Short Drawing Tip #5: Mechanical vs Wood case

Mechanical pencil (also known as clutch pencils) or wood case?

Not sure how to tackle this vast subject and give it it all it is due so I'll base it on my experience and nothing more.

When starting out, all I used to draw with was a 2B wood cased Derwent pencil.
With the one grade of pencil, I taught myself to draw all the tones, shades and contrasts.
(psst: I was totally oblivious to the fact that you could fill a mechanical clutch pencil with anything other than a 0.5mm HB lead!)

This was an invaluable lesson and still find today that I will complete most of a drawing with a 2B.
Relying too heavily on different leads to achieve a desired effect can take away from the spontaneity of your drawing.

Since those early days, things have changed: my heart has taken a shine to the mechanical cousins.
They are able to give a consistency in quality of lead, weight, length and sharpness unrivalled by the wood cased pencils.


I have three Staedlers Mars Technico filled with 2mm  2B, 4B and F leads, two BFH Totiens filled with 2mm 6B & 4H leads and my old faithful Faber Castell filled with a 2mm 2H lead.
Also in the mix are my two experienced techniclick Pentels filled with 0.5mm 2B & F.

... and the there where 8 - all "Scribble Friends"gathered

I keep them sharp thanks to my faithful blue sharpener with a fancy name (Staedler 502 Mars 2mm Lead Pointer)
Important to note: A sharp point = detail.
Therefore blue mister fancy name is crucial to the success of the drawing.
This is definitely where the quality of the sharpener plays a key role.
Longevity and reliability are necessary. I can definately vouch for it, having never had to try another leadholder sharpener... ever.

"Blue mister fancy name" alongside the most used of my clutches: my 2B Staedler technico.

I also collect the graphite dust, which I store in an airtight container. I use the dust for added effect when drawing sand and dirt.
Blue mister fancy name has the point cleaner missing, so in order to clean excess graphite off the tip, I carefully spear wee lumps of Blu-Tack which sit stuck to my drawing board.

Speared Blu-Tack on drawing board

SDT #5

Try out both a 2mm 2B mechanical and 2B wood case pencil , you will 
discover 

very quickly where your preference lies, what you feel comfortable with and which you enjoy holding and using the most.Keep the 2B lead and draw one drawing using only the one lead. You will learn so much, in a very short time, about the power of pencil :D
Keep your point sharp for added detail and don't forget to collect the

graphite dust for finishing touches. Clean excess graphite off tip with BLu-Tack.

P.S: If you're interested in knowing more about wood cased pencils, I have reviewed my pencils in detail The full page post can be found in my pages.




Discover more of my Short Drawing Tips (SDT):


Short Drawing Tip #1: Paper Choice
Short Drawing Tip #2: Warm-Up
Short Drawing Tip #3: Protect your Paper
Short Drawing Tip #4: Dust don't Blow

Lemon attack!

Sweet and sour lemons.
They're coming from every direction, fast and furious.
Seriously, life's throwing lemons like there's no tomorrow!
In some sort of defensive response, I find myself very very busy catching them in the hope of making some sort of lemonade!
(Not really liking lemonade and having no firm idea what a good lemonade should taste like is not helping!).

So, I'm juggling! Juggling the little lemony things,  juggling them into a fusion of harmonious mixes, working out delicate blends of sweet and sour that would knock even Jamie Oliver and Michel Roux's socks off!

There's no hiding place right now, a fighting smile the answer.
The day life's' lemons forget about "moi" is near.
Until then it's a stoic chin-up, warmish smiles and making darn sure to remember the little things in life really are the very best.

Short Drawing Tip #4: Dust don't Blow

Always resist all temptation to blow dust, graphite or eraser debris off of your drawing.
It is all to easy to have little particles of spit hit the paper!

Brush your paper clean.
The best way is to use a soft bristle brush.
Any soft bristle brush will do.

I use a draftsman dusting brush which can be found in all good art stores.  (I like the size it covers a wide stretch of my drawing in one swoop!)

Tip #4

Never blow on your work to remove eraser debris or dust but use a fine bristle brush.



In case you've mist the first few SDTs, here's where you can discover more:


Short Drawing Tip #1: Paper Choice
Short Drawing Tip #2: Warm-Up
Short Drawing Tip #3: Protect your Paper

Short Drawing Tip #3: Protect your Paper

This is a very simple short tip but one I hope you will find useful.



The contact made by your hand on the paper will leave a greasy film.  The natural oils in your hand will rub off and leave a fine film over the paper.
This change in texture is very difficult to work on, to draw on and should be avoided at all costs.
I use a piece of tracing paper, I like the smooth feel and the fact that I can still see through it, which I attach to my drawing board, not directly to my drawing.

Tip #3
When drawing always use a hand-guard to protect your paper from smudging and grease.

Hope these snippets of info are being beneficial to discovering a little more of the behind the scenes on how a drawing comes about.
Coming up over the next few weeks will be more simple short tips relevant to pencil choice, blending, getting darks dark, starting point, layering but until then you are very welcome to check out

Short Drawing Tip #1: Paper Choice
Short Drawing Tip #2: Warm-Up

Short Drawing Tip #2 - Warm-up

Warm-up your drawing hand inside and out!
Sounds weird?

Over the last few years I have started to feel the flexibility leave my nibble fingers.
The result of 20 plus years of heavy carrying, pulling, lumbering and shovelling I donated to equine maintenance.

Two years ago, I wrote this post Hot mugs and sketched circles  in which I explain the benefits of holding a hot mug of water for as long as possible letting the heat penetrate as deeply as possible (outside warm-up) and how I then follow-up by scribbling in quick succession a series of mad circles swooping them in all directions (inside warm-up).

Actually, the post gains a wee bit more depth and explains how Renoir battled with arthritis ... ( if you have a minute you really should have a read or re-read: it's still amazes me how he (Renoir) overcomes crippling pain to produce such beauty.)

Today, I have added another step  to my routine and that is to scrunch (10-20 times) a miniature rugby ball (gets the blood flowing nicely).

Tip #2
Warm up your hand, arm, shoulder, body before starting a drawing session.
This really makes getting into a flow and finding a good rhythm that much easier. May sound mad but the result on paper has proved it to be well worth it!

p.s: if you missed tip #1(Paper Choice)  no problemo here's the link