Designations on pencils: decoding of hardness and softness. Simple pencils, differences Which pencils are soft which are hard

What could be easier than a pencil? This simple tool, familiar to everyone since childhood, is not as primitive as it seems at first glance. It allows you not only to draw, write and draw, but also to create a variety of artistic effects, sketches, paintings! Any artist must be able to draw with a pencil. And, more importantly, understand them.

Graphite ("simple") pencils are pretty different from each other. By the way, "pencil" comes from two Turkic words - "kara" and "dash" (black stone).

The pen's nib is set in a frame made of wood or plastic, and may be made of graphite, charcoal, or other materials. The most common type - graphite pencils - differ in the degree of rigidity.

Let's start!

Pavel Chistyakov, professor at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts of the 19th-early 20th century, advised to start by putting paint aside and practicing drawing “with a pencil for at least a year.” great artist Ilya Repin never parted with pencils. Pencil drawing is the basis of any painting.

The human eye distinguishes about 150 shades of gray. An artist who draws with graphite pencils has three colors at his disposal. White (paper color), black and gray (paper color graphite pencils different hardness). These are achromatic colors. Drawing only with a pencil, only in shades of gray allows you to create images that convey the volume of objects, the play of shadows and glare of light.

Lead hardness

The hardness of the lead is indicated on the pencil with letters and numbers. Manufacturers from different countries(Europe, USA and Russia) the marking of the hardness of the pencils is different.

Rigidity designation

In Russia hardness scale looks like this:

• M - soft;
• T - solid;
• TM - hard-soft;

European scale somewhat wider (marking F does not have a Russian equivalent):

• B - soft, from blackness (blackness);
• H - hard, from hardness (hardness);
• F is the middle tone between HB and H (from the English fine point - subtlety)
• HB - hard-soft (Hardness Blackness - hardness-blackness);

IN THE USA a number scale is used to indicate the stiffness of a pencil:

• #1 - corresponds to B - soft;
• #2 - corresponds to HB - hard-soft;
• #2½ - corresponds to F - medium between hard-soft and hard;
• #3 - corresponds to H - hard;
• #4 - corresponds to 2H - very hard.

Pencil pencil strife. Depending on the manufacturer, the tone of the line drawn with a pencil of the same marking may differ.

In Russian and European marking of pencils, the number before the letter indicates the degree of softness or hardness. For example, 2B is twice as soft as B and 2H is twice as hard as H. Pencils are commercially available and are labeled 9H (hardest) to 9B (softest).

soft pencils

Start from B before 9B.

The most commonly used pencil when creating a drawing is HB. However, this is the most common pencil. With this pencil draw the basis, the shape of the picture. HB handy for drawing, creating tonal spots, it is not too hard, not too soft. Draw dark places, highlight them and place accents, a soft pencil will help to make a clear line in the picture. 2B.

Hard pencils

Start from H before 9H.

H- a hard pencil, hence - thin, light, "dry" lines. With a hard pencil, draw solid objects with a clear outline (stone, metal). So hard pencil according to the finished drawing, on top of the shaded or shaded fragments, thin lines are drawn, for example, they draw strands in the hair.

The line drawn soft pencil, has a slightly loose contour. A soft lead will allow you to reliably draw representatives of the fauna - birds, hares, cats, dogs.

If it is necessary to choose between a hard or soft pencil, artists take a pencil with a soft lead. An image drawn with such a pencil is easy to shade with a piece of thin paper, a finger or an eraser. If necessary, you can finely sharpen the graphite core of a soft pencil and draw a thin line similar to the line from a hard pencil.

The figure below shows more clearly the hatching of different pencils:

Hatching and drawing

Strokes on paper are drawn with a pencil inclined at an angle of about 45 ° to the plane of the sheet. To make the line bolder, you can rotate the pencil around the axis.

Light areas are shaded with a hard pencil. Dark areas are correspondingly soft.

