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Message
Posted
Gonna be dipping into the world of pencil drawing soon..... I know about the graphite pencils as I've used them for years and putty rubbers. But the surface to draw on I'm unsure about.
I've read Bristol Board is good to use. And I know someone who uses 300g hot pressed watercolour paper..... So, anyone recommend a quality drawing surface. Oh and fixing too..... Hair spray 😉😉
Posted
The red and yellow Daler-Rowney pads of cartridge paper are fine for most graphite and ink drawings; Bristol board and hot pressed w/colour paper offer very smooth surfaces - it just depends on the results you want. There is also heavier weight cartridge paper, also made by Daler-Rowney, whose papers I generally like more than many others.
Fixative - if you're going to use fixative, for goodness' sake DON'T use hairspray - in time, it always yellows, and the higher quality stuff that you can easily brush out may be good for the flowing locks but doesn't actually fix the drawing reliably. I'd use Mars Lumograph pencils, which don't shine in the darker/softer grades and don't really need to be fixed - and fixative designed for work in graphite (or whatever), however much it costs. Or yeah, the tissue paper alternative - my sketchbooks do get quite messy, with pencil, charcoal (and finger) marks all over the place, but I've found the D-R cartridge will keep work clean, provided you look after the books properly and don't work over them with other drawings or drop them on the floor as I often do. And then not infrequently tread on them.....
Posted
Tony, you may consider trying the Wolff's carbon pencils. They come in B - 6B and will give you a very dark and positive mark. In my opinion so much nicer to use than graphite. They have merged with Royal Sovereign some years ago so both brand names now appear on the pencil.
Keep clear of Bristol board, it has no tooth and is great for Rapidograph or any pen work, but not designed for pencils. A good quality cartridge paper is adequate, you need that 'tooth'. The only answer is to try a few and see what results you get.
Robert is so right about the hair spray, please tell me it was a joke. The W&N fixative in a spray can is all you need ( that's if it does need it), or of course the stuff in a bottle, along with the good old atomiser and a bit of blowing, that's my preference when I fix my pastel work.
Posted
A while back, looking for something else, I saw a ringed scrap book for sale in Wilkinsons or somewhere for about a fiver. Ever on the lookout for paper I was amazed at the quality of satin finished cartridge paper in it. I bought and used it and it was just fine. There are twenty leaves in it, ten inches square and it's great for smaller work. and I think paper stated specifically for a purpose, ie Watercolour, acrylic etc is more expensive than that in such books as photograph albums, scrapbooks etc. Worth having a look at.