Graphite Pencil
DISCOVERING THE POTENTIAL OF AN EVERYDAY TOOL
Graphite pencil is a great starting point for a beginning artist. Not only do you have most of the materials lying around the house, but you can use a little something called an “eraser,” which makes experimentation a lot less scary.
Start out with an understanding in pencil hardness. The lead (or graphite center) of each pencil is labeled by number and letter. “H” pencils are hard and produce light lines, whereas “B” pencils are soft and create darker lines. The higher the number that accompanies the letter, the harder or softer it is. HB and F are not considered hard or soft. Beware of the extremes; super-hard pencils can scratch your paper, and super-soft pencils smudge easily. (Note that the common “number 2” pencil is actually an HB.)
You may want to purchase a set of pencils with a range of hardness levels. Create little gradations of each pencil, moving from dark to light by changing the amount of pressure applied. This will give you a feel for the values you can produce with each. Note the differences in value above between a 6B (left), HB (middle), and 3H (right).
A common shading technique for graphite is called hatching (above left), which involves filling in an area with parallel marks. Crosshatching (above right) builds on hatching with additional layers of parallel strokes.
Use a blending stump (rolled paper) to create soft blends by rubbing it over the graphite. (Avoid using your finger, which leaves oil on the paper.)
Some people might be tempted to dismiss pencil as an informal medium used for sketching or creating studies before working in another medium. In fact, as evidenced by the piece at left, graphite pencil can be used to create stunning, photo-realistic work. —ETG
Portrait of Anthony Ramey in graphite by Lance Richlin.