Paper Tortillions and Stumps Assorted Pack of 5

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If you’ve tried using your kneaded eraser to clean your blending stump and it isn’t working, it’s time to grab the sandpaper. Blending stumps are not meant to last forever and they aren’t all that expensive. You will need to replace them when they get too worn down or dirty. On the other hand, tortillons are usually smaller, more challenging, and don’t blend. Why would you want to use tortillons? They are cheap; you can buy a dozen for a few dollars. Makeup or Paint Brush: Good for blending light areas. My favorite brush is the S60 Flat Shader by Robert Simmons. The bristles are stiff enough that the brush doesn’t flare out too much when pressure is applied, it’s super soft and the brush’s corners are perfect for getting into tight spaces. As with makeup brushes these blend very well, but a lot of artist brushes, particularly horse hair brushes have a very course feel and can blend quite aggressively if not done with care. If using an artist brush I would use a sable haired brush or one that has a softer feel.

Art Easels. One of my favorite ways to draw is by using a drawing easel, which develops the skill of drawing on a vertical surface. The H frame easel is an excellent vertical way to add variety to the style and type of marks you create when using a drawing board. You probably noticed that the suggestions for cleaning a blending stump and cleaning a tortillon are the same. But, what’s different is the amount of care you need to take with your tortillion versus your blending stump.

To clean a blending stump or tortillion, rub the tip of it with a kneaded eraser until it is clean again. You can also use sandpaper, which will both clean it and sharpen the tip. To clean a kneaded eraser, stretch it and knead it until the graphite disappears and the eraser is clean again. Makeup brushes are primarily designed for blending makeup so designed perfectly for this job. I have a few brushes for blending my drawings, from blusher brushes to eye shadow brushes and used accordingly depending on the size of the areas I need to blend. They have a really delicate touch and blend very well indeed, with a smooth consistent flow. This is particularly important on pencil portraits as they can have very delicate tones on skin. The smaller firmer brushes are also very good but the firmer the bristles of the brush the harder it will blend. I use these type of brushes for blending larger areas of my artwork, I still revert to by blending stump/totillion for the finer detail areas that need blending. A lot of this has to do with maintaining the purpose of your tortillon. Unlike a blending stump that can cover larger areas and doesn’t require as much precision, you want to make sure that the tip of your tortillon stays sharp. Tortillons can be used instead of blending stumps, but artists often use them as a supplement for their blending stumps. What Do Tightly Rolled Tortillons Do? The benefit of making your own blending tool is that you can customize the type of paper and level of softness.

NOTE: I sometimes use a piece of fine sandpaper or an eraser to keep the tip of my tortillon clean as I use it. It just depends on how much blending of colors you want. Then, fold that first fold in half two or three more times to make a dense, sharply-pointed “sliver” of paper that you can start rolling the rest of the paper around. Are they useful? Absolutely, but that hardly makes them a necessity. Blending stumps are an excellent tool for any artist that blends their drawings. What if you draw with ink? Or you don’t want to blend your drawings? If you’re wondering whether or not blending stumps are suitable for blending, the answer is simple, it’s yes. That’s why they’re called blending stumps! Blending stumps have a soft, smooth texture that allows artists a great deal of fine control when blending from one value to the next. Many artists will use blending stumps as a finishing tool and tortillons during the initial stages of a drawing. While blending stumps can be cleaned with a kneaded eraser and sharpened with sandpaper, there’s no need to invest this time when working on a drawing.But, if you took that piece of paper and wound it tightly, you would discover that it was much harder and more durable. Tightly winding the paper in a tortillon creates a harder object that can handle the abuse you will subject it to. How Do You Use Blending Stumps and Tortillons? Why are tortillons so tightly wound? Tortillons are made from paper. The paper is not very strong. Even if you invest in higher-quality paper, it’s pretty clear that it’s not the most durable material in the world.

Light Values: Always use a clean blending stump when blending light values. You may need to sand it a few times throughout the blending process to keep it clean. I generally use tissue paper for the lightest areas of a portrait.Draw some tight scribbles in a small corner of a scrap piece of paper and work the graphite onto the paper stump. If needed, remove excess graphite by rubbing it in a clean area of the paper before using it on your drawing. Use light strokes to layer the graphite onto your portrait. Keep the direction consistent with your overall drawing.

Q-Tip: OK for large areas, but not so great for tight spaces unless you roll the cotton to a fine tip. You might find it hard to erase areas where you’ve used the q-tip. Especially if the q-tip is hard. Can’t find soft q-tips? Use your clean hands/nails to fluff the cotton by pulling on it in different directions. It’s important to realize when your efforts to clean your blending stump are jeopardizing it. What’s the point of a clean blending stump if the tip gets damaged and you can’t use it as well as you did before? Proko. Is one of my favorite teachers who surpasses in the teaching of Anatomy and Figure drawing. Prokos course breaks down the drawing of the human body into easy-to-follow components aiding the beginner to make rapid progress. For this, I really like Proko. Sanding the tips of your blending stump is also a great way to sharpen them. We all know how dull they can get after helping us with so much shading.You can still use it in dark areas of a drawing, but that’s pretty limiting, so most artists just throw them out. What do you do when a blending stump gets dirty? You can use a kneaded eraser to clean the surface, returning it to a usable condition. Tortillons are made from sheets of paper that are tightly wound to create a point that can be used for blending. Blending stumps are more expensive than tortillons, and they are softer and offer the ability to create more subtle blending areas.