Where is a simple pencil? Types of graphite pencils. Features of working with a pencil

What could be simpler than a pencil? This simple instrument, 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, just as important, understand them.

Graphite (“simple”) pencils are quite different from each other. By the way, “pencil” comes from two Turkic words - “kara” and “dash” (black stone).

The writing core of a pencil is inserted into a frame made of wood or plastic and can be made of graphite, coal or other materials. The most common type - graphite pencils - vary in degree of hardness.

Let's begin!

Pavel Chistyakov, a professor at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts of the 19th and early 20th centuries, advised to begin by putting aside paints and practicing drawing “with a pencil for at least a year.” great artist Ilya Repin never parted with his pencils. Pencil drawing is the basis of any painting.

The human eye can distinguish 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). This 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. From manufacturers from different countries(Europe, USA and Russia) marking of pencil hardness is different.

Hardness designation

In Russia The hardness scale looks like this:

• M - soft;
• T - hard;
• TM - hard-soft;

European scale somewhat wider (marking F does not have Russian correspondence):

• 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 hardness of a pencil:

• #1 - corresponds to B - soft;
• #2 - corresponds to HB - hard-soft;
• #2½ - corresponds to F - average between hard-soft and hard;
• #3 - corresponds to H - hard;
• #4 - corresponds to 2H - very hard.

Pencil is different from pencil. Depending on the manufacturer, the tone of the line drawn with a pencil of the same marking may differ.

In Russian and European pencil markings, 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. You can find pencils on sale ranging from 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. Use this pencil to draw the base and shape of the drawing. HB Convenient for drawing, creating tonal spots, it is not too hard, not too soft. A soft pencil will help you draw dark areas, highlight them and place accents, and make a clear line in the drawing. 2B.

Hard pencils

Start from H before 9H.

H- a hard pencil, hence the thin, light, “dry” lines. Use a hard pencil to draw solid objects with clear outline(stone, metal). So hard pencil Based on the finished drawing, thin lines are drawn on top of the shaded or shaded fragments, for example, strands of hair are drawn.

The line drawn with a soft pencil has a slightly loose outline. A soft stylus will allow you to reliably draw representatives of the fauna - birds, hares, cats, dogs.

If you need to choose between a hard or soft pencil, artists take a pencil with a soft lead. An image drawn with such a pencil can be easily shaded with a piece of thin paper, a finger or an eraser. If necessary, you can finely sharpen the graphite lead of a soft pencil and draw a thin line similar to the line from a hard pencil.

The figure below more clearly shows the shading 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 thicker, you can rotate the pencil around its axis.

Light areas are shaded with a hard pencil. Dark areas are correspondingly soft.

It is inconvenient to shade with a very soft pencil, since the lead quickly becomes dull and the fineness of the line is lost. The solution is to either sharpen the point very often, or use a harder pencil.

When drawing, gradually move from light areas to dark ones, since it is much easier to darken 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 when sharpened, making the pencil unusable.

Nuances you should know when working with pencils

For shading at the very beginning, you should use a hard pencil. Those. the driest lines are obtained with a hard pencil.

The finished drawing is drawn with a soft pencil to give it richness and expressiveness. A soft pencil leaves dark lines.

The more you tilt the pencil, the wider its mark will be. However, with the advent of pencils with thick leads, this need disappears.

If you don't know what the final drawing will look like, it is recommended to start with a hard pencil. Using a hard pencil, you can gradually dial in the desired tone. At the very beginning, I myself made the same mistake: I used a pencil that was too soft, which made the drawing turn out dark and incomprehensible.

Pencil frames

Of course, the classic option is a stylus in a wooden frame. But now there are also plastic, lacquered and even paper frames. The lead of these pencils is thick. On the one hand, this is good, but on the other hand, such pencils are easy to break if you put them in your pocket or accidentally drop them.

Although there are special pencil cases for carrying pencils (for example, I have a set of KOH-I-NOOR Progresso black graphite pencils - good, solid packaging, like a pencil case).

A pencil is a graphite rod in a wooden frame made of soft wood, such as cedar, approximately 18 cm long. Graphite pencils made from naturally occurring unprocessed graphite were first used in early XVII V. Before this, lead or silver rods (known as a silver pencil) were used for drawing. Modern form lead or graphite pencil in a wooden frame came into use in early XIX V.

Typically, a pencil “works” if you guide it or press the lead onto paper, the surface of which serves as a kind of grater that splits the lead into tiny particles. By applying pressure to the pencil, the lead particles penetrate the fiber of the paper, leaving a line, or mark.

Graphite, one of the modifications of carbon, along with coal and diamond, is the main component of pencil lead. The hardness of the lead depends on the amount of clay added to the graphite. The softest brands of pencils contain little or no clay. Artists and draftsmen work with a whole range of pencils, choosing them depending on the task at hand.

Once the lead in a pencil wears off, you can continue to use it by sharpening it with a special sharpener or razor. Sharpening a pencil - important process, which determines the type of lines drawn with a pencil. There are many ways to sharpen pencils, and each of them gives its own result. An artist should try to sharpen pencils in different ways in order to know which lines can be drawn with a particular pencil. in different ways sharpening.

You need to know well the advantages and disadvantages of a pencil, like every material you work with. Different brands of pencils are used for specific purposes. The next section discusses some types of drawings, indicating what brand of pencil or graphite material they were made with.

The examples given give an idea of ​​the strokes and lines made different pencils. While looking at them, take your pencils one by one and see what strokes you can get with one pencil or another. Not only will you want to try each pencil and discover new drawing possibilities, but you will suddenly find that your “pencil sense” has increased. As artists, we feel the material we use, and this influences the work.

Materials and examples of strokes and lines.

HARD PENCIL

With a hard pencil you can apply strokes that are almost the same 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 gradation of hardness: HB, N, 2H, ZN, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H and 9H (the hardest).

Hard pencils are commonly used by designers, architects, and professionals who create precise drawings where fine, neat lines are important, such 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. The tone, like a soft one, can be created with a hard pencil by shading with cross lines, although the result will be a thinner and more formal drawing.

PROJECTION SYSTEMS FOR HARD PENCIL

Hard pencils are ideal for creating drawings. As we have already said, such drawings are usually carried out by engineers, designers and architects. Finished drawings must be accurate, dimensions should be indicated on them so that performers, for example craftsmen, following the instructions, can create an object according to the project. Drawings can be made using different projection systems, starting with a plan on a plane and ending with perspective images.

STROKES WITH HARD PENCIL
I do not give examples of strokes applied with 7H - 9H pencils.

SOFT PENCIL

A soft pencil has greater possibilities for tinting and conveying texture than a hard pencil. Soft pencils are designated by the letter B. A pencil marked HB is a cross between a hard and soft pencil and is the main medium between pencils with extreme properties. The range of soft pencils includes pencils НВ, В, 2В, ЗВ, 4В, 5В, bВ, 7В, 8В and 9В (the softest). Soft pencils allow the artist to express his ideas through shading, texture, shading, and even simple lines. The softest pencils can be used to tint a group of objects, although in general I find that in this case it is more convenient to use a graphite stick. It all depends on what surface you want to apply the tone to. If it is a small drawing, for example on AZ paper, then a soft pencil will probably be more suitable. But if you want to apply tone to a larger drawing, I would advise you to use a graphite stick.

The only soft pencil convenient for making drawings that require high precision - the palm, of course, behind a hard pencil - is a pencil with a clamped thin lead.

OTHER TYPES OF PENCIL

In addition to the pencils described above, there are other pencils that represent much more more possibilities for experiments and discoveries in the field of drawing. You will find these pencils at any store that sells artist supplies.

- Pencil placed in a frame of rolled paper - graphite in a frame of curled paper, which is unscrewed to release the lead.
- Rotary pencil - available in many types, with a variety of mechanisms that open the graphite tip.
- Pencil with clamped lead - a pencil for sketching with a very soft, thick or thick lead.
- Standard thick black pencil, known for many years as "Black Beauty".
- Carpenter's pencil - used by carpenters and builders to take measurements, make notes and sketch out new ideas.
- Graphite pencil or stick. This pencil is a hard graphite about the same thickness as a regular pencil. The thin film covering the tip from the outside turns away, revealing the graphite. A graphite stick is a thicker piece of graphite, like pastel, wrapped in paper that is removed as needed. This is a universal pencil.
- A watercolor sketch pencil is a regular pencil, but if you dip it in water, it can be used as a watercolor brush.

What is graphite.

Graphite is the substance from which pencil leads are made, but naturally occurring graphite is not placed in a wooden frame. Graphite mined from different deposits varies in thickness and varying degrees of hardness/softness. As you can see from the pictures, graphite is not intended for creating detailed drawings. It is more suitable for expressive sketches; graphite is convenient to work with a vinyl eraser.

Graphite pencil can be used for quick, heavy, dramatic sketches that use energetic lines, large areas of dark tones, or interesting textured strokes. This method of drawing conveys the mood well, but is completely unsuitable for drawing. It is better to draw large drawings with graphite: the reasons for this are clear to everyone. Graphite is a universal medium, and before you start working with it, learn more about its properties and features. Since it does not have an outer frame, its sides can be fully used. We don't have this option when we draw with a pencil. You will be pleasantly surprised when you see what you can achieve when painting with graphite. Personally, if I draw in a free and dynamic manner, I always use graphite. If you also draw with graphite in this manner, you will undoubtedly 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 range of tones - from deep black to white. A soft pencil and graphite allow you to do this quickly and efficiently. With a soft, sharp enough pencil you can convey the outline of an object, as well as its volume.

Drawings made with 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 can be part of our visual observations and recordings. The drawings convey a change in tone during the process of observation, or due to creative imagination, or express the surface texture. These drawings can also arbitrarily explain or express expression - that is, they themselves can be works visual arts, and not preparations for future work.

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

Can be achieved different results, if you press them differently when working with a soft pencil and graphite. Pressing allows you to transform the image, either changing the tone or making the strokes more significant. Look at examples of tone gradations and try to experiment in this direction yourself. By 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 mistakes, we have a rather negative view of it and its functions. An eraser seems to be a necessary evil, and the more it wears down from constant use, the more we feel it doesn't meet our needs. It's time to reconsider the role of the eraser in our work. If you use an 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.

While sketching, many artists think about the drawing process or decide what the drawing will look like. Sketches may be incorrect and need to be corrected as work progresses. This happened to every artist - even to such great masters as Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt. Revision of ideas is almost always part of creative process, it is noticeable 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 beginning artists. As a result, they make more mistakes or repeat the same ones, which causes a feeling of dissatisfaction, leading to a feeling of failure. When you make corrections, do not erase the original lines until you are happy with the new drawing and feel that the lines are unnecessary. My advice: keep traces of the correction, do not destroy them completely, as they reflect the process of your thinking and refinement of the idea.

Another positive function of the eraser is to reproduce areas of light in a tonal drawing done in graphite, charcoal or ink. The eraser can be used to add expressiveness to strokes that highlight texture - a shining example Frank Auerbach's drawings serve this approach. In these, the "tonking" technique is an example of the use of an eraser to create a sense of atmosphere.

There are many types of erasers on the market that can be used to remove traces of all the substances an artist uses. Listed below are the types of erasers and their functions.

Soft eraser (“klyagka”). Typically used for charcoal and pastel drawings, it can also be used in pencil drawings. This eraser can be given any shape - this is its main advantage. It helps develop a positive approach to drawing because it is designed to bring new things into the drawing, and not destroy what has been done.

- Vinyl eraser. Usually they are used to erase strokes with charcoal, pastel and pencil. It can also be used to create some types of strokes.
- Indian eraser. Used to remove light pencil marks.
- Ink eraser. It is very difficult to completely remove ink marks. Erasers for removing ink and typewritten text are available in pencil or round shapes. You can use a combination eraser, one end of which removes pencil, the other removes ink.
- Surface cleaners, namely scalpels, razor blades, pumice, 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 remove its top layer without rubbing it into holes.
- Products applied to paper, such as correction fluid, titanium or Chinese white. Wrong strokes are covered with an opaque layer of white. After they have dried, you can work on the surface again.

Artist's safety measures.

When working with materials, do not forget about safety measures. Handle scalpels and razor blades with care. Do not leave them open when not in use. Find out if the fluids you use are toxic or flammable. Thus, applying whitewash is a very convenient and cheap way to remove water-based ink, but whitewash is poisonous and must be used with caution.

Pumice is used to remove marks that are difficult to erase. However, pumice should be used carefully as it can damage the paper. A razor blade (or scalpel) can scrape off marks that cannot be removed by other means. They can be used in case of emergency, because by removing unnecessary strokes, you can

Simple pencils for the artist

Any person who has ever written, drawn or drawn with a simple pencil is familiar with graphite.We are used to counting simple pencils made made of graphite, and we don’t think about what but in realityThe lead of a graphite pencil is made from a mixture of graphite and clay, and is packaged in a body, most often wooden. Exactly toThe amount of clay determines the degree of hardness or softness of the pencil.

Graphite is a mineral that is a form of carbon. It is mined from various rocks, and its artificial analogues are also produced. The raw materials for this, for example, can be carbides, which are exposed to high temperatures, or cast iron, which, on the contrary, is gradually cooled to obtain artificial graphite.

The main line of dividing pencils by hardness is as follows: “H” pencils and “B” pencils.“H” pencils are hard, and the higher the number (it is placed next to letter designation, for example: 1H or 2H), the lighter the lines. TOA 6H pencil, for example, will be much easier to draw than a 2H pencil."B" pencils are soft and the higher the number, the darker the lines or strokes it will make. Which corresponds to the Russian markings “T” (hard) and “M” (soft).For drawing, pencils of softness “B” or “M” are usually used - if in our opinion.

Below diagramshows the full range of hardness of graphite pencils, accepted in the West, which we also have to deal with all the time.“NV” means in Russian and corresponds in properties to the marking “TM” - hard-soft - and is the middle of the scale. The “F” marking corresponds to “TM”, it is just less common.

Hardness scale for imported pencils

The blackest (and most expensive) graphite still lacks the intensity of blackness; in addition, it, like graphite in general, is characterized by shine. A drawing made with graphite (especially hard) shines. Therefore, in some artistic works it is replaced by drawing, which gives an intense thick blackness and has no shine. That is why graphite is suitable exclusively for small, mainly landscape drawings, which are well preserved without (unless the graphite used for the drawing is too soft).

Other forms of artistic graphite

Two other forms of graphite that are commonly used in drawing are: woodless pencil And graphite bar(or sticks).

Wood-free graphite pencil. It is also known as “graphite in varnish”.

Bwood pencil(as you can guess) it is graphite without a wooden body. It is often sold under the name “graphite in varnish” or “ graphite rods"(then they will not be varnished). Basically, the lead has a round shape. Woodless pencils need to be sharpened with a regular sharpener.They are made for drawing and painting and are usually on the soft side of the hardness scale, often in HB, 2B, 4B, 6B and 8B. Again, different manufacturers offer different degrees of hardness. With a wood-free pencil you can make both very thin and wide strokes, which are made with the beveled side of the writing tip.

Graphite bars (sticks)

Graphite drawing stones

Convenient for large images and for quickly covering large areas.They are also available in different degrees of hardness, and some manufacturers, such asCaran d'Ache(pictured above) make them in different sizes.

Pencils are an amazing tool that is used for drawing and drawing work. For the job to be successful, it is important to know everything about the characteristics of this tool. It is necessary to understand what they are, what the hardness of a pencil lead is, and what effects can be obtained when using tools with different characteristics.

Types of pencils

Pencils are divided into two large groups: colored and graphite (simple). They, in turn, are divided into varieties. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Classification of colored instruments:

• Colored. These are the most common tools that everyone probably used to draw in school. There are hard, soft, soft-hard.
• Watercolor. After painting, they are washed out with water to obtain a watercolor effect.
• Pastel. These are pastel crayons in a wooden frame. They are very soft. They are convenient because they do not stain your hands, are protected from frequent breaking of crayons, and also have a standard size.

Classification of tools with graphite rod:

• Simple. They are most often used in graphics (drawing with pencils). They have many different markings, we’ll talk more about them later.
• Coal. They are pressed charcoal for drawing in a wooden frame. The advantages are the same as pastels.
• Conte. They are almost the same as pastels, but have a different color palette: they come in black, gray, brown and other shades. White is also included in the color scheme.

How to determine the hardness of pencils

Now let's take a closer look at the graphite type. They can depict anything, and very realistically. The works turn out “alive” thanks to shading, correct application of tone, and the right pressure on the instrument. Therefore, the entire drawing or drawing as a whole depends on its quality and number.

The circuit is great for determining the hardness of pencils. A table will also work. To visualize and determine the density, you can use a table of pencil softness, and also determine the hardness using a special scale. By the way, you can draw such a scale yourself. To do this, you need to take all the tools that you have and alternately shade small areas of paper with them: from the darkest to the lightest or vice versa, in the middle there will be a marking H. B. Thanks to this scheme, you can easily navigate and remember the type of tool.

Markings and their meaning

First of all, you can see both English and Russian designations for the hardness of pencils. Let's look at both types:

Often, in addition to letters, markings contain numbers that indicate the strength of hardness or softness and tone. For example, there are pencils 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, 6B, 8B. 2B is the lightest, 8B is the darkest and softest. The digital marking of hard pencils looks similar.

Applying tone to a drawing

Rules for applying tone are very important when drawing. This especially applies to graphics, because in it the work is created exclusively in one color scheme: black or gray colors in combination with white additions.