Drawing with a pencil is probably the most widespread drawing technique. Many people spontaneously think only of pencils as drawing materials, which is very unfortunate because there is a wealth of drawing materials. In this blog, we will introduce some of them.
The Most Well-Known Drawing Medium: Pencils
Let's start with the most well-known drawing medium: the pencil.
First, a few general facts: pencils are actually made of graphite. The misconception of "lead pencils" arose when a graphite mine was once mistaken for a lead mine. Pencils are partly made of graphite and partly of clay. The clay holds the mixture together and ensures that it is somewhat firm.
Pencils have different degrees of hardness. H stands for Hard, and B stands for Black. The range of pencils extends from 10H to 14B. The number always indicates the degree of hardness or softness. H pencils usually have a less intense color application and are particularly good for sketching. B pencils are very color-intensive and are well-suited for shading.
The application range of pencils is very broad, from simple sketches to still life to hyper-realistic portraits. Pencils can also be well combined with other media, such as oil pastels.
Tips:
A very important technique for drawing with pencils is hatching or shading. This involves toning an area by drawing many small lines over it. There are also techniques where these lines are subsequently smudged. To determine the correct tonal values, there is a special trick: simply squint your eyes halfway. This blurs everything a bit, making it easier to recognize the tonal values.
Coloring with Colored Pencils Is Also for Adults!
Colored pencils are a very popular medium, even for beginners, as they can be used to quickly and easily create colorful pictures. However, the range of colored pencils has been expanded by manufacturers in recent years, and there are now colored pencils of various qualities and lightfastness.
Colored pencils consist of pigments, fillers, and binders. In their production, great care is usually taken to avoid using toxic pigments, as colored pencils are very popular with small children, who often have the habit of putting everything in their mouths.
Tips:
Some colored pencils can now even be painted over with water to create a watercolor-like effect. It is also possible to wet the paper before drawing. This often even intensifies the color.
If you paint different colored pencil colors on top of each other, you can mix a new shade or create a very beautiful color gradient. Hatching is also possible with colored pencils.
Note on the painting surface: paper is probably the best medium for both pencils and colored pencils. However, the paper should be thicker, especially if you work a lot in layers.
Drawing Techniques with Silverpoint Is an Outdated Technique
Working with a silverpoint is a rather old technique that has fallen somewhat into obscurity over the years. A silverpoint resembles a modern mechanical pencil, consisting of a very fine, small tip and a holder. After application, the lines are initially bluish but turn brown once dried. The lines cannot be erased.
The lines are extremely thin, so they only work as part of a larger composition.
Tips:
Shading is also very important; otherwise, the drawing might look a bit lost.
Drawing with Ink Is Unique and Inimitable
Drawing with ink is a very broad field, starting with the selection of the right nib. Despite this—or perhaps because of it—drawing with ink is quite a popular activity. Here, we will focus on working with a nib, although brushes can also be used, which is a different field altogether.
Working with ink is very final. Once a line is set, it cannot be removed to make the paper look like before. As mentioned above, there is a very broad range of nibs for applying ink to paper. Each type of nib has its own stroke character, so it's best to choose a nib that suits the respective motif.
Tips:
If you dilute the ink with water, you can also achieve a thinner or watercolor-like stroke. The targeted use of pen and undiluted ink can create a dramatic light-and-shadow effect.
One more thing about the painting surface; you usually work with ink on paper, but the paper should not be too absorbent, otherwise the color will run. However, if you are aiming for this style, it is better to moisten the paper slightly with water.
Drawing with Charcoal: The Oldest Drawing Technique in the World
Drawing with charcoal is one of the oldest drawing techniques in the world. Charcoal drawings have their own distinctive character and are especially suitable for sketching and constructing portraits, nude drawings, and landscape motifs. Charcoal comes in the form of sticks, compressed chalk, and pencil form and is made of charcoal. The material is very chalky and can be easily smudged, which is why charcoal comes in different forms and hardnesses, such as hard charcoal, soft charcoal, and powdered charcoal.
With charcoal, you can create impactful drawings with just a few strokes. No other drawing technique allows for such easy creation of gradients and moods. Charcoal drawings can be both soft and gentle and highly realistic.
Tip:
Our students use Nitram charcoal sticks. They are less prone to breakage and produce less dust. The unique manufacturing process creates a high-quality, rich black charcoal that is neither compressed nor reconstituted. We have found that Nitram charcoal sticks are easier to sharpen like pencils, and mistakes are easier to erase and correct compared to willow charcoal. Willow charcoal uses a binder, which makes it harder to sharpen without splintering and not as easy to remove as natural charcoal.
Conclusion
There are, of course, many other drawing media, but no matter what you end up working with, one tip applies to all: to capture the proportions of the object or person you want to draw correctly, it helps to use references. If possible, from real life, but otherwise, references from the internet are also suitable.
Happy drawing!