Got a couple of new sketching tools yesterday in the mail:
Lyra watersoluble graphite crayons in
2B and
9B grades and a matching oversize
Lyra graphite sharpener to keep them pointed. While the sticks are wrapped with paper, they can still be a tad messy and stain hands and surrounding areas.
I was happy to discover that they fit in my
Intus 123 pastel holder, so my fingers remained clean while doodling with them.
The oversize
Lyra Graphite Sharpener Art.-Nr. 9496 also fit the Pitt Graphite crayons and this
Faber Castell lemon yellow aquarelle stick, so it could sharpen it easily and produce shavings for making washes.
This sharpener was made in Germany by
KUM. Compare its massive size to the conventional wedge sharpeners shown below.
I could not see much difference between the
2B and
9B grades in the first sample swatches, but their differences in softness and darkness became more apparent when making the letter size test sketches on white card stock. The
9B was noticeably darker and glided very smoothly on the paper.
Test sketch with the
2B graphite stick before and after blending with a
waterbrush.
Test sketch with the
9B graphite stick before and after blending with a
waterbrush.
Bit of coloring added with a few
Daniel Smith watercolor sticks. Pigment was picked up from the sticks with a moistened
waterbrush and applied directly to the paper, so the colors came out too strong. It would probably be more efficient to work with a palette or porcelain dish and gradually build the intensity of the washes, but I had neither handy at the library where I was making this tests.
It was fun to play with these
Lyra watersoluble graphite crayons. They readily dissolved upon contact with water and would make good choices for working on large drawings at a good speed.
Got a couple of new sketching tools yesterday in the mail: Lyra watersoluble graphite crayons in 2B and 9B grades and a matching oversize Lyra graphite sharpener to keep them pointed. While the sticks are wrapped with paper, they can still be a tad messy and stain hands and surrounding areas.
I was happy to discover that they fit in my Intus 123 pastel holder, so my fingers remained clean while doodling with them.
The oversize Lyra Graphite Sharpener Art.-Nr. 9496 also fit the Pitt Graphite crayons and this Faber Castell lemon yellow aquarelle stick, so it could sharpen it easily and produce shavings for making washes.
This sharpener was made in Germany by KUM. Compare its massive size to the conventional wedge sharpeners shown below.
I could not see much difference between the 2B and 9B grades in the first sample swatches, but their differences in softness and darkness became more apparent when making the letter size test sketches on white card stock. The 9B was noticeably darker and glided very smoothly on the paper.
Test sketch with the 2B graphite stick before and after blending with a waterbrush.
Test sketch with the 9B graphite stick before and after blending with a waterbrush.
Bit of coloring added with a few Daniel Smith watercolor sticks. Pigment was picked up from the sticks with a moistened waterbrush and applied directly to the paper, so the colors came out too strong. It would probably be more efficient to work with a palette or porcelain dish and gradually build the intensity of the washes, but I had neither handy at the library where I was making this tests.
It was fun to play with these Lyra watersoluble graphite crayons. They readily dissolved upon contact with water and would make good choices for working on large drawings at a good speed.
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2 comments:
Can you use the same waterbrush you use on graphite for other things, or should it get its own waterbrush? That is a neat technique! But I only have one waterbrush (so far) and I'm not convinced I want to turn it black!
Well I did use an inexpensive Aquaflo waterbrush for this test that does not keep its point very well. Thus I did not mind that it got stained a bit in the process. You could always use a round synthetic brush and a jar of water instead. Yet you could still try different brands of waterbrushes to find the best fit and the slight differences in their performances from Pentel Aquash, Kuretake Niji, and Sakura waterbrush ranges.
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