Published 7 years ago

Choosing Your Drawing Materials

Today we are going to address the very important topic of drawing materials. I will not go into detail about digital tools, but rather focus on traditional tools. I will also not cover tools specific to any particular work technique, which will be covered in comprehensive and detailed articles if necessary.

Let's start from the beginning:

BASIC DRAWING MATERIALS

By that I mean the essentials that you probably already have, namely: pencil, eraser and paper. In terms of equipment, there are also drawing software programs! What could therefore be useful to you is the article on the best drawing software according to us, this way you know which one is more appropriate, depending on what you are doing! In the useful and indispensable category, I also recommend the article on how to learn to draw, feel free to take a look at our blog!

ART PENCILS FOR DRAWING

Pencils of various hardnesses are identified by a code of letters and numbers. The scale ranges from 9H to 9B.

H = Hard These are pencils with a less intense gray, ideal for lighter, more precise work or for hatching, for example.

B = Blackness These are pencils that allow for much darker lines, ideal for filling areas or tracing over a sketch. They generally also make more mess.

The 9H pencil is thus extremely light, the 9B extremely bold. And in the middle, there's the HB which stands for "hard black".

The same thing applies to the leads of mechanical pencils.

To choose your pencils, you need to know what you will use them for and what your working method is.

Some will prefer to work very lightly with hard pencils, without pressing hard, while others will tend to press more or less to vary the intensity of their strokes and will probably prefer the basic HB.

And others will vary the pencils depending on what they are doing in their drawing, switching from a 2H to a 6B depending on the desired effect.

If you tend to press hard when you work, I recommend avoiding overly hard pencils which are harder to erase. Likewise, when using very soft pencils be careful to use a blotter (a sheet of paper that you place under your working hand) to avoid smearing pigment everywhere.

Mechanical pencils are simpler to manage, with different thicknesses, they are again there for you to choose according to your preference :)

Pencils and bonus leads

Also, be aware that there are pencils and colored leads available. For example, blue or red pencils or leads, which are mainly used for sketching. Notably, blue pencils that did not appear in scans a few years ago. This can be useful for giving a certain style to your sketches or for helping you better visualize what you are drawing.

The bonus tool

The pencil holder! Are you tired of having to throw away your pencils because they become too small and difficult to hold even though there are still about 10 centimeters usable? Use a pencil holder! Slide your pencil into the tip, tighten it, and voila, you have a pencil that is easy to hold and sharpen again. You can then use it until it is only one or two centimeters long! (tested and approved)

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THE ERASERS

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The white eraseris the basic eraser that everyone owns. It gets its name from its color and is suitable for cleanly erasing pencil marks. It has a strong erasing power. It comes in its classic rectangular shape, but also in more elongated and narrow forms, allowing for more precise erasing.

Bread crumb eraseris generally a gray eraser. It gets its name from the fact that in the past, breadcrumbs were actually used to erase marks made by charcoal or pastel. Today, it is made of a material similar to patafix, but less sticky.

This eraser erases more lightly (I would say 50% less strong than the white eraser). It can be used with standard pencils, but is initially suited for charcoal and pastel work.

To use it, knead it in your palm to warm it up then apply it to the area you want to erase (by tapping or erasing as usual depending on whether you want to erase more or less vigorously). And remember to knead it regularly so that the pigments that have settled on its surface move to its center.

Be careful, this eraser has a shorter lifespan than its peers because it absorbs pigments and traps them, so it will eventually start to potentially leave erasable marks (don't worry), a sign that it will be time to replace it. Similarly, remember not to use the same eraser for your work with regular pencils or pastels (which are much messier).

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The electric eraseris an eraser that works through a small machine that emits vibrations. This allows you to erase your lines with greater precision. In my opinion, it is not necessarily essential. It's up to you to decide if you feel the need to get one or not ^^

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It's always good to have different types of erasers depending on what you're using to draw and your needs. Personally, I have a classic white eraser, a finer white eraser, and a kneaded eraser that I use to erase my sketches so that I can just see my lines a bit before going over them with a pencil to make the finished and detailed drawing.

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THE PAPER

The basic white paper

The one used for home printers, sold in blocks of 500 sheets. Ideal for drafts, very white, it allows testing most tools. Moreover, for those who are not aware, this paper is available in different thicknesses, from 60g/m² up to 350g/m².

In general, at home, you will have 80g/m², maybe 90g/m² or even 120g/m². Since this paper is more often used for drafts than anything else, there is no need to look for heavier weights.

