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17
Chapter 2: Getting a Grasp on Graphite and Grades
ArtSpeak
Graphite is a soft black form of opaque (non- transparent) carbon found in nature. It is often mixed with clay to make various types of drawing tools for artists.
Clay is a naturally occurring material that becomes hardened when dried.
Grade refers to the softness or hardness of the mixture used in the manufacture of drawing mediums.
Figure 201: The base value of fi ve different grades of graphite.
Something called “graphite” is the best friend of many artists who love to draw. In this chapter, I share a little bit of fun information about graphite and its history.
You also learn about the grades of graphite. (When it comes to graphite, a B grade is not better than an H!)
In addition, you examine drawings rendered with different grades of graphite to give you an idea of how B and H pencils affect the look of drawings.
Traveling Back in Time with Graphite
In this section, you discover a few fascinating tidbits about the history of graphite.
Some graphite drawings created hundreds of years ago are still around today. Hence, graphite has survived the test of time.
ArtSpeak
Stylus (sometimes called leadpoint or metalpoint) refers to a thin metal stick used for drawing. Styluses made of lead have been traced back to ancient Rome.
During the
Renaissance, styluses were also made from silver, gold, or copper.
Figure 202: The earliest stylus was a thin metal stick made of lead.
WARNING!
Stay away from poor-quality graphite!
When most people think of drawing, an ordinary graphite pencil comes to mind (like the ones used by schoolchildren). However, a word of caution:
these pencils are not designed for drawing!
Inexpensive graphite may work well for writing, but can scratch your drawing paper instead of going on smoothly.
Professional drawing pencils are made with a higher quality mixture of graphite and clay and make marks that fl ow more smoothly.
On the downside, they are usually more expensive than pencils made for writing.
Another great thing about graphite is its ability to be erased. Therefore, many mistakes can be fi xed.
How the “lead” pencil got its name
Before the discovery of graphite, ancient artists made drawings with long, thin rods (referred to as “styluses”). Styluses were made from a soft metal, such as lead, and so they became known as “leadpoint”.
A stylus worked by leaving a thin deposit of metal on the surface of paper, producing a fi ne gray line.
Some styluses had a fi ne point at one end and a blunter point at the opposite end so artists could draw both thin and thick lines.
Leadpoint is considered the ancestor of the modern graphite pencil. The term “lead pencil” is often incorrectly used to describe graphite pencils that are made of graphite and clay (and contain no lead whatsoever).
On the other hand, graphite pencils do produce a warm-toned gray line that looks very similar to the marks made by leadpoint.
During the Renaissance, the masters created many beautiful intricate drawings with only a stylus.
Artists also used styluses to do underdrawings for more detailed drawings (and paintings).
When you look closely at old drawings, you can often fi nd a few of the faint lines from the underdrawings.
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Chapter 2: Getting a Grasp on Graphite and Grades
The link between graphite and sheep
Graphite was discovered in England somewhere between 1500 and 1560. Farmers are thought to be the fi rst people who found a practical use for graphite. They used a lump of graphite to mark their sheep so they could easily identify their fl ocks. Check out the cartoon drawing of a sheep in Figure 203.
News of the discovery of graphite soon traveled far and wide
throughout the known world, and graphite quickly became a valuable drawing medium within artistic communities.
Artists often sharpened a chunk of graphite into a point and set it into a metal holder. These sharpened chunks became the very fi rst graphite pencils!
Making the Grade
As you now know, graphite pencils are made with a mixture of graphite and clay. Graphite is very black and soft and makes dark marks. Clay is hard and makes light marks.
Figure 203: A cartoon sheep proudly displays a big “X” marked on her wool with graphite.
To make shopping a little easier, pencils are labeled with a number-letter code depending on the amounts of graphite and clay in the mixture. For example, a 6B pencil has more graphite than clay and makes very dark marks. A 2H pencil has less graphite and therefore makes very light marks.
Many art supply stores carry a broad range of grades. An HB grade is in the middle and can be called either an H or a B (Figure 204).
Figure 204: A computer-generated image shows the base value of 17 different grades of graphite.
Trying to draw with 17 different pencils can be a nightmare! Besides, some grades make almost identical marks.
