What is the name of a simple pencil. Graphite

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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 nib of a pencil 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.” The 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 (color of graphite pencils of 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) have different markings for the hardness of pencils.

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). 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.

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

Of course, the classic version is a lead 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).

New disposable pencil with a wooden frame, the lead must be sharpened (refined) before the first use. In addition to disposable pencils there are reusable mechanical pencils with interchangeable leads in a permanent setting.

Pencilsdiffer in the hardness of the stylus, which is usually indicated onpenciland is marked with lettersM(or B- from English. blackness) - soft andT(or H- from English. hardness) - solid. Standard (hard-soft) pencil in addition to combinationsTM and HBdenoted by the letterF(from English fine point). Degree of softnesspencilsdenoted by a letterM(soft) or 2M, ZMetc. Capital letter beforeMindicates greater softnesspencil. Solid pencilsdenoted by a letterT(solid). 2 T harder than T, ST harder than 2 T, etc.

Unlike Europe and Russia, in the USA a numerical scale is used to indicate hardness.

Table of correspondence of hardness scales

Hue	USA	Europe	Russia
	#1	B	M
	#2	HB	TM
	#2 1/2	F	-
	#3	H	T
	#4	2H	2T

The hardest Average The softest

*****

Usually start pencilmedium soft -TM or M- and then move on to softer numbers "-2 M and ZM.

Choice pencilsdepends on quality and from the creative task that the artist sets himself. For example, fast easier to make softpencils, while working on long time for semi-whatman type, you can start light pencils T or TM. On a smooth lays down better soft pencil, on a more rough handypencilmedium soft -2 M.

History of pencils

Since the 13th century, artists have used thinsilver wire that was soldered to the handle or stored in a case. This type pencil called « silver pencil » . This tool required a high level , since it is impossible to erase what he has drawn. Its other characteristic feature was that, over time, gray, inflicted silver pencilturned brown.

There was and "lead pencil" , which left a discreet but clear mark and was often used for preparatory. For completed silver and lead pencil, characterized by thin . For example, likepencilsused by Dürer.

Also known as the so-called"Italian pencil" which appeared in the 14th century. It was a rod of clay black slate . Then they began to make it from burnt bone powder, fastened with vegetable . This tool allowed you to create an intense and rich It is interesting that even now artists sometimes use silver, lead anditalian pencilswhen they need to achieve a certain effect.

In the XV-XVI centuries. on parchment or painted with a silver or lead pin ( German Stiff - "base, tool"). A silver lead is especially good for this purpose. It gives thin and clear and similar to a chisel. Such dense almost never fade. silver pin, or stylus , drew many Italian artists as well Northern Renaissance- R. van der Weiden, A. Dürer, H. Holbein (Holbein) Jr., J. fan Eyck.

In the era and XVI-XVII centuries artists preferred soft or liquid materials - , , , , . Ever since the end of the XIV century. began to use slightly burnt clay grayish slate ( "black chalk") or red-brown ("red chalk").

In the 17th century spread"Italian pencil" (French Crayon d'Italie). It was made from burnt bones , crushed into powder, with the addition of vegetable . " Italian pencil" (later -retouch) is able to create juicy black matte , and when rubbing - a wide scale transitions. This material was a favorite in creativity Venetian artists, such as Titian, it is convenient for them to make preparatory to . and " Italian pencil"artists painted and romance of the late XVIII-XIX centuries.

known since the 16th century. First description pencilwas found in the 1564 works on minerals by the Swiss naturalist Konrad Geisler. At the same time, the discovery of the deposit in England, in Cumberland where sawn into pencil rods. English shepherds from the Cumberland area found a dark mass in the ground, which they used to mark their sheep. because of, similar to lead, the deposit was taken 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 usually sold on the streets. Artists, to make it more convenient and the stick was not so soft, clamped these « pencils » between pieces of wood or twigs, wrapped them inpaper or tied them with twine.

The first document that mentions a woodenpencil, dated 1683. Production in Germany pencilsstarted in Nuremberg. Germans, mixing with sulfur and , received a rod of not such high quality, but at a lower price. To hide it, the producerspencilsresorted to various tricks. In wooden casepencilat the beginning and at the end they inserted pieces of clean , while in the middle there was a low-quality artificial rod. Sometimes the insidepenciland was completely empty. So-called "Nuremberg Goodsdid not have a good reputation.

It wasn't until 1761 that Caspar Faber developed a way to strengthen by mixing powdered with resin and antimony, resulting in a thick mass suitable for casting stronger and more uniform rods.

At the end of XVIII century Czech I. Hartmut began to make rods for pencils from a mixture and clay followed by firing. Appeared rods reminiscent of modern ones. By changing the amount of added clay, it was possible to obtain rods of various hardness.

