Lyra Graphite Stick 9b

Product Information

Graphite Pencils are perhaps the first drawing tools you’ll be introduced to as a beginner. They’re simple and easy to use, and most people are familiar with them outside an art setting. Charcoal powder. Liquid fixative is especially effective to use with Nitram Charcoal Powder. Apply liquid fixative to a support and then sprinkle the charcoal powder into the media for some great textural effects. There are many more techniques to discover with this exceptional medium.

Derwent Graphitone is a very stylish and pure graphite water-soluble pencil available in 2B, 4B, 6B and 8B. I find they dissolve better than other brands to create sumptuous passages of tone. Layering one tint over another is pure joy. Standard traditional graphite is by far the most common choice for most artists. Coloured graphite pencils are also available, and allow you to add a hint of colour to your sketches. Manufacturers make these pencils from a blend of graphite powder as well as small amounts of pigment. Both the Derwent Graphitint and Caran d’Ache Technalo RGB are examples of tinted graphite. Typically these pencils create subtle colour that retains the reflective quality of graphite. Water Soluble GraphiteMechanical and Clutch Pencils are plastic and/or metal barrels into which you insert a graphite lead. You feed through the leads to the tip of the pencil by repeatedly pressing the button at the top of the barrel.

If you’re working on a small scale then the precision tip of a pencil is more suitable for rendering small details. Liquid charcoal (see above). Without doubt one of the most exciting media for artists keen on exploring expressive drawing techniques is liquid charcoal. Wallace Seymour Original Liquid Charcoal (60ml tube) and Nitram Liquid Charcoal (50ml tube) are both excellent. Use to create fantastic expressive drawings and tonal painting effects.As you build up your confidence using graphite and charcoal separately, you could move onto combining them both in a drawing. Using both materials alongside each other can create an interesting contrast between matte and reflective areas. If you’re working with charcoal you may come across tinted ‘White Charcoal’ pencils. Technically these aren’t ‘true’ charcoal as they are made up of white pigment and binder, but they can be used alongside charcoal in your artwork. All discounts against RRP are made against the United Kingdom Recommended Retail Price (RRP). Unless specified, offers and vouchers are not valid on products which are already discounted from RRP, gift vouchers, books and from the I LOVE ART range. Robert Dutton is a UK ambassador for Canson papers and Nitram Charcoal and an associate artist for Unison Colour pastels and Derwent. He has won awards for his work and is a popular tutor, leading a number of creative painting and drawing holidays and short breaks in the UK and Europe. For more information, visit www.rdcreative.co.uk

The word pencil comes from the latin ‘pencillus’ that means little tail and originally referred to a small brush used for working in ink during the medieval times. Our modern pencils earnt this name by having a wooden pencil and a small pointed tip like a tiny brush, or ‘pencillus’, would have. Modern pencils are made by creating a paste of clay, purified graphite and water that is partially dried through a filtration process. This is then extruded and fired at 1038 degrees Celsius. These porous strands are then soaked and filled with wax allowing a smoother line and better adherence. These are the leads that are typically used in a pencil or a lead holder. When working from photographs make A4 print-outs so that you see all the detail – but don’t copy it all! Add to and subtract from the scene to make more drama. Remember why you took it in the first place. Evoke those feelings in your drawing. Graphite isn’t as messy as charcoal, so it is less likely to smudge and much easier to protect (requiring very little, if any, fixative). This makes it more simple to work with for new artists. Charcoal and Graphite both bring different properties to your work. Beginners may find it useful to weigh up the pros and cons of using both drawing materials, before settling on one to start with. Charcoal Pros

Main Difference Between the Chemical Structure of Charcoal and Graphite

Ancient Hawthorns – Honister Pass, The Lake District, mixed-media drawing with Wallace Seymour Liquid Graphite on Canson Moulin du Roy Not 140lb (300gsm), (51x56cm) Charcoal has a considerably different chemical structure than Graphite, despite both being made from carbon. The make-up of charcoal is much more non-uniform and irregular. The structure folds in on itself, which gives charcoal its soft, crumbly texture. This structure not also makes charcoal a fantastic drawing tool, but also makes it suitable for other applications like filtering. How do you make Charcoal? Autumn Woodland, Rydal Hall, Lake District, mixed-media drawing on white Canson Mi-Teintes Touch pastel paper, (50x65cm)