Artists Pencils v. Regular Pencils
Purchasing artists pencils is a good starting point for people to better their sketches. Artist’s pencils allow people to draw more tones into their drawings. By using specific pencils a more even tone can be made.
Artist’s pencils are made especially for drawing and sketching. What makes them different is the type of lead (graphite) on the inside. In these special pencils the leads range from soft to hard and this is what makes the different tones. The harder leads are labeled “H” and these create the lighter tones. The softer leads are labeled “B” and these are the darker tones. A “HB” pencil is in the middle of the scale and is the most used lead in standard pencils. This is because it is a medium shade. By using these pencils a consistent shade can be made. “I liked having the same shade no matter how hard I pushed on the paper,” said Timmy Kuehn a freshman. When different pressures are applied to the same pencil the shade can be slightly changed, but is generally the same. More techniques can be applied with using these pencils including blending. Blending is when the lead on the paper is smeared a bit and the shading is more uniform. A blending tool can be used to do this technique. A blending tool is only a tightly wound piece of paper with a pointed end. They can be made at home. “To get a blended design a person can also use their fingers which I prefer over a blending tool. When I use my fingers I seem to have more control,” said Laura E a seventh grader. The blending method is usually used when an artist wants to achieve the look of light. Kenna Kuehn a freshman said, “Usually an artist picks a point where the light should hit and object and blends the tones there to create the lighting. Objects that are farther away from the light source in the drawing should be shaded darker than the objects close to the light source.” Maria Hoge a freshman said, “The blending technique is used also when the artist wants to make an object look three dimensional.” This also adds to the topic of the light source, which occurs with all 3D objects. (Kara E) | All photos above are by Kara
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