Introductions!

Having received wide support and anticipation for our introduction some time ago, we from Community Relations' Traditional Art Team are proud to present to all of you the first of seven articles for part one of Project TradSavvy.   Joining us here today for the coverage on our first medium of choice, pencils, is the wonderful Sam, `sphilr, whose work is instantly recognisable throughout the site:

The Interview

1. Hello Sam, and thank you very much for participating TradSavvy as our very first guest artist!   As this article is covering pencils and charcoal, please tell us what is it about this medium that draws or fascinates you so.

Well, first, this is pretty much our introductory tool as artists-- whatever media we end up gravitating towards in our lives, pencils and crayons are what most of us begin delineating our visions with as children. Also, I think the pencil is naturally suited to a comprehensive and detailed study of a given subject-- charcoal, you can be somewhat more general with, but pencils excel at specificity of detail. I personally find the pencil to be the most meditative and relaxing of all mediums to work with.


2. Naturally every artist upholds differing principles, or even none at all, when it comes to the mediums they use. Rather than divulge into "methods", is there any one aspect that you would recommend for one to pay attention to when using pencils/charcoal?

I think with most other mediums the support one uses-- from canvas to panel or illustration board-- plays an important but subtle role in the look of the finished image. Whereas, with pencils, much of what you're doing is illuminating the texture of the support you're using, so it's even more crucial to choose a texture and quality of paper or other support that best complements your own particular style, or best complements the specific image you're going to render-- whether that's a heavily textured watercolor paper, for instance, or a subtly textured cold-press illustration board.


3. What would be your estimated budget for getting all the necessary tools in order to pursue a genuine interest for pencils/charcoal?

This can be the least expensive medium to work in if one limits oneself to basic "school supplies"-- wooden pencils, a Pink Pearl eraser, a sturdy sharpener, and a sketchbook-- that can all come together for less than 10 dollars. But if you have a taste for mechanical or drop lead pencils, and you like a variety of pencil lead densities-- from a 9B at the very soft end to a 9H at the very hardest-- and you want to draw on museum quality archival paper-- you can drive your cost up from 20 dollars to 100 dollars pretty quickly.


4. What would be your recommended shopping list?

Obviously this comes down to individual preferences-- what feels best to your particular hand. I prefer a good drop lead pencil made of metal to any other pencil, and Koh-i-noor makes my favorite one-- the Koh-i-noor 5616 Super-Adapto 2mm Lead Holder, made in Italy, about 10 dollars. I've collected enough of them over the years to have one for each lead weight I use, rather than having to use the same holder for each different lead weight.

Whether you want to use a drop lead pencil or just wooden pencils, get yourself a variety of lead densities-- at least 3-- ranging from a soft lead for your darkest blacks, a medium lead for your local tones, and a hard lead for your lightest tones.

Also, buy yourself acid-free, museum quality archival paper-- get used to thinking of what you're doing as being worthy of paper that will survive the years. You'll want some texture to it, so at least a cold-press bristol board, as opposed to hot-press which is slick and smooth. My favorite support for pencil drawings is Strathmore's 500 series bristol board, but lots of people love drawing on Canson's watercolor paper.

A kneaded grey eraser is essential, both to carefully erase mistakes without marring the surface of your paper and to be able to lift out subtle highlights from your rendering.

I keep an Alvin rotary lead pointer (about 12 dollars) in my left hand at all times, because I only ever draw with a seriously sharp pencil.

5. What are the differences between one type of material/tool over the other? What in your opinion justifies the difference in cost?

The physical sensation of the tool in your hand is what should determine your choice, whether your own touch leads you to the least expensive No. 2 pencils or Italian made drop lead holders-- the goal is your own comfort, and only for the sake of being able to forget all about the distraction of tools so that you can just disappear into the work itself.

The archival quality of your support will drive up your costs, but you owe the work you do some chance of posterity.


6. Is there a general plethora of mediums and methods that can be used in conjunction with pencils in order to achieve different effects? Please divulge.

This is fairly simple stuff-- keep the pencil sharp and pay close attention; but the various densities of lead will each give you different results. Some artists like to smudge the medium for the purpose of blending it-- I'll do that with charcoal. I never do that with pencils, but some of the finest pencil artists do-- ~Snow-Owl among them, as seen here in her excellent tutorial.


7. Finally, which are some of your favourite pencil art pieces?

There are literally hundreds-- thousands-- on dA; I'm bound to exclude something essential because this list is just off the top of my head, but here goes:

~QueenIndra is my favorite pencil artist; her latest is Badu, and don't miss the rest of her gallery;

=thegirlinthebigbox's Where Does This Ocean Go is one of my favorite pieces of any kind on dA;

=Madinina-ruff's Clara et clair de Lune showcases the pencil aritst's unsurpassed potential to express sensitivity;

*17dreams's naarah shows just how painterly pencil work can be;

~Truyen's Aya Ueto for a look at a pencil artist's mindblowing capacity for realism;

the aforementioned ~Snow-Owl's exquisite Kiss for a Mermaid;

and the absolute mastery of `nimra's Drawing of Jessica.

In closing...

Thank you very much Sam and to all of you, we hope this article was enlightening and entertaining.   Please stay tuned for the next installments!   Any suggestions and/or questions please feel free to comment!

Be Inspired, not directed.