I may be overthinking this a bit (as I'm apt to do) but I love the access that pencil marks in finished art give the viewer. It's like this beckoning not just to see the work but to envision the process and recognize the humanity of the artist. It's the way I feel when I can see the patches of bare canvas in one of Vincent's paintings -- it just makes the whole work feel more encompassing and real to me.
For a book project, I did 41 illustrations of birds in graphite. Early on, I discovered the Tombow Monozero eraser which I would cut into a chisel shape to make very fine erasures for highlights. I also found many similar uses for kneaded erasers to soften feather edges and the like. I love working in graphite and erasers are just as important as the pencil (which was a Pentel GraphGear 500 0.3mm HB).
Thank you for sharing this! I have come to realize that both have a place in my drawing toolkit. Sometimes I need to get out of my way and just go in with the pen and let it be. But without also taking the time to work in pencil and then revise, I won't improve. I also find that sometimes I just need a bare skeleton to start with -- and my pen work can do the revision. I wonder if it's related to aphantasia -- my mind's eye can describe but it can't *see*, however once the pencil skeleton is down, I can make it look the way I want it to.
I think something that can happen is hearing that someone in "authority" doesn't use a pencil or they tell us not to use a pencil, and our brains decide that that's the Only True Way to do something. And if we do use a pencil, we're not a real artist. Which is absurd, of course.
I love the thought of eraser. It does provide you freedom to let go with art when I draw. Similarly in writing, the safety net of editing allows me to draw the narrative from my heart in the first draft.
I love the thought of eraser. It does provide you freedom to let go with art when I draw. Similarly in writing, the safety net of editing allows me to draw the narrative from my heart in the first draft.
I went back to school at the beginning of Covid as an art major and neither my drawing teacher nor my watercolor teacher wanted me to get too attached to my pencils. and that didn't work for well for me. I found it a hard block to get past because honestly, I need to be able to look at a line I've drawn and say "well, that's not 2 point perspective now, is it?" because I'm here to tell you, it was not. so now I just do what I want and what I want is a 2H pencil and an eraser (my favorite was lost and I just found it) and to correct things. I also love how pencil can look added to a painting and am very partial to using colored pencils and ink after the thing is drawn and painted.
I was on vacation in LA and went to a Japanese stationery store for the sole purpose of buying erasers (Tombow Mono, which are ridiculously hard to get where I live). So, yeah, I love my erasers. 😂
There have been times when I wish I could just do things with a pen "like pro artists", but the pencil provides a safety net, it allows me to think and get details right. I usually erase most of it after I pen the drawing, however after reading this post I might let them be!!
I LOVE USING PENCILS! I have over the years almost stop reaching for my eraser and can now see lines and textures of pencil marks that are really there in the image I am drawing but are not mistakes. Once I learned that I felt so much more freer. And I do remember using pen and ink which is scary since 'perfection' was tied to the 'unable to reverse a wrong mark'. But using pen and ink also created space to appreciate the pencil and its possibilities. Either medium I enjoy and they are my main technique in all the art I do.
I clicked on the Soukmine website and read about the HISTORY OF PAPER PLANNERS! SO NERDY, and so deliciously inspiring.
I have been obsessed with stationery and keeping up my personal space since first grade.
I had two great teachers back to back, 1st and 2nd grades, and they were so well organized. They seemed like they enjoyed their jobs.
It was also a great contrast from the messy home I grew up in.
I have gone through so many planners and printed PDFS from different thought leaders.
I have loved Happy Planner for the fun stickers they print, I love the rings that hold the papers together, and you can remove papers if needed (helps when you have too much to carry and you want to lighten your backpack!)
I am an aspiring stationery designer, have printed journals using Denik.
As for pencils: I didn't want to love Blackwing (why spend the extra money, when Ticonderoga is tops??) BUT I DO.
Both the lead and the bling of the eraser shape/the crimp that holds it on. I use a hand crank AFMAT AFMAT Artist Pencil Sharpener, or the Blackwing hand held/pencil case size sharpener.
As for erasing or not: I wish I had been told in the beginning of art school foundations to start with pen and then move into pencil.
I think its more about spending time using any tool in your hands for a certain amount of time. I love erasers. But I think I like having an eraser more than I use them!
I just watched someone take a pencil drawing and get it to transfer to a gel plate. I'm very, very interested in gel plate printing and this is new to me! At any rate, upping my vote for pencils.
I had a math teacher once tell us that a pencil with an eraser at the end was symbolic of optimism because the writing part was so much longer than the erasing part. Decades later I still remember that every time I pick up a pencil (which I love).
I may be overthinking this a bit (as I'm apt to do) but I love the access that pencil marks in finished art give the viewer. It's like this beckoning not just to see the work but to envision the process and recognize the humanity of the artist. It's the way I feel when I can see the patches of bare canvas in one of Vincent's paintings -- it just makes the whole work feel more encompassing and real to me.