It is inconvenient to hatch with a very soft pencil, as the stylus quickly becomes dull and the fineness of the line is lost. The way out is to either sharpen the point very often, or use a harder pencil.

When drawing, they gradually move from light to dark areas, since it is much easier to darken a part of the drawing with a pencil than to make a dark place lighter.

Please note that the pencil must be sharpened not with a simple sharpener, but with a knife. The lead should be 5-7mm long, which allows you to tilt the pencil and achieve the desired effect.

Graphite pencil lead is a fragile material. Despite the protection of the wooden shell, the pencil requires careful handling. When dropped, the lead inside the pencil breaks into pieces and then crumbles during sharpening, making the pencil unusable.

Nuances to know when working with pencils

For hatching at the very beginning, you should use a hard pencil. Those. the driest lines are made with a hard pencil.

The finished drawing is drawn with a soft pencil to give it richness and expressiveness. Soft pencil leaves dark lines.

The more you tilt the pencil, the wider its mark will be. However, with the advent of pencils with a thick lead, this need is no longer necessary.

If you do not know how the final drawing will look like, it is recommended to start with a hard pencil. With a hard pencil, you can gradually dial the desired tone. At the very beginning, I myself made the following mistake: I took too soft a pencil, which made the drawing dark and incomprehensible.

Pencil frames

Certainly, classic version- This is a stylus in a wooden frame. But now there are also plastic, varnished and even paper frames. The lead on these pencils is thick. On the one hand, this is good, but on the other hand, such pencils are easy to break if put in a pocket or dropped unsuccessfully.

Although there are special cases for carrying pencils (for example, I have a set of KOH-I-NOOR Progresso black lead pencils - good, solid packaging, like a pencil case).

graphite pencils , which exist to this day, was invented by a French scientist Nicola Conti in 1794. Usually graphite pencil is called a "simple" pencil, as opposed to colored pencils. Graphite pencils can be divided into two main types: soft And solid. The type is determined by the softness or hardness of the lead inside the body of the pencil. You can tell the type of pencil by looking at the letters and numbers written on it. The letter “M” means that the pencil is soft, and “T” means hard. There is also a type of TM - hard-soft. The degree of hardness or softness of a pencil can be recognized by the numbers written in front of the letter. For example, 2M is twice as soft as M. and 3T is three times harder than T. In many countries of the world abroad, for example, in England, in the USA, the letter H or B is written. H means hard, B - respectively soft, and HB - hard-soft.

A vivid example for comparing pencils can be seen in the figure:

The choice of pencil depends on the type of paper, on the work being done, and also on the personal preferences of the artist. For example, I prefer HB pencils from Faber Castell. It is more convenient to sharpen pencils with stationery knives. Historically, knives for sharpening office supplies (feathers) were called “penknives”. It is very important to keep pencils from falling. On impact, the lead may break into small pieces. It is also important to protect pencils from excessive moisture. During dampening and subsequent drying, the pencil back can be deformed, which will lead to a violation of the integrity of the stylus. There is also another type of graphite pencil called "Mechanical Pencil". They are convenient because they do not need to be sharpened. These pencils have a movable lead. Its length can be adjusted with a button. Mechanical pencils come with very thin leads (from 0.1 mm). Also have mechanical pencils with an intermediate thickness of the stylus. The thickest mechanical pencil lead I've come across is 5mm. Professional artists often like to draw with such pencils.

Marking pencils by hardness

Pencils are distinguished by the hardness of the lead, which is usually indicated on the pencil.

In Russia, graphite drawing pencils are produced in several degrees of hardness, which is indicated by letters, as well as numbers in front of the letters.

In the USA, pencils are marked with numbers, and in Europe and Russia, a mnemonic combination of letters or just one letter.

The letter M stands for soft pencil. In Europe, they use the letter B for this, which is actually short for blackness (something like blackness, so to speak). In the USA they use the number 1.

To designate a hard pencil in Russia, the letter T is used. In Europe, respectively, H, which can be deciphered as hardness (hardness).

