paintings too, because the watercolor is transparent and pencil lines show through very easily. But I also use it to create sketches for colored pencil projects too. In fact, for most of my projects, I use a pencil sketch to guide me.
How do you use a kneadable eraser? Well, to put it simply, it needs to be kneaded. It is extremely malleable, like a rubberized clay. I like to roll it into a hotdog shape and roll it over dark pencil lines to lighten an entire area. I will also pinch it to a point to get take away a line here or there. It’s like magic to see the lines grow gradually fainter.
Oh, and by the way, do not follow my example of not asking questions. It is, after all, the best way to learn anything! I wish I would have checked my shame at the door years ago and just asked more questions throughout my life. But that is a whole other story!
The second kind of eraser I like to use is a lovely tool called a micro eraser. I’ve just recently discovered this little gem. Similar to the kneadable eraser when it is shaped to a point, it gets into smaller areas for where I want lines erased. It is a stiffer eraser so I use it when I want the graphite completely gone. I also use it occasionally to remove colored pencil, although, it usually doesn’t erase completely, as is true with any eraser. I like this one because it’s super tiny and operates like a mechanical pencil, retracting and extending.
2. Blender (not the smoothie making kind)
Part of the fun using colored pencil and graphite is creating dimension. This has a lot to do with tonal variation. I love making an image pop off of a page. One way to smooth out the transitions from light to dark is to use a blender. There are different types of blending methods. The three I know about are: using a paintbrush dipped in solvent, using a blender pen that has a solvent in it or using a specialized blending pencil. Of course you can add a layer of white colored pencil and blend that way as well. It will not only blend but soften the color too.
3. Dust brush
I have a tendency to wipe away graphite and pencil debris with a quick swipe of the hand, but this is usually disastrous. Not only does it usually smear my work that I’ve just spent hours on, but it deposits oils from my hand onto the paper, which affects how my pencils work on the paper. Dust brushes are an cheap and easy way to remove debris.
4. Derwent sharpener
I used to dread sharpening my graphite and colored pencils with little manual sharpeners. The points would constantly break or crumble and I could never quite get the point sharp enough. Prismacolors are notorious for breakage which is one of the main reasons I don’t like using them too often. I found this sharpener while watching a youtube video and had to have it. Once I received it, I sharpened every last pencil I owned with it with brilliant results. It was oddly satisfying to get the pencils to such a sharp point. Now I love sharpening my pencils! It is a bit of a pricier sharpener, but in my mind well worth the expense. Stressful, uncertain sharpening is now a thing of the past!
5. Impress tool
The final tool is something that you probably have already laying around in a drawer, a ball-point ink pen without ink. I use this to make lines ahead of coloring to create white whiskers, fur and hair. Pressing a line into the surface of the paper keeps colored pencil from depositing into the crease when adding layers over the top. I’ve also used a mechanical pencil without the lead in it. I think a dotting tool would work well also, although I’ve not tried it yet.
6. Bonus item… pencil extender!
I’m not sure how I could forget this and I definitely don’t want to leave it off the list because I love this tool! It does exactly as it describes, extends the pencil. Using quality pencils is more expensive and makes each pencil precious. I want to get as much use out of each one as possible. Enter, the pencil extender. I put the tiny nub of a pencil into the extender and voila! The pencil is lengthened, making it easy to continue holding. Now I can use each pencil all the way to the end. And that’s where I am with this post - the end.
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