Modern pencil 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 from Cumberland. For violation of this prohibition, the punishment was very severe, up to the death penalty. But despite this continued to get smuggled into continental Europe, which led to a sharp increase in its price.

On the instructions of the French convention, Conte developed a recipe for mixing with clay and the production of 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 for modern classification.pencils by hardness.

It is estimated that pencilwith a rod length of 18 cm can be carried out 55 km or write 45,000 words!

Modern leads use polymers that allow you to achieve the desired combination of strength and elasticity, make it possible to produce very thin leads for mechanical pencils(up to 0.3 mm).

Hexagonal body shape pencil proposed at the end of the 19th century by Count Lothar von Fabercastle, noting that pencils round sections often roll off sloping writing surfaces.

Almost ²/ 3 material constituting a simplepencil, goes to waste when it is sharpened. This prompted the American Alonso Townsend Cross to create in 1869metal pencil. the 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 construction is mechanical pencil with a 2 mm lead, where the rod is held by metal clamps ( collets) - collet pencil. Collets open by pushing a button at the end pencil, resulting in extension to a user-adjustable length pencil.

Modern mechanical pencilsmore perfect. Each time the button is pressed, a small section of the lead is automatically fed. Suchpencilsdo not need to be sharpened, they are equipped with a built-in (usually under the lead feed button) with an eraser and have different fixed thicknesses (0.3mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, 0.9mm, 1mm).

pencil have grayish with a slight sheen, they do not have intense blackness.

famous french Emmanuel Poiret (1858-1909 ), born in Russia, came up with an aristocratic French-sounding pseudonymCaran d'Ache with which he began to sign his works. Later, this version of the French transcription of the Russian word"pencil" was chosen as the name and trademark of the Swiss brandCARAN d'ACHE based in Geneva pencilssharpened on fine-grained emery cloth), reminiscent of italian pencil . Pencil « RetouchThere are four numbers: No. 1 - very soft, No. 2 - soft, No. 3 - medium-hard, No. 4-hard. rodspencil « Retouch» are made from finely ground birch charcoal, clay and a small amount of carbon black.Pencils « Retouch» give an intense, bold streak of black which blends well. made in pencilRetouch", may not be fixed with a fixative. In addition to the black pencil "Retouch", another pencil is produced"Painting» marked 2 M- 4 M.

Pencil "Blueprint"

Except , as . Gives a blacker and more contrasting streak that is better perceived by various photocopy settings. produced for wood marking, as well as"Carpentry". For this work" Joiner's» pencil convenient because of its length and thick stylus.

Italian pencil

Italian pencilis one of the types of freestyle pencils. Its distinctive feature is a deep matte velvety black , easily blendable .

Italian pencilused when performing, as well as naked human body.
Italian pencilsknown since the 15th century. They are hard, medium and soft.

WHAT CAN A PENCIL

graphic artist Stanislav Mikhailovich NIKIREEV

If we turn to painters, graphic artists, muralists and even sculptors with this question, then everyone would find in an ordinary simple pencil, in its artistic and technical capabilities, something of their own, beloved, and we would not hear a definite answer. But everything is probablycothey say that the pencil was not invented in vain, and drawing begins with its help - in the form of sketches and sketches. A great many works of art created pencil.

Pencildraw. But what ispicture ? This question is not so easy to answer briefly. Every significant artist contributes to the art of drawing, although there is a general opinion about the drawing as the basis, the backbone of fine art. I recall the words of the remarkable Soviet artist and teacher, academician E. A. Kibrik, from whom I was lucky to learn. He said:

“It took more than a decade before I understood what drawing is.”

He had in mind the drawing of a high, realistic art, the most difficult in its artistic manner, where line and stroke line up objects, figures, landscapes in volume, weight, characteristic.

I would like to allow some liberties, simplicity in the definition of the word "drawing", calling it what is drawn with a pencil on paper.

Quite often I had to make friends and work with pencils, simple and colored, for a long time, and now I need to remember ( after all, my creative path is already three decades old), what did I draw for them and how.

Drawing with a pencil with full seriousness, devoting most of your creative time to this activity, is not easy. It is necessary to overcome the temptation of paints, colors and feel confident that you can express in a silver or black image, along with a clear constructiveness, a tonal-painterly mood. To decide on this means to win, the first, significant one. The second victory of extreme importance is when you manage to understand that an artist can create masterpieces not only with paints, but also with a pencil. With the brightest clarity, magnificent drawings will help in this.Leonardo da Vinci , Michelangelo, Durer, Holbein, Rembrandt, Vrubel, Serov. If the shining peaks of their creativity is painting, then the basis, no doubt, is the drawing.

