Which tools should I use for sketching as a beginner?

Did you ever want to start sketching but due to lack of guidance of what tools to use you did not start?

No worries. Today we are gonna cover the basic tools that are used in sketching.

Let's first start with the evolution of pencil sketching, Pencil sketching is a form of drawing which was invented by André Cassagnes in 1960. Initially, it was considered as a freehand drawing which was not usually meant as a finished work but with the time and increasing interest of the artists in pencil sketching it grew a lot and now it is considered as one of the art forms.

 

As a beginner, having a lot of art tools for your sketching does not make any sense. So always keep your list specific and short.

ok, lets come to the tools.

1)Pencils :

Pencils are mainly categorized into: Graphite, Charcoal, Carbon and mechanical pencil.

• Graphite pencil: While differentiating graphite pencils, 'B' pencils are bold and soft and give dark effects and 'H' pencils are hard which gives light effect but it also creates grooves into paper when applied pressure, hence 'H' or 'HB' are usually used for outlines or sketching and to create light effect. Since hard pencils are light, they can be used for light shading as well. 'B' or bold pencils are used for dark shadings. So for light tones use HB or 2B, for mid-tone use 4B and for the dark shade you can go for 6B, 8B and 10B.
• Charcoal pencil:  Charcoal pencils are much softer and darker than graphite pencils and are more vulnerable to smudge. It can be categorized into hard, medium and soft or varied as same as graphite from HB to 6B. Whare hard pencil gives light effect, medium gives middle tone and soft one gives darker effect.
• Carbon pencil: Carbon pencil is an amalgamation of graphite and charcoal. It goes smoothly and gives a darker effect than graphite and charcoal in one attempt. Since it gives a dark effect we can use it for shading background, drawing hairs and other dark areas.
• Mechanical pencil: Mechanical pencils are more precise when it comes to detailed work. Its lead size ranging from 0.3mm to 0.9mm. you will find soft and dark lead bove the range of 0.7mm

For shading, we can also use graphite or charcoal sticks as well as loose charcoal as an alternative.

2)Good quality of a drawing surface:  

Good quality of the drawing surface is very much essential for a better outcome. Always consider what outcome you want and choose paper texture accordingly. If you wat smooth outcome go for smooth texture but if you want realistic and rough outcome go for rough textured paper. For practice, you can go for 75-90 gsm paper and you can go for the 100-130 gsm paper for sober artwork. Some artist also use range of more than 200gsm but for the beginners, I would suggest using low range GSM paper.

3)Erasers : 

  

• Rubber Eraser: This is the classic eraser we usually use. This eraser erases out pencil marks from paper and it also erases non-detailed structure or mistakes which happened during sketching.
• Kneaded eraser: This can be molded into a kind of any shape, and it picks out graphite without leaving any crumbs onto paper. Since it can be mold into any shape, by just giving pointed shape, fine details or small highlighting can be created. It has many uses, it can lighter down unwanted darker areas.
• Pencil eraser or Tombow eraser or electric erasers:  These erasers you can use for highlighting fine bright lines like hair. These erasers are pretty much expensive so cutting normal erasers diagonally with the help of paper cutter can be an inexpensive alternative for these erasers.

4)Blending tools :

• Blending stumps: This is the tool which is made by rolled paper for smudging or blending pigments of graphite or charcoal. It comes in different sizes.
• Brush:  Paintbrush with hard bristles also helps in blending. It gives a smooth and even effect for large area blending.
• Cotton swab, earbud, or tissue paper: One blending medium is not enough to get expected texture, a cotton swab can be used for a smooth texture on large areas, earbud can be used for detailed blending and tissue paper is as useful as other blending tools..

5)Sharpening tools : 

Paper cutter: For sharpening, always use blade cutter rather than regular pencil sharpener, otherwise the lead of this pencil will break. We use dark pencils like 2B, 4B, 6B, 8B and 10B in large numbers for darker shades, but due to its softness, there are high chances of these pencils getting broken while sharpening with a regular sharpener. 

So these are some basics tools that are used for sketching. I hope this will be helpful for you as a beginner. 

Go and get an experience of sketching with all these tools, come back here and let me know your experience.

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Thank you!

(Image sources - Pinterest and Canva)