A hard-soft pencil is designated as TM. For Europe it will be HB.

A standard hard-soft pencil, in addition to combinations, in Europe can be denoted by the letter F.

For orientation in these international issues, it is convenient to use the table of correspondence of the hardness of the scales, which is given below.

History of pencils

Beginning in the 13th century, artists used thin silver wire for drawing, which they soldered to a pen or kept in a case. This type of pencil was called a "silver pencil". This tool required high level skill, since it is impossible to erase what he has drawn. Another his characteristic feature was that over time, the gray strokes applied with a silver pencil turned brown.

There was also a "lead pencil", which left a discreet but clear mark and was often used for preparatory sketches of portraits. The drawings made with a silver and lead pencil are characterized by a thin line style. For example, Dürer used similar pencils.

Also known is the so-called "Italian pencil", which appeared in the XIV century. It was a core of clay black shale. Then they began to make it from burnt bone powder, fastened with vegetable glue. This tool allowed you to create an intense and rich line. Interestingly, artists still sometimes use silver, lead and Italian pencils when they need to achieve a certain effect.

Graphite pencils have been known since the 16th century. The first description of a graphite pencil was found in the 1564 writings on minerals by the Swiss naturalist Konrad Geisler. By the same time, the discovery of a graphite deposit in England, in Cumberland, where graphite was sawn into pencil rods, dates back. English shepherds from the Cumberland area found a dark mass in the ground, which they used to mark their sheep. Due to the color similar to the color of lead, the deposit was mistaken for deposits of this metal. But, having determined the unsuitability of the new material for making bullets, they began to produce thin sticks pointed at the end from it and used them for drawing. These sticks were soft, dirty hands, and only good for drawing, not writing.

In the 17th century, graphite was usually sold on the streets. Artists, to make it more comfortable and the stick not so soft, clamped these graphite "pencils" between pieces of wood or twigs, wrapped them in paper or tied them with twine.

The first document that mentions wooden pencil, dated 1683. In Germany, the production of graphite pencils began in Nuremberg. The Germans, mixing graphite with sulfur and glue, got a rod that was not High Quality but at a lower price. To hide this, pencil manufacturers resorted to various tricks. Pieces of pure graphite were inserted into the wooden case of the pencil at the beginning and at the end, while in the middle there was a low-quality artificial core. Sometimes the inside of the pencil was completely empty. The so-called "Nuremberg Goods" did not enjoy a good reputation.

It was only in 1761 that Caspar Faber developed a way to strengthen graphite by mixing crushed graphite powder with resin and antimony, resulting in a thick mass suitable for casting stronger and more uniform graphite rods.

At the end of the 18th century, the Czech I. Hartmut began to make pencil leads from a mixture of graphite and clay, followed by firing. Graphite rods appeared, reminiscent of modern ones. By changing the amount of added clay, it was possible to obtain rods of various hardness. The modern pencil was invented in 1794 by the talented French scientist and inventor Nicolas Jacques Conte. At the end of the 18th century, the English Parliament imposed a strict ban on the export of precious graphite from Cumberland. For violation of this prohibition, the punishment was very severe, up to the death penalty. But despite this, graphite continued to be smuggled into continental Europe, which led to sharp increase its prices.

On the instructions of the French convention, Conte developed a recipe for mixing graphite with clay and producing high-quality rods from these materials. With the help of high temperature treatment, high strength was achieved, but even more important was the fact that changing the proportion of the mixture made it possible to make rods of different hardness, which served as the basis modern classification hardness pencils. It has been calculated that with an 18 cm long pencil one can draw a line of 55 km or write 45,000 words! Polymers are used in modern leads, which allow achieving the desired combination of strength and elasticity, making it possible to produce very thin leads for mechanical pencils (up to 0.3 mm).

