graphite, or ‘lead’ pencils, natural graphite is reduced to a powder and blended with clay in exact proportions, then kneaded into a stiff paste. To make the leads, the paste is compressed and extruded into thin strips, which are dried before being fired in a kiln. After firing, the leads are impregnated with waxes to ensure that they draw smoothly. They are then encased in shafts of cedarwood which are finished with one or more coats of paint.
Graphite pencils
Drawing pencils come in a range of grades, from ‘H’ for hard to ‘B’ for soft. The hardness of the lead is determined by the relative proportions of graphite and clay used: the more graphite, the softer the pencil. Typically, hard pencils range from 9H (the hardest) to H, and soft pencils range from 9B (the softest) to B. Grades HB and F are midway between the two.
A very soft lead will produce rich, black marks, and is an excellent choice for rapid sketches and expressive line-and-tone drawings, especially on textured paper. Hard leads make grey, rather than black marks. They are suitable for precise lines and details because they can be sharpened to a fine point. Although a single pencil of grade HB or 2B gives you considerable scope for expression, many artists use several grades of pencil in one piece of work, creating a rich interplay of line and tone.
Graphite sticks
These are made of high-grade compressed and bonded graphite formed into thick, chunky sticks. They glide smoothly across the surface of the paper, lending themselves to bold and expressive drawing, and to large-scale work. The marks can be varied by using the point, the flattened edge of the point, or the length of the stick.
Linear marks
Valerie Wiffen
Portrait I
Graphite pencil on paper
12.5 × 12.5cm (5 × 5in)
The weight, quality and nuance of a pencil line can be varied and controlled by the grade of pencil chosen, its sharpness, the degree of pressure applied, and the texture of the paper surface. A soft graphite lead gives considerable control over the tone and thickness of a line, which may be graded to describe the contours of a form and the play of light.
Shading
Valerie Wiffen
Portrait II
Graphite pencil on paper
12.5 × 12.5cm (5 × 5in)
Continuous gradations of tone can be created by shading with soft pencils. These areas are first drawn in broadly, using the edge of the lead, working from the lightest to the darkest tones or vice versa. The marks are then carefully blended together using a paper stump, as here, the fingers, or an eraser.
Hatching and crosshatching
Valerie Wiffen
Model and artist
Graphite pencil on paper
21 × 14.5cm (8½ × 5¾in)
Areas of tone can be built up with hatching – roughly parallel lines drawn close together. These can be straight and mechanical or free and sketchy. Altering the direction of the lines describes shape and form. In crosshatching, lines are crisscrossed on top of one another to create a fine mesh of tone. The lines may run in any direction: vertical, horizontal and diagonal. The density of tone can be varied, as is demonstrated right: the closer the lines, the blacker the pencil used, and the more pressure applied, the deeper the tone. Build up hatched and crosshatched lines gradually; too much deepening of tone early on can make the finished drawing dark and heavy.
Drawing with an eraser
Pauline Jackson
Sneakers
Graphite pencil on paper
34 × 25cm (13½ × 10in)
Erasers can also be used as drawing instruments. In this lively study, line and areas of tone were laid on the paper with a soft pencil, then drawn into and modified with a kneaded putty eraser. This is a form of ‘negative’ drawing, in which the image emerges gradually from dark to light.
SEE ALSO
| COLOURED PENCILS |
| Coloured pencils are made from a mixture of pigment, clay and filler, bound together with gum. The coloured sticks are soaked in wax, which gives them their smooth-drawing propert ies, before being pressed into rods and encased in wood. Since David Hockney set a precedent in the 1960s with his series of coloured pencil drawings, this medium has become increasingly popular with fine artists. |
Choice and variety
Of late, there has been an enormous increase in the variety of coloured pencils available on the market. Not only has the range of colours been vastly expanded, but the colours themselves are now much more consistently lightfast than previously. You can also obtain watercolour pencils which allow you to dissolve or partially dissolve the colours on the paper with water.
Clean, quick and portable, coloured pencils are very useful sketching and drawing tools. They allow you to work with the accuracy of pencil while involving colour; they are soft enough to allow delicate shading, and they can be sharpened to a point for controlled lines.
Buying coloured pencils
Coloured pencils are available individually or in sumptuous-looking sets with dozens of colours. Brands vary considerably in the range of available tones and in the quality and proportion of pigments, binders, clays and waxes they contain. Some brands have hard, waxy ‘leads’ that can be sharpened to a long, fine point; others are soft and crumbly, producing a broader, more grainy mark.
Fine or broad
Most pencils have a colour core 3.5mm (3/8in)