Papers of 80 or 90g/m² are quite thin, to the point that you can see through them, which can be useful for those who want to neatly copy a sketch they made or use less qualitative sheets to draw whatever comes to mind. On the other hand, 120g/m² paper is much more opaque, use it for more finished drawings.

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Machine-made paper is mainly used for sketching. Very smooth, it is not at all suitable for charcoal and pastel, and even less so for painting. Prefer pencils and pens.

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In general, choose your paper based on what you are going to draw on it. Here are some examples:

For working with alcohol markers, like Promarker or Copic:

A thin and smooth paper is recommended, like "layout paper". Smooth to ensure a uniform finish (no streaks). Thin, so that the paper doesn't absorb too much ink, thereby increasing the lifespan of your markers.

This will also prevent the ink from "bleeding" into the paper, as can happen with machine paper for example, which absorbs much more ink and therefore does not allow you to do a clean and precise job.

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For charcoal or pastel work

In this case, we are looking for a bit more texture. Type Ingres paper or classic Canson paper. This also depends on personal taste. Some people really like seeing the paper's texture, while others do not at all. However, be careful, as paper that is too smooth will have trouble holding onto pigments (a single touch to your drawing and it could all come off).

Likewise, textured papers generally have two sides, one textured and the other smoother. Typically, it’s the textured side that is used, but you might prefer the smoother side; again, it’s up to you to test and see what suits you best. In any case, make sure to check before you start that you are working on the correct side.

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For watercolor and painting in general

Opt for a thicker paper. It will need to absorb a lot of water, so it must be relatively thick. It can also have some texture, such as "watercolor" type paper.

It is entirely possible to use thicker regular Canson paper as well (at least 180g/m²), although it may deteriorate faster (might absorb less water / material). Here again, it's a matter of personal taste ^^

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For the pencil

Choose a relatively smooth paper to spread and diffuse your pigments easily.

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For ink work

Whether with a pen, brush, or marker, it's preferable to use very smooth and white bristol-type papers. However, I find them less suitable for wash drawing as the ink dries very quickly on them (which can leave marks or prevent certain effects, but can also create an interesting texture).

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Bonus

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The colored papers

Generally, lightly textured Canson papers, colored or gray papers are very practical for already laying down a base color for your drawings and dressing them up a bit. They also allow you to achieve a very pleasant result with just a few tools, using only a pencil or a black pen and a white pencil or white pen.

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The black paper

To work in negative or to highlight a colored drawing, black paper can be very interesting and yield results that are quite different from what we are used to seeing.

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Kraft paper

Of lesser quality, its brown color, like colored paper, allows for pleasant results. Preferably used for sketches. A black pen and a white pen and you're all set to sketch everything you see :D However, paint might not adhere well to it, so be careful.

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SKETCHBOOKS

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They come in all sizes and types of paper. Sewn binding or spiral, opening on the side or top, vertical or horizontal orientation, recycled paper, basic thin paper, kraft paper or watercolor paper, there's something for everyone! Just be sure to choose notebooks that suit your needs and desires.

Even though it’s always possible to paint with watercolor on bad paper (it will buckle and be more difficult to work with), as mentioned before, everything is a matter of preference and budget ^^

It's not the tool that makes the artist.

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SPECIFIC DRAWING MATERIALS

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For each practice, specific tools are necessary. For the most part, I feel like it's up to you to test them out and determine what suits you best. If you prefer inking your drawings with a ballpoint pen rather than an art marker, it doesn't make you any less of an artist. Just as if you prefer using watered-down gouache rather than proper watercolor for your work.

Hey, that's all quite creative too :D What matters is not the quality of your tools, but rather that you feel comfortable using them. Ballpoint pen drawings are common, even though that's not exactly the primary function of that tool.

In general, I encourage you to test and experiment with the tools you see at your friends' or in stores.

For precision markers and pens, for example, you often have small blocks of paper available to test their thickness and how they write. It’s also a good way for you to judge the intensity of the pen's blackness, for instance, to see if it holds well after erasing or if it doesn’t bleed when you go over it with an alcohol marker or water (in the case of watercolor painting, for example).

And if you need your marker to be water or alcohol resistant (if not needed, so much the better, it will probably cost less ^^).

You can indeed find many equipment tests on the internet and especially on Youtube. Comparisons between different inks, for example. With different drying times, whether they smudge with alcohol markers, or water, their price, whether the color is very intense or not, and the size of the bottle. All this can help you make an informed choice about the product that will best suit you :3

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Editor: Rakjah