www.penciltopics.co.uk
ACCESSORIES -
Those odds and ends of ‘Stuff’ that you can’t do without
Well actually I can do without some of it !
Looking at the contents of my travelling box ( an old plastic ADDIS sandwich box
with a lid that can be held in place with two strong elastic bands ) I decided that
some of it was due for a clean out, and the result -
when I come to justify it, some can be removed and rest explained.
HERE GOES
BEFORE I START I must also say that I have a battery powered sharpener ( a Dahl 00230 ) and a plastic pot containing a large blob of blue tac adhesive mixed with white tac.
Items shown above
A A piece of card coloured one side with black felt tip marker and a hole cut into it
This enables me to get a quick fix on tonal balance by comparing an area of a reference picture with the same area of worked picture.
If I need to, I can turn it over and use the white side of the card as a comparison. I often find that looking at a small area against a known constant, gives you a clear indication that the colour or tone is not nearly strong enough.
B A Linux Typist correction shield
This shields an area when correcting with the powered eraser ( L )
C A Kum Brand hand sharpener
Convenient and inexpensive, this comes with spare blades and enables you to get a longer point on a hand sharpened Coloured Pencil
D A small two hole hand sharpener by Staedtler
E A Lyra Pencil Extender
To be able to use small stub ends of pencils
F A pair of dividers
( for measuring small distances ( and poking stuff out of holes )
And a bone used for pressing card folds -
G A collection of implements for indenting lines
The Right hand end one is simply an old bristle brush with the back end sharpened.
H An assortment of old brushes and Colour shapers
Some watercolour and some bristle brushes.
The Colour shapers are all silicone ended and have varying hardness and shape to the tips.
They are used for shaping and blending pastel pencil material on the paper
I Traditional pencils ( graphite ) and Auto feed pencils for detail
There is also another extender that has wandered from it’s correct place !
J A collection of white pencils from a range of makes
K Blenders and Burnishers
Lyra Splender Blender and Derwent Blender and burnisher
L A Battery Powered eraser
Inexpensive one from Jakar with a set of tips
M A Plastic eraser from Staedtler
N A handy pair of pliers
You wouldn’t believe how often these get used -
O A Biro and a collection of odd coloured pencils
Too many pencils finish up here, they should be in their correct boxes !
P a fine tipped black marker pen
Q Some pieces of thick white felt
To rub in colour for skies etc
R A safety paper cutter
S Two sharp knives and a small pair of scissors
LET US NOW THINK ABOUT SHARPENERS
A pencil is no use unless it is sharp. If you don’t like sharpening pencils there are lead holders available and Caran d’Ache sells watersoluble coloured leads, but I believe this is an expensive option. Apart from when you work the woodless ‘crayon type of pencils, using a sharpener is essential
A sharp knife with a replaceable blade is invaluable -
Low cost hand sharpeners with a blade are excellent when they are new. There is a case to be made for buying a box full at 15p each and throwing them away as they start to become blunt. You can tell when this happens as the pencil wood tears rather than be sliced, and the core pigment tends to break as it is stressed by the old edge of the blade.
Manual desktop sharpeners are available, but I suggest that you check whether they have a spiral cutter or a blade inside. If they have a blade, I wouldn’t purchase, as you are paying a lot just for a fancy box to put the shavings in.
The sharpening will be no better than the cheap in-
Low cost, handle driven, desktop sharpeners with a spiral cutter ( open the rubbish tray and look inside ) start at under £5 (I have bought them from Lidl supermarket for £2.45 and on the Internet for under £10 with P & P). Jakar do a state of the art one which should last a lifetime and will cost you around £30. There is no need to spend more.
Low cost sharpeners often produce a fairly short pencil point -
Sharpeners that produce a shorter point are more suitable for softer pencil brands
like Prismacolor, Luminance, Coloursoft etc. The longer pointed sharpeners are fine
for the brands with a harder pigment strip -
Battery driven sharpeners are convenient, tend to be noisy and certainly expensive to run. They come into their own if you stray from mains electricity, but I also find that the motors tend to have a short life. Dahle battery sharpeners cost around £20 without the batteries.
There are several mains powered models on the market. Swordfish machines are available at a wide range of prices from £25 to £85. The Jakar Mains model costs around £30 and is an excellent one and produces a long fine point. A good Internet place to look is the mail order firm of Altecweb UK who have several pages of sharpeners starting with hand held ones at 15p and moving on to manual desktop models at £5 or less up to £85. You pays your money .........
When using wax and oil based pencils in a sharpener with a helical ( or spiral ) cutter, it is best to put a graphite pencil through the blades from time to time. This helps clean the cutters and lubricate them. Coloured pencils can produce a build up of wax/oil binder in the cutters that jams them, and for this reason some manufacturers specify on the boxes that the sharpeners are suitable only for graphite pencils. I wouldn’t get too concerned about such warnings, just use the graphite pencil to clean the cutters from time to time.
The alternative to pencil sharpeners is to use a knife with a replaceable blade. There are several brands on the market. I use a yellow handled Olfa knife which takes a fine pointed blade. This can be used for sharpening pencils and for working on the CP surface as well. Replacement blades are inexpensive and come in a box with a slot for storing old blades.
The Knife usually gets used for sharpening watercolour pencils, where I may well need to use the pigment for making up washes of colour for underpainting.
AND NOW WE LOOK AT ERASERS
The traditional rubber and plastic erasers tend to smear Coloured Pencil pigment so it is often better to lift the colour from the paper. The one exception seems to be the little battery powered erasers which the SAA sell for under £5 and which come with a small stock of the eraser tips. These are branded by Jakar and other outlets sell them. I find them easier to hold and use than the rather bulky Derwent eraser.
I find that White Tac is invaluable, both as a medium for holding paper to the drawing board, and as a material to lift layers of colour from the paper. A block of this will last for ages if it is regularly folded in to keep the outer surface clean. I was first told of its use when I was painting with soft pastel where it not only lifts colour from the paper, but also keeps your hands dust free if you keep a ball of it in your palm. White Tac can be difficult to find, so if you see it in a stationers, get a packet. Over the internet it can cost you up to £1.75 a pack but I have bought it in a stationers at 80p.
Sellotape or low tack tape can also be used for lifting colour. Lay a piece tacky side down over the area to be treated and press down with a pencil point. Lift the tape and with luck and a fair wind, the pressed area will have had a layer of colour removed with the tape.
ALSO IN MY TRAVEL BAG
A soft cosmetic type brush to remove ‘bits’ from the working surface ( much better than using the back of your hand with the risk of smearing the artwork ) Some people swear by using a large feather which can certainly be cheaper !.
Some ZEST-
A folder with some ‘decent’ watercolour brushes
A roll of kitchen paper
A small water pot
And some spare batteries
Latest revision May 2010