For a book project, I did 41 illustrations of birds in graphite. Early on, I discovered the Tombow Monozero eraser which I would cut into a chisel shape to make very fine erasures for highlights. I also found many similar uses for kneaded erasers to soften feather edges and the like. I love working in graphite and erasers are just as important as the pencil (which was a Pentel GraphGear 500 0.3mm HB).
Thank you for sharing this! I have come to realize that both have a place in my drawing toolkit. Sometimes I need to get out of my way and just go in with the pen and let it be. But without also taking the time to work in pencil and then revise, I won't improve. I also find that sometimes I just need a bare skeleton to start with -- and my pen work can do the revision. I wonder if it's related to aphantasia -- my mind's eye can describe but it can't *see*, however once the pencil skeleton is down, I can make it look the way I want it to.
I think something that can happen is hearing that someone in "authority" doesn't use a pencil or they tell us not to use a pencil, and our brains decide that that's the Only True Way to do something. And if we do use a pencil, we're not a real artist. Which is absurd, of course.
It really is a complicated relationship! I don't personally use an eraser, because I can't keep up with them!
But I'll redraw stuff and glue it over the top of parts I don't like. Or flip the page and start over.
Your pencil sketches are beautiful. I LOVE the marks in the dancer in that last one. And those hands at the top!
I love the figurative drawing! Very smooth and relaxed lines, conveying the mixed emotions perfectly.
I love the thought of eraser. It does provide you freedom to let go with art when I draw. Similarly in writing, the safety net of editing allows me to draw the narrative from my heart in the first draft.
I love the thought of eraser. It does provide you freedom to let go with art when I draw. Similarly in writing, the safety net of editing allows me to draw the narrative from my heart in the first draft.
I went back to school at the beginning of Covid as an art major and neither my drawing teacher nor my watercolor teacher wanted me to get too attached to my pencils. and that didn't work for well for me. I found it a hard block to get past because honestly, I need to be able to look at a line I've drawn and say "well, that's not 2 point perspective now, is it?" because I'm here to tell you, it was not. so now I just do what I want and what I want is a 2H pencil and an eraser (my favorite was lost and I just found it) and to correct things. I also love how pencil can look added to a painting and am very partial to using colored pencils and ink after the thing is drawn and painted.
I love seeing the pencil lines. Your drawings are wonderful. :)
I love your work and how much you share. And I love my pencil and eraser :)
Where’s the subscriber chat for RSVP to meetup?
I was on vacation in LA and went to a Japanese stationery store for the sole purpose of buying erasers (Tombow Mono, which are ridiculously hard to get where I live). So, yeah, I love my erasers. 😂
There have been times when I wish I could just do things with a pen "like pro artists", but the pencil provides a safety net, it allows me to think and get details right. I usually erase most of it after I pen the drawing, however after reading this post I might let them be!!
I LOVE USING PENCILS! I have over the years almost stop reaching for my eraser and can now see lines and textures of pencil marks that are really there in the image I am drawing but are not mistakes. Once I learned that I felt so much more freer. And I do remember using pen and ink which is scary since 'perfection' was tied to the 'unable to reverse a wrong mark'. But using pen and ink also created space to appreciate the pencil and its possibilities. Either medium I enjoy and they are my main technique in all the art I do.
I clicked on the Soukmine website and read about the HISTORY OF PAPER PLANNERS! SO NERDY, and so deliciously inspiring.
I have been obsessed with stationery and keeping up my personal space since first grade.
I had two great teachers back to back, 1st and 2nd grades, and they were so well organized. They seemed like they enjoyed their jobs.
It was also a great contrast from the messy home I grew up in.
I have gone through so many planners and printed PDFS from different thought leaders.
I have loved Happy Planner for the fun stickers they print, I love the rings that hold the papers together, and you can remove papers if needed (helps when you have too much to carry and you want to lighten your backpack!)
I am an aspiring stationery designer, have printed journals using Denik.
As for pencils: I didn't want to love Blackwing (why spend the extra money, when Ticonderoga is tops??) BUT I DO.
Both the lead and the bling of the eraser shape/the crimp that holds it on. I use a hand crank AFMAT AFMAT Artist Pencil Sharpener, or the Blackwing hand held/pencil case size sharpener.
As for erasing or not: I wish I had been told in the beginning of art school foundations to start with pen and then move into pencil.
I think its more about spending time using any tool in your hands for a certain amount of time. I love erasers. But I think I like having an eraser more than I use them!
I just watched someone take a pencil drawing and get it to transfer to a gel plate. I'm very, very interested in gel plate printing and this is new to me! At any rate, upping my vote for pencils.
I had a math teacher once tell us that a pencil with an eraser at the end was symbolic of optimism because the writing part was so much longer than the erasing part. Decades later I still remember that every time I pick up a pencil (which I love).