In the artist's work, the pencil performs a great ancillary work, allowing you to make sketches, sketches, sketches, which serve as a preparatory stage for works of easel and monumental painting, prints. The work is responsible and essential. The maximum value of the qualities of a pencil is manifested in independent drawings, when the artist needs to express his ideas more fully and completely. And the pencil will not let you down with its endless scale of elusive shades, delicate shadings and juicy velvet spots, from the thinnest cobweb to resolutely intense, elastic lines. If we add to this the varying softness and degree of gray-black gradations, then the pencil's abilities are superior to any other.art material .

Working with pencils, I never feel annoyed that at some point they may be powerless to express my desires and ideas. With a simple pencil, I studied plasters, still lifes, portraits and figures of sitters during long sessions, diligently shading and carefully working out the details. But with a special desire I draw landscapes - grass, flowers, trees, land, buildings. At the same time, I study not only their design, materiality,invoice , but I strive to convey various “moods” on paperlandscape .

The pencil is light and easy to correct, which is especially important when working in wildlife, and almost indispensable on trips, where you meet many interesting moments that you would like to capture, while it is impossible to use other art materials due to time constraints.Line andstain , which the pencil gives, help to easily and quickly enter exciting moments, the necessary details into the artist's travel album.

It is difficult to imagine the surrounding life, so to speak, in black and white, without color. It so happened that I parted with watercolors and oils a long time ago, devoting all my time and energy to graphics, but I acquired a reliable assistant - a colored pencil that fully satisfies my needs to work in color. The opinion was strengthened that the colored pencil is poor and limited in the color range. Is it worth it, however, to demand from uncomplexity and wealthoil painting ? But we must strive to use to the end of its capabilities.

Sometimes drawing comes down either to imitation of children's drawings, or to admiring mannerisms: the sweeping stroke, line, spot, pure
formal compositional solutions. Many professional artists sometimes draw, as it were, during a break, during a break from painting or other activities. Hence the frivolous approach to the pencil, lightweight drawings, which are often seen at exhibitions.

When I first tried to seriously work with a colored pencil, as a student, I admired the unusual elasticity, texture of lines and strokes.

I wanted to see the motive in sweeping and sometimes random lines and in no case allow shading. The paper breathed and the lines were really beautiful. But if the goals of art were reduced to solving such problems, then artists would be, as they say, a dime a dozen. Thinking about what I draw and why, made me look at pencil work in a different way. Gradually, other charms began to open up, other virtues, less flashy, but noble and necessary for expressing ideas. The amazing ability of a pencil to convey the smallest objects and details with extraordinary clarity of form was discovered, enveloping these forms at the same time with the finest fluffiness of a stroke or coloring with a juicy sonorous spot. This technique corresponded to my understanding of the world, and I could not achieve this in other artistic materials. It turned out that the color possibilities of the pencil are much wider and deeper when you try to convey the mood and state of the landscape. At the same time, a purely pictorial technique is also used - scraping, when it is not possible to immediately guess the color, texture, and tone of objects. It would seem that the drawing is drying up, in some places it is careless from scraping, but the completeness of the sheet, dictated by the content, and not by formal moments, acquires a true meaning and beauty.

In such work, many times he went so far from drawing with a stroke and a line into purely shading spots that the sheet took on the form casually called by the artists "oilcloth". But if this technique is warmed by a great, genuine love and passion for what I shaded so imperceptibly under the “oilcloth”, then, I assure you, the success of this discreet sheet is guaranteed with a greater guarantee than the “tasty” one decided. Thus, the ability of a colored pencil to work in multiple sessions was discovered, starting a drawing easily, leading it to a weighty conclusion.

With each drawing, I learn about all the new possibilities of the pencil. You just need to carefully, sensitively look at a small lead in a wooden frame, and it will give great joy and success.

I love the pencil because you can draw with it. I love jealously, because he is still capable of much more - to draw, write. I love it for its amazing accessibility and simplicity, for the fact that I drew my first work from life with a simple pencil, and then I had a dream of becoming an artist.

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 at the beginning of the 17th century. Prior to this, lead or silver rods (known as a silver pencil) were used for drawing. The modern form of a lead or graphite pencil in a wooden frame came into use at the beginning of the 19th century.

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 pencil or another with different sharpening methods.

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 by 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 projection systems, from a plan on a plane to 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 of 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 can be used to make quick, heavy, dramatic sketches using 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. It is better to draw large drawings with graphite: the reasons for this are clear to everyone. Graphite is a versatile tool, 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, these 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 of fine art, and not blanks for future work.

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

You can achieve 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 what the drawing will look like. 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. Rethinking ideas is almost always part of the creative process and is visible 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 mistakes or repeat old 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 add expressiveness to strokes that emphasize texture - a striking example of this approach are 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 with 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 products, you need to make sure that your paper is thick enough so that you can peel off its top layer and not rub it into 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

The quality depends on the correct selection of the hardness of the pencils.

Hard pencils with a sharpened and dry point can be used to draw grayish lines. These pencils usually have the letter H (from the English hard - "hard"). They are good for high-precision images, such as line drawings or drawings. Hard leads, unlike soft leads, give thin lines and do not leave excessive marks on paper.

Soft pencils have an oil-based lead. Drawing with such a pencil and lightly pressing on the lead, you can get more dark and thick lines. They put the letter B (from the English bold - "bold"). In artistic drawing, the use of soft pencils makes it possible to give greater expressiveness and expressiveness to the work of the artist.

A well-sharpened pencil lead marked 6B allows you to make a good sketch. The basis of the sketch is applied with a soft stylus. To get pale lines, you should tilt the pencil.
As you create a drawing, you need to gradually impose new strokes on the previous ones in order to deepen the shadows and expand the midtones. Lightened areas on white paper remain unpainted, that is, they do not need to be stroked.

Types of pencils

Special art pencils

Pencils are usually divided into simple and colored. A simple pencil has a graphite lead and writes in gray with shades from light to almost black (depending on the hardness of the graphite).

A new disposable pencil with a wooden lead frame often needs to be sharpened (sharpened) before the first use. In addition to disposable pencils, there are reusable mechanical pencils with replaceable leads in a permanent frame.

Pencils differ in the hardness of the lead, which is usually indicated on the pencil and is indicated by the letters M (or B - from the English blackness (lit. black)) - soft and T (or H - from the English hardness (hardness)) - hard. A standard (hard-soft) pencil, in addition to combinations of TM and HB, is denoted by the letter F (from the English fine point (thinness)).

Unlike Europe and Russia, in the USA a numerical scale is used to indicate hardness.

The hardest

→

Average

→

The softest

History of the pencil

Mechanical pencils

Mechanical pencil leads

Pencils "Art" 1959

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 "silver pencil". This instrument required a high level of skill, since it is impossible to erase what it has drawn. Its other 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.

The so-called Italian pencil is also known, which appeared in the 14th 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. It is interesting that artists still sometimes use silver, lead and Italian pencils when they need to achieve a certain effect.

In 1789, the scientist Carl Wilhelm Scheele proved that graphite is a material made from carbon. He also gave the current name to the material - graphite (from other Greek γράφω - I write). Since graphite was used for strategic purposes at the end of the 18th century, for example, for the production of a crucible for cannonballs, the English Parliament imposed a strict ban on the export of precious graphite from Cumberland. Prices for graphite in continental Europe skyrocketed, as at that time only graphite from Cumberland was considered exceptional for writing. In 1790, the Viennese craftsman Josef Hardmuth mixed graphite dust with clay and water and fired the mixture in a kiln. Depending on the amount of clay in the mixture, he was able to obtain material of varying hardness. In the same year, Josef Hardmuth founded the Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth pencil business, named after the Kohinoor diamond (pers. کوہ نور‎ - "Mountain of Light"). His grandson Friedrich von Hardmuth improved the mixture formula and in 1889 was able to produce rods with 17 different degrees of hardness.

Regardless of Hartmut, in 1795, the French scientist and inventor Nicolas Jacques Conte produced a graphite dust rod using a similar method. Hartmut and Conte are equally progenitors of the modern pencil lead. Until the middle of the 19th century, this technology was widely used throughout Europe, which led to the emergence of such well-known Nuremberg pencil factories as Staedtler, Faber-Castell, Lyra and Schwan-Stabilo. The hexagonal shape of the pencil body was suggested in 1851 by Count Lothar von Faber-Castell, the owner of the Faber-Castell factory, after noticing that round pencils often roll off sloping writing surfaces. This form is still produced by various manufacturers.

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).

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 collet mechanical pencil with a 2 mm lead, where the rod is held by metal clamps - collets. The collets are released by pressing a button on the end of the pencil, allowing the user to extend the lead to an adjustable length. Modern mechanical pencils are more perfect - each time the button is pressed, a small section of the lead is automatically fed by a unidirectional pusher, which holds the lead instead of collets. 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).

Copy pencils

In the past, a special kind of graphite pencils was produced - copying(commonly referred to as "chemical"). To obtain indelible traces, water-soluble dyes (eosin, rhodamine or auramine) were added to the core of the carbon pencil. A document filled with an indelible pencil was wetted with water and pressed with a special press (mentioned, say, in The Golden Calf) to a clean sheet of paper. It left a (mirror) imprint, which was filed into the file.

Copying pencils were widely used as a cheap and practical replacement for ink pens.

The invention and distribution of ballpoint pens led to the decline and cessation of the production of this type of pencil.