Artists can draw a full range of values (Figure 205) with only fi ve grades of graphite: 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B.
For example, the advanced drawing of a replica of a medieval dagger (Figure 206) is drawn with only these fi ve grades.
Whenever you draw, your goal is to choose whichever grades of pencils can best give you the results you want.
For drawings needing a softer touch, you may prefer to use mostly H grades. On the other hand, B grades may work better for drawing subjects needing a darker, bolder approach.
And more often than not, a combination of B and H grades is a perfect choice.
Figure 205:
A range of different values can be created by each of these fi ve grades of graphite.
Figure 206: A realistic drawing of a dagger is created with 2H, HB, 2B, 4B and 6B grades of pencils.
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Chapter 2: Getting a Grasp on Graphite and Grades
Figure 207: Values created with four H pencils (HB is considered the darkest hard pencil).
ArtSpeak
Pupil of an eye is the tiny, dark, circular part of an eye that adjusts its size under different lighting conditions.
Hard is light
Hard pencils can’t make very dark values. However, they can create light to medium marks (Figure 207) that work well for some drawings.
Info Tidbit
The word pencil comes from the Latin word pencillus (which means “little tail”).
Always lay your graphite pencils somewhere safe so they don’t fall!
Graphite is quite fragile - especially the softer grades.
When a pencil falls to the fl oor, the graphite inside the core breaks, and the pencil becomes very diffi cult to sharpen. Small pieces of broken graphite can jam up the inside of the sharpener.
T I P ! T I P !
As a rule, hard (H) pencils:
► Have a hard, brittle medium
► Make light to medium marks
► Wear down slowly
► Need very little sharpening
► Create very thin to medium-width lines
The lines made by H pencils are mostly thin and delicate; hence, they work best for small to medium drawings (unless, of course, you have lots of patience).
Figure 208:
An arrow points to the pupil of an eye.
The drawing in Figure 209 is almost completely rendered with four different grades of hard pencils.
Figure 209: This drawing of a friend (Christopher Church) playing a violin took more than a month to complete with 6H, 4H, 2H, HB, and 2B pencils.
Figure 210:
Values created with four B pencils (HB is the lightest B pencil).
Soft is dark
B pencils tend to “B” soft, and can make very dark marks because they have more graphite than clay. However, by pressing very gently with B pencils, you can also create light and medium values. Figure 210 shows the base value of four B grades of graphite.
I used a 2B (soft) pencil for only a few dark accents, such as the pupils of his eyes and tiny sections of the darkest shadows.
Generally speaking, B grades of pencils:
► Have a soft medium
► Make light, medium, and dark marks
► Wear down quickly
► Need to be sharpened frequently
► Can make thin to thick lines
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Chapter 2: Getting a Grasp on Graphite and Grades
Figure 211: Loosely rendered sketch of a side-on view of a young man.
Figure 212:
Drawing of a peach using HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B pencils.
The darker marks
created by B pencils are ideal for loosely rendered sketches on medium to large sheets of paper.
Check out the sketch of the young man (Figure 211) created with only 2B and 4B pencils.
If you are patient, and don’t mind constantly sharpening their points, B pencils can also work well for rendering detailed subjects on small sheets of paper.
B pencils were used for the small drawing of a peach in Figure 212.
Combining soft and hard grades
When you draw a subject with lots of light and dark values, you may need to use both B and H grades of pencils.
Info Tidbit
My favorite brands of graphite pencils are made in Germany, and are sold under the names Staedtler and Faber-Castell.
Figure 214:
At fi rst glance, different grades of drawing pencils may all look the same.
Figure 215:
Can you see the grade written on these three brands of pencils?
Finding out your grade
When you go to an art store, expect to be surprised by how many different brands of pencils are available.
Figure 213: A drawing of a baby zebra (named Spot) is created with both H and B grades of graphite.
And what animal could show you a combination of B and H pencils better than a zebra (Figure 213)?
The white stripes are shaded with 2H, HB, and 2B, and the black stripes are drawn with HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B.
Professional pencils often look identical, even though the grades are different (Figure 214).
But don’t be fooled! The grade of the graphite is written somewhere on the wood part of each pencil (Look closely at Figure 215).
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More Drawing Mediums