Well, it's Monday, January 4th 2010, and this is the day that most people here (England) are all officially back at work, maybe throughout most of the World, so I thought I would too, hence the blog post!
But firstly I would like to welcome the following people who have joined since the last posting. They are - Elisha, Fiona, Bailey and Banjo. Thank you for making the effort to join, and I appreciate it.
This time seeing as it is a New Year, new start etc, I would try and encourage some of you (those who have made resolutions, and I know who you are), to at least pick up your pencils and have a go. But what sort of pencils, will any old thing do; what paper should I use - anything? Basically yes - if you are not too bothered about your end results; but if you do mind, then a little investment of pence - literally, is all that's needed.
The pencil your child has, or the one you keep by the phone etc is probably no good. The lead in it is far too hard, and sharpened to a needle-like point is no good for drawing and sketching - but excellent for what it is designed for - writing. Usually it has the letter "H" somewhere on the side - as in "H" for "Hard". I use a softer leaded pencil - a 2B, which I find suits my needs. Some people, myself on occassion, will use something like a 4B, which is very soft indeed. One this soft gives a darker, broader stroke, and there are times when using something like this will be of use. Beware though that because it is a softer lead - it also smudges easier too! Pencils are often only pence each, and I suggest you buy 2, the reason being I will tell you later!
As for paper, well it pays to use quality cartridge paper, nice, smooth, clean and white, but there are also rougher textured papers if you need more of a grainy (like tree bark) effect to your work. You can buy them in a variety of sizes - A6 upwards, and I like the spiral bound ones, so you can fold the booklet flat. They also come in cardboard or hard backed versions. It's often easier to buy an A6 or A5 size to start with - easy to carry around and store. If you are shy, a smaller pad is easier to use and more descreet. Most art or multi store style shops sell them, and they are not expensive. To complete your "kit", you will need an eraser, and the best sort to use is a soft putty one, again under £1. A harder school style "plastic" eraser often leaves marks and dirty smudges. A putty one is quite surprising the first time you use it, don't rub hard, and it gently lifts off your little errors, leaving your surface cleaner too. You can also nip and make points with it, to lift out or erase small places and marks.
Once you have purchased your pencils, use a small hacksaw or very sharpe knife and cut them into half at least, even into three! Then, with a sharp knife, cut back plenty of the wood and leave a nice, long piece of lead, but not pointed. This enables you to use the pencil held sideways in your hand, and not like you are about to start writing with it. Like I explained previously, use your nails to protect the paper from your hand, grease, dirt etc. This cutting also gives you the advantage of having "extra" pencils - so you will never lose them all, handy if you are out for the day or on holiday etc! Have a look at the photo I have posted and see the differences I have been talking about.
The yellow ochre coloured pencil is a normal length hard writing one. The two top ones are both 2B pencils, showing that you can get three sketching pencils out of one, and the bottom black pencil is a heavy 4B - just look at the thickness of the soft lead compared to the others! So for probably less that £5 you have half a dozen pencils, an eraser, and a small 20-odd page sketch book.
Right - we are now all set to have a go - but - like all good cliffhangers - you will have to wait for the next post to progress any further!
Whatever your favourite art is - enjoy it.
Paul
No comments:
Post a Comment