The hexagonal shape of the pencil body was proposed in late XIX century Count Lothar von Fabercastle, noting that round pencils often roll off inclined writing surfaces. Almost 2/3 of the material that makes up a simple pencil goes to waste when it is sharpened. This prompted the American Alonso Townsend Cross to create a metal pencil in 1869. The graphite rod was placed in a metal tube and could, if necessary, be extended to the appropriate length. This invention influenced the development of a whole group of products that are used everywhere today. The simplest design is a mechanical pencil with a 2 mm lead, where the rod is held by metal clamps (collets) - a collet pencil. The collets open when a button on the end of the pencil is pressed, resulting in extension to a user-adjustable length of the pencil.

Modern mechanical pencils are more advanced. Each time the button is pressed, a small section of the lead is automatically fed. Such pencils do not need to be sharpened, they are equipped with a built-in (usually under the lead feed button) eraser and have various fixed line thicknesses (0.3 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.9 mm, 1 mm).

Graphite pencil drawings have a grayish tone with a slight sheen, there is no intense blackness in them. The famous French cartoonist Emmanuel Poiret (1858-1909), born in Russia, came up with an aristocratic French-sounding pseudonym Caran d’Ache, which he began to sign his works with. Later, this version of the French transcription of the Russian word "pencil" was chosen as the name and trademark of the Swiss brand CARAN d'ACHE, founded in Geneva in 1924, producing exclusive writing instruments and accessories.

Today I will talk about the marking of simple pencils, about the most famous companies for their production, as well as how to choose them.
Pencils are completely different - wax, graphite, colored, charcoal, pastel, mechanical and even watercolor. Since childhood, we have been attracted to these art supplies, but over time, many people have a question - how to choose pencils.

Marking simple pencils by hardness

Ordinary graphite pencils have a marking that allows you to determine the degree of hardness (well, or softness). Bold(abbreviated B) - means fat, that is, soft. Hard(abbreviated H) - hard, hard.

The marking of the pencil is directly indicated by letters on the wooden part. A coefficient is placed before the letter of the stiffness designation - the larger it is, the softer or harder the pencil. In Russia, stiffness is denoted by letters T And M.
Pencils range from very hard to very soft. There are also HB pencils - the transition of hardness H to B. There is also a transitional form from H to HB, which is indicated by the letter F.

Colour pencils

The name speaks for itself - these pencils have a wide range of colors, with which you can create colorful drawings. Kernel watercolor pencils consists of pressed watercolor paints, so when blurring a picture with water, interesting transitions are obtained, as when painting with watercolors. Pastel pencils, like watercolors, consist of pastels in a wooden shell, that is, they are no different from pastels, except that they can be worked out with their help. the smallest details in the drawing.

Best Pencil Companies

The most famous company for the production of graphite pencils is the Czech company Koh-I-Noor. Indeed, these pencils are of very high quality, have a wide range of hardness, high-quality wood is used for their manufacture. Pencils Derwent softer than Koh-I-Noor, but, in my opinion, they are not inferior to them in quality. The real luxury for the artist can be called brand pencils Faber Castell.

How to choose a pencil

When it comes time to go to the store for new graphite pencils, we should pay attention to the fact that it is best to buy pencils in a package, and not by the piece, since with such a purchase the risk of running into a fake is reduced. Be sure to open the package, check each pencil to ensure that the lead is not brittle, and the wood is solid without nicks. Remember that real Faber Castell brand pencils have very good paint adhesion. If you notice flaws or cracks, then this is most likely a fake.

Application of pencils

In order to outline the drawing, you need a hard pencil, for example, 2H (Russian 2T). For hatching, a 2B pencil (Russian 2M) is suitable for you. To hatch the darkest part of our drawing, we will need a very soft pencil, for example 8B or 12B.

