15 Tips for Beginning with Pencil

15 tips to kick start drawing in pencil for beginners. Practical direction to make the journey faster and more enjoyable.

#howtodraw #drawingvideo #drawingtips #pencildrawