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Drawing Materials
. . . the necessities for drawing
and sketching
Below is a rundown of the drawing materials and tools I use to create my artwork. Art materials often come down to an individual choice so experiment with different art supplies to see which paper and pencils you like best. Shop wherever you like ... you can experiment at your local art store, or order on-line.
I personally have enjoyed excellent service from Dick Blick Art Materials. They have a wonderful reputation and have been a family-owned business since
Mr. and Mrs. Dick Blick started selling lettering pens from their kitchen (warehouse) in 1911 via the local post office.Not only that, I am an affiliate. That's right ... not only do I get to show you images of the art supplies from the Dick Blick website, but if you choose to purchase supplies by following my links, I earn a commission. So feel free to buy all the drawing materials you wish! In addition to the "Hot Deals of the Week" at the bottom of this page, from time to time, I will also post a link to Blick's most recent flyers like this one:
Check out BLICK ART MATERIALS' Winter Deals and Free Offers through February 15th, 2012!
Naturally, its the best time to stock up on sketch pads, pencils, or other drawing materials you enjoy using. I think you'll love the great service ... and I'll love that you were properly looked after. (If you prefer to order a catalog, you may do so at the end of this page.) Enough about that! Now back to the drawing board. After reading about the drawing tools I use, its a good idea to search my site to find the pages where I show you how to use them. Simply enter search terms like "eraser", "kneaded eraser", "3B", "2B pencil", and so on.
To search my site, enter your search term in the box below, and click on the Search button. (Google ads may appear at the top of the results page ... your search results will follow.)
So! Here we go with my list of drawing materials.
Paper for Charcoal Drawings:Many of my charcoal compositions have been done on Meridian paper. It is a paper, which can be used with charcoal, pastels, ink and watercolour. I have also used cold press .
Look for a strong paper with some tooth on it. ("Tooth" just means the roughness of the paper...the heavier the tooth, the rougher the paper.) You need a paper strong enough to withstand charcoal applications. When drawing with charcoal, you want a paper with at least a medium tooth on it for the charcoal to adhere to. If you like to work in fine detail, a very heavy tooth will interfere. Paper for Pencil Drawings: For my pencil drawings I use various papers. Strathmore, Canson, and Meridian are some of the brands I use. The particular Strathmore is called .
The Canson paper seen below is called .
When doing pencil drawings, you don't need a particularly rough surface, but always use a paper weight of at least 70 lb. I prefer heavier paper (80 - 140 lb).
Charcoal, Charcoal Pencils and Graphite Pencils: Until recently, I had exclusively used . Because they would glide smoothly across the paper, they allowed me greater control. Other charcoal pencils tend to "skip" across the paper and even scratch the surface. Ritmo allowed me to get a nice, even line.
Within the last few years, I had heard that Ritmo changed its formula, and that they have lost their quality. I panicked when I heard this, so I ordered a large bulk of Ritmo pencils. I don’t know if the pencils I ordered were before or after the formula change, but they work just fine. Perhaps the "formula change" was nothing more than a rumor. I'll continue to exclusively use Ritmo charcoal pencils and I'll continue to highly recommend them. The good news is they are now available at Dick Blick Art Supplies. I have tried other good quality charcoal drawing materials on the market, and have found that the works well, as do .
I also use:- - These are compressed charcoal sticks. They come in a box of twelve. I use the soft ones for covering large areas like backgrounds.
- Vine charcoal comes in stick form. It’s a very fine charcoal so it works well for subtle effects (like smoke or reflections).
- - This is pure powdered charcoal dust that comes in a jar. Be careful with this . . . it’s very messy, but effective when used properly. I use it for smooth, subtle shading effects.
Anytime I use a pencil, I use (grades B to 5B). I also like Derwent pencils. There is a wide variety of good graphite pencils on the market. I often work only with pencil.
Blending the Charcoal For blending I use watercolour brushes. Here is one place where you can get away with buying cheap art supplies. You can buy more expensive brushes if you wish, but for the purposes of charcoal blending, it isn't necessary. I apply the charcoal to the paper with a 3B charcoal pencil and then I use brushes to move the charcoal around. In this case, essentially I am painting in black and white. I also use (paper blending stumps), tissues, and my finger to blend charcoal. (Sweaty fingers will leave marks on your paper that cannot be erased. Fortunately I don’t have that problem.)
Sharpening Charcoal Pencils without breaking the lead. How to sharpen charcoal pencils was a problem for years, until I discovered the following pencil sharpeners. I use a Boston electric pencil sharpener (made in U.S.A.) I also use a manual
, both of which are discussed in the video below.
Other Drawing Materials – these erasers are an invaluable aid to me. They lift charcoal off the paper, so I use them to create a variety of lighting effects. Again, for a hands-on explanation of how the drawing materials are used in different situations, go to the search tool near the top of this page or click on the
SiteSearch
navigation button, and simply type in "kneaded erasers". This will provide you with a list of pages on my site where I discuss kneaded erasers. Search any drawing materials you wish. You may also like to see the videos on
"How To Draw Hair".
I also use a limited number of drafting aids; one is a . It’s a highly versatile drafting aid made of lead-core construction (in simple terms it’s like a flexible piece of rubber which can be bent, and holds it’s shape in order to draw curves). Since such a large body of my work depicts jazz musicians, curves are often necessary to accurately draw the instruments.
I also use . They give me a broader range of curves which suit different drawing situations. For a variety of very small shapes, I sometimes use a . These last three items are used to solve a technical difficulty, not to solve an artistic problem. - I use fine sandpaper while I work, to keep a fine point on my charcoal or graphite pencil. This is necessary when I'm doing very detailed work.
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