Simple pencils, differences. What is a pencil? This is a kind of instrument that looks like a rod made of writing material (charcoal, graphite, dry paints, etc.). Such a tool is widely used in writing, drawing and drawing. As a rule, the writing rod is inserted into a convenient frame. pencils can be colored and "simple". That's just about such "simple" pencils today we'll talk, or rather about what types of graphite pencils exist. The very first object, vaguely resembling a pencil, was invented in the 13th century. It was a thin silver wire soldered to the handle. They kept such a "silver pencil" in a special case. To draw with such a pencil, remarkable skill and skill was required, because it was impossible to erase what was written. In addition to the "silver pencil" there was also a "lead" one - it was used for sketches. Around the 14th century, the "Italian pencil" appeared: a rod made of clay black slate. Later, the rod was made from burnt bone powder mixed with vegetable glue. Such a pencil gave a clear and color-saturated line. By the way, this kind of writing instruments are still used by some artists to achieve a certain effect. Graphite pencils have been known since the 16th century. Their appearance is very interesting: in the Cumberland area, English shepherds found a certain dark mass in the ground, with which they began to mark sheep. Since the color of the mass was similar to lead, it was mistaken for metal deposits, but later they began to make thin sharp sticks from it, which were used for drawing. The sticks were soft and often broke, and dirty hands, so it was necessary to put them in some kind of case. The rod began to be clamped between wooden sticks or pieces of wood, wrapped in thick paper, tied with twine. As for the graphite pencil that we are used to seeing today, Nicolas Jacques Conte is considered to be its inventor. Conte became the author of the recipe when graphite was mixed with clay and subjected to high temperature treatment - as a result, the rod was strong and, in addition, this technology made it possible to regulate the hardness of graphite.

Lead hardness Lead hardness is indicated on the pencil with letters and numbers. Manufacturers from different countries (Europe, USA and Russia) have different markings for the hardness of pencils. Rigidity designation In Russia, the hardness scale looks like this: M - soft; T - solid; TM - hard soft; The European scale is somewhat wider (marking F does not have a Russian equivalent): B - soft, from blackness (blackness); H - hard, from hardness (hardness); F is the middle tone between HB and H (from the English fine point - fineness) HB - hard-soft (Hardness Blackness - hardness-blackness); In the USA, a number scale is used to indicate the hardness of a pencil: - corresponds to B - soft; - corresponds to HB - hard-soft; ½ - corresponds to F - medium between hard-soft and hard; - corresponds to H - solid; - corresponds to 2H - very hard. Pencil pencil strife. Depending on the manufacturer, the tone of the line drawn with a pencil of the same marking may differ. In Russian and European marking of pencils, the number before the letter indicates the degree of softness or hardness. For example, 2B is twice as soft as B and 2H is twice as hard as H. Pencils are commercially available and are labeled 9H (hardest) to 9B (softest). Hard pencils Start from H to 9H. H is a hard pencil, hence the thin, light, "dry" lines. With a hard pencil, draw solid objects with a clear outline (stone, metal). With such a hard pencil, according to the finished drawing, over the shaded or shaded fragments, thin lines are drawn, for example, strands are drawn in the hair. The line drawn with a soft pencil has a slightly loose outline. A soft lead will allow you to reliably draw representatives of the fauna - birds, hares, cats, dogs. If it is necessary to choose between a hard or soft pencil, artists take a pencil with a soft lead. An image drawn with such a pencil is easy to shade with a piece of thin paper, a finger or an eraser. If necessary, you can finely sharpen the graphite core of a soft pencil and draw a thin line similar to the line from a hard pencil. Hatching and drawing Strokes on paper are drawn with a pencil inclined at an angle of about 45 ° to the plane of the sheet. To make the line bolder, you can rotate the pencil around the axis. Light areas are shaded with a hard pencil. Dark areas are correspondingly soft. It is inconvenient to hatch with a very soft pencil, as the stylus quickly becomes dull and the fineness of the line is lost. The way out is to either sharpen the point very often, or use a harder pencil. When drawing, they gradually move from light to dark areas, since it is much easier to darken a part of the drawing with a pencil than to make a dark place lighter. Please note that the pencil must be sharpened not with a simple sharpener, but with a knife. The lead should be 5-7mm long, which allows you to tilt the pencil and achieve the desired effect. Graphite pencil lead is a fragile material. Despite the protection of the wooden shell, the pencil requires careful handling. When dropped, the lead inside the pencil breaks into pieces and then crumbles during sharpening, making the pencil unusable. Nuances that you should know when working with pencils For hatching at the very beginning, you should use a hard pencil. Those. the driest lines are made with a hard pencil. The finished drawing is drawn with a soft pencil to give it richness and expressiveness. Soft pencil leaves dark lines. The more you tilt the pencil, the wider its mark will be. However, with the advent of pencils with a thick lead, this need is no longer necessary. If you do not know how the final drawing will look like, it is recommended to start with a hard pencil. With a hard pencil, you can gradually dial the desired tone. At the very beginning, I myself made the following mistake: I took too soft a pencil, which made the drawing dark and incomprehensible. Frames of pencils Of course, the classic version is a stylus in a wooden frame. But now there are also plastic, varnished and even paper frames. The lead on these pencils is thick. On the one hand, this is good, but on the other hand, such pencils are easy to break if put in a pocket or dropped unsuccessfully. Although there are special cases for carrying pencils (for example, I have a set of KOH-I-NOOR Progresso black lead pencils - good, solid packaging, like a pencil case).

