Art Drawings

Archive for the ‘Pencil’ Category

( A time-lapse charcoal drawing of Marilyn Monroe. Measures 14×11 inches.
Material used HB charcoal pencil and a kneaded eraser by EclecticAslyumArt)

Grading and classification

Many pencils across the world, and almost all in Europe, are graded on the European system using a continuum from “H” (for hardness) to “B” (for blackness), as well as “F” (for fine point). The standard writing pencil is graded HB. According to Petroski, this system might have been developed in the early 1900s by Brookman, an English pencil maker. It used “B” for black and “H” for hard; a pencil’s grade was described by a sequence or successive Hs or Bs such as BB and BBB for successively softer leads, and HH and HHH for successively harder ones.[17]

As of 2009, a set of pencils ranging from a very hard, light-marking pencil to a very soft, black-marking pencil usually ranges from hardest to softest as follows.

9H 8H 7H 6H 5H 4H 3H 2H H F HB B 2B 3B 4B 5B 6B 7B 8B 9B
Hardest → Medium → Softest

Koh-i-noor offers twenty grades from 10H to 8B for its 1500 series[18]; Derwent produces twenty grades from 9H to 9B for its Graphic pencils[19] and Staedtler produces nineteen from 9H to 8B for its Mars Lumograph pencils.[20] The main market for such wide range of grades are artists who are interested in creating a full range of tones from light grey to black. Engineers prefer harder pencils which allow for a greater control in the shape of the lead. This is reflected in the way pencils are packaged and marketed. For example, for its Graphic pencils Derwent offers three packages of 12 pencils each: Technical (with hard grades from 9H to B), Sketching (with soft grades H to 9B), and Designer (with medium grades 4H to 6B).

Pencils graded using this system are used to measure the hardness and resistance of varnishes and paints. The resistance of a coating (also known as its pencil hardness) is determined as the grade of the hardest pencil that does not mark the coating when pressed firmly against it at a 45 degree angle. [21][22]

Another common method uses numbers to designate the grade of a pencil. It was originally created by Conté and adopted in the United States by Thoreau in the 19th century.[23] The following table shows approximate equivalences between the different systems[24]:
Tone U.S. World
#1 = B
#2 = HB
#2½ * = F
#3 = H
#4 = 2H

* Also seen as 2-4/8, 2.5, 2-5/10. Although widely accepted, not all manufacturers follow it; for example, Faber-Castell uses a different equivalence table in its Grip 2001 pencils: 1=2B, 2=B, 2 1/2=HB, 3=H, 4=2H.

The various graphite pencil grades are achieved by altering the proportion of graphite to clay: the more clay the harder the pencil.[25][26][27] Two pencils of the same grade but different manufacturers will not necessarily make a mark of identical tone nor have the same hardness.[28]

According to their marking material

Graphite pencils

These are the most common types of pencils. They are made of a mixture of clay and graphite and their darkness varies from light grey to black. Their composition allows for the smoothest strokes.

Charcoal pencils

They are made of charcoal and provide fuller blacks than graphite pencils, but tend to smudge easily and are more abrasive than graphite. Sepia-toned and white pencils are also available for duotone techniques.

Carbon pencils

They generally are made of a mixture of clay and lamp black, but are sometimes blended with charcoal or graphite depending on the darkness and manufacturer. They produce a fuller black than graphite pencils, but are smoother than charcoal.

Colored pencils

Commonly known as pencil crayons, these have wax-like cores with pigment and other fillers. Multiple colours are often blended together. The versatility of a set of crayon pencils can be determined by the number of unique colours it contains.[37]

Grease pencils

Also known as china markers. They write on virtually any surface (including glass, plastic, metal and photographs). The most commonly found grease pencils are encased in paper (Berol and Sanford Peel-off), but they can also be encased in wood (Staedtler Omnichrom).[37]

Watercolour pencils

These are designed for use with watercolour techniques. The pencils can be used by themselves for sharp, bold lines. Strokes made by the pencil can also be saturated with water and spread with brushes.[37]

According to their use

Carpenter’s pencils

These are pencils that have two main properties: their shape prevents them from rolling, and their lead is strong.[38] The oldest surviving pencil is a German carpenter’s pencil dating from the 17th Century and now in the Faber-Castell collection.[39][40]

Copying pencils

These are graphite pencils with an added dye that creates an indelible mark. They were invented in the late 1800s for press copying and as a practical substitute for fountain pens. Their markings are often visually indistinguishable from those of standard graphite pencils, but when moistened their markings dissolve into a coloured ink, which is then pressed into another piece of paper.[41][42][43] There were used until the early 1900s when ball pens slowly replaced them.

Erasable colour pencils

Unlike wax-based coloured pencils, these can be easily erased. Their main use is in sketching, where the objective is to create an outline using the same colour that other media (such as wax pencils, or watercolour paints) would fill[44] or when the objective is to scan the colour sketch.[45] Some animators prefer col-erase to graphite pencils because they don’t smudge as easily, and the different colours allow for better separation of objects in the sketch.[46] Copy-editors find them useful too, as their markings stand out more than graphite but can be erased.[47]

Non-reproducing

or Non-photo blue pencils make marks that are not reproduced by photocopiers[48] (Sanford’s Copy-not or Staedtler’s Mars Non-photo) or by whiteprint copiers (Staedtler’s Mars Non-Print).

Stenographer’s pencil

also known as steno pencil. These pencils are expected to be very reliable, and their lead is break proof. Nevertheless sometimes steno pencils are sharpened at both ends to enhance reliability. They are round to avoid pressure pain during long texts. [49]

Golf pencil

Golf pencils are usually short (a common length is 9 cm) and very cheap. They are also known as library pencils, as many libraries offer them as disposable, unspillable writing instruments.