A pencil is a graphite rod in a wooden frame made of soft wood, such as cedar, about 18 cm long. Graphite pencils from raw graphite existing in nature were first used in early XVII V. Prior to this, lead or silver rods (known as a silver pencil) were used for drawing. Modern form lead or graphite pencil in a wooden frame came into use in early XIX V.

Usually a pencil "works" if you lead it or press it with a stylus on paper, the surface of which serves as a kind of grater that splits the stylus into tiny particles. Due to the pressure on the pencil, the lead particles penetrate the paper fiber, leaving a line, or trace.

Graphite, one of the modifications of carbon, along with coal and diamond, is the main component of the pencil lead. The hardness of the lead depends on the amount of clay added to the graphite. The softest grades of pencils contain little or no clay. Artists and draftsmen work with a whole set of pencils, choosing them depending on the task at hand.

When the lead in a pencil wears off, it can be reused by sharpening it with a special sharpener or razor. Sharpening a pencil is an important process that determines the type of lines drawn with a pencil. There are many ways to sharpen pencils, and each of them gives a different result. The artist should try to sharpen pencils in different ways in order to know exactly which lines can be drawn with one or another pencil when different ways sharpening.

You need to know well the advantages and disadvantages of a pencil, like each material with which you work. Different brands of pencils are used for certain occasions. The following section discusses some types of drawings, indicating what brand of pencil or graphite material they were made.

The examples given give an idea of ​​the strokes and lines made different pencils. As you look at them, take your pencils in turn and see what strokes you can get with each pencil. Surely you will not only want to try each pencil and discover new possibilities for drawing, you will suddenly find that your “pencil sense” has increased. We, as artists, feel the material we use, and this affects the work.

Materials and examples of strokes and lines.

HARD PENCIL

With a hard pencil, you can apply strokes that almost do not differ from each other, except perhaps in length. Tone is usually created by cross hatching. Hard pencils are designated by the letter H. Like soft ones, they have a hardness gradation: HB, H, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H and 9H (the hardest).

Hard pencils are commonly used by planners, architects, and professionals who create precise drawings for which thin, neat lines are important, as when creating perspective or other projection systems. Although the strokes made with a hard pencil differ little from each other, they can be very expressive. Tone, as well as soft, can be created with a hard pencil, shading with cross lines, although the result will be a thinner and more formal drawing.

PROJECTION SYSTEMS FOR HARD PENCILS

Hard pencils are ideal for creating blueprints. As we have already said, such drawings are usually carried out by engineers, designers and architects. The finished drawings must be accurate, they should indicate the dimensions so that the performers, such as craftsmen, following the instructions, can create an object according to the project. Drawings can be made using different systems projections, starting with a plan on a plane and ending with images in perspective.

STROKES WITH A HARD PENCIL
I do not give examples of strokes applied with pencils 7H - 9H.

SOFT PENCIL

A soft pencil has more possibilities for toning and transferring texture than a hard pencil. Soft pencils are designated with the letter B. A pencil marked HB is a cross between a hard and soft pencil and is the main tool between pencils with extreme properties. The range of soft pencils includes HB, B, 2V, 3V, 4V, 5V, bV, 7V, 8V and 9V pencils (the softest). Soft pencils allow the artist to express their ideas through toning, texture reproduction, shading, and even simple lines. The softest pencils can be used to tint a group of objects, although in general I find it more convenient to use a graphite stick in this case. It all depends on which surface you want to apply the tone. If it is a small drawing, such as on AZ paper, then a soft pencil is probably more suitable. But if you want to set the tone for a larger drawing, I would advise you to use a graphite stick.

The only soft pencil that is convenient for making drawings that require high precision - the palm, of course, for a hard pencil - is a pencil with a thin lead that is clamped.

OTHER TYPES OF PENCILS

In addition to the pencils described above, there are other pencils that provide much more room for experimentation and discovery in the field of drawing. You will find these pencils in any store that sells art supplies.

- A pencil placed in a frame of twisted paper - graphite in a frame of twisted paper, which is turned away to release the stylus.
- Rotary pencil - available in many types, with a variety of mechanisms that open the tip of the graphite.
- Pencil with clamping lead - a pencil for sketching with a very soft fuzzy or thick lead.
- A standard thick black pencil, known for many years as "Black Beauty".
- Carpenter's pencil - used by carpenters and builders to measure, write down and sketch new ideas.
- Graphite pencil or stick. This pencil is hard graphite about the same thickness as a regular pencil. A thin film that covers the tip from the outside turns away, revealing graphite. A graphite stick is a thicker piece of graphite, like a pastel, wrapped in paper, which is removed as needed. This is a versatile pencil.
- The watercolor sketch pencil is a normal pencil, but when immersed in water, it can be used as a watercolor brush.

What is graphite.

Graphite is the substance used to make pencil leads, but naturally occurring graphite is not placed in a wooden frame. Graphite mined in different deposits varies in thickness and varying degrees hardness/softness. As can be seen from the drawings, graphite is not intended for creating detailed drawings. It is more suitable for sketches of an expressive nature; it is convenient to work with graphite together with a vinyl eraser.

Graphite pencil you can make quick, heavy, dramatic sketches that use energetic lines, large areas of dark tones, or interesting textured strokes. This way of drawing will convey the mood well, but it is completely unsuitable for making drawings. Graphite is better to draw large drawings: the reasons for this are clear to everyone. Graphite is universal remedy, and before you start working with it, learn more about its properties and features. Since it does not have an outer frame, its side surfaces can be fully utilized. We don't have that opportunity when we draw with a pencil. You will be pleasantly surprised when you see what can be achieved by painting with graphite. Personally, if I draw in a free and dynamic manner, I always use graphite. If you also paint with graphite in this manner, then, no doubt, you will achieve great success.

DRAWING WITH SOFT PENCILS AND GRAPHITE

Unlike a hard pencil, a soft pencil and graphite can make thicker strokes and create a wide tonal spectrum - from deep black to white. Soft pencil and graphite allow you to do this quickly and efficiently. With a soft, sharp enough pencil, you can convey the contour of the object, as well as its volume.

Drawings made by these means are more expressive. They are associated with our feelings, ideas, impressions and thoughts, for example, they can be sketches in a notebook as a result of our first impressions of an object. They may be part of our visual observation and records. The drawings convey the change in tone in the process of observation, either due to creative imagination, or express the surface of the texture. These drawings can also arbitrarily explain or express expression - that is, they themselves can be works visual arts and not blanks for future work.

The eraser enhances the effect of a soft pencil. A soft pencil and eraser allow you to achieve greater expressiveness of the drawing. The eraser, used with a hard pencil, is most often used to correct mistakes, and as an addition to a soft pencil and charcoal, it is a means of creating an image.

Can be achieved different results, if you press them differently when working with a soft pencil and graphite. Pressure allows you to transform an image, either by changing the tone or making strokes more weighty. Look at examples of tone gradations and try to experiment in this direction yourself. When changing the pressure on the pencil, try to change the maximum amount of the image using different movements.

What are erasers.

As a rule, we first get acquainted with the eraser when we need to correct a mistake. We want to erase the place where the mistake was made and continue drawing. Since the eraser is associated with correcting errors, we have a rather negative attitude towards it and its functions. The eraser seems to be a necessary evil, and the more it wears away from constant use, the more often we feel that the om does not meet our requirements. It's time to reconsider the role of the eraser in our work. If you use the eraser skillfully, it can be the most useful tool when drawing. But first you need to give up the idea that mistakes are always bad, because you learn from mistakes.

When sketching, many artists think about the process of drawing or decide how the drawing will look. Sketches can be erroneous, and they need to be corrected in the process. This has happened to every artist - even to such great masters as Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt. Revisiting views is almost always part of the creative process, it is noticeable in many works, especially in sketches, where artists develop their ideas and designs.

The desire to completely erase the errors in the work and start drawing again is one of the common mistakes of novice artists. As a result, they make more bugs or repeat the previous ones, which causes a feeling of dissatisfaction, leading to a sense of failure. When you make corrections, do not erase the original lines until you are satisfied with the new drawing and you feel that these lines are superfluous. My advice: keep the traces of correction, do not completely destroy them, as they reflect the process of your reflection and refinement of the idea.

Another positive function of the eraser is to reproduce areas of light in a tone pattern made with graphite, charcoal or ink. The eraser can be used to give expressiveness to strokes that emphasize texture - a prime example This approach is served by the drawings of Frank Auerbach. In these, the "tonking" technique is an example of using an eraser to create a sense of atmosphere.

There are many types of erasers on the market, with the help of which traces of all substances with which the artist works are removed. Listed below are the types of erasers and their functions.

Soft eraser ("nag"). Usually used for charcoal and pastel drawings, but it can also be used in pencil drawing. This eraser can be given any shape - this is its main advantage. It helps to develop a positive approach to drawing, as it is intended to bring something new to the drawing, and not to destroy what has already been done.

- Vinyl eraser. Usually they erase strokes with charcoal, pastel and pencil. It can also be used to create some types of strokes.
- Indian eraser. Used to remove strokes made with a light pencil.
- Ink eraser. It is very difficult to completely remove strokes made with ink. Erasers for removing ink and typescript come in pencil or round shape. You can use a combination eraser, one end of which removes the pencil, the other - the ink.
- Surface cleaners, namely scalpels, razor blades, pumice stone, fine steel wire, and sandpaper, are used to remove stubborn ink marks from drawings. Obviously, before using these tools, you need to make sure that your paper is thick enough to be able to remove it. upper layer and do not rub to the holes.
- Media applied to paper, such as correction fluid, titanium white or Chinese white. Incorrect strokes are covered with an opaque layer of white. After they dry, you can work on the surface again.

Artist security measures.

When working with materials, do not forget about safety measures. Handle scalpels and razor blades with care. Don't leave them open when you're not using them. Find out if the fluids you use are non-toxic or flammable. So, applying white is a very convenient and cheap way to remove ink, which is based on water, but white is poisonous, and you need to use them with caution.

Pumice stone is used to remove hard-to-erase strokes. However, pumice must be used with care, as it can damage the paper. A razor blade (or scalpel) allows you to scrape off strokes that cannot be removed by other means. They can be used in case of emergency, because by removing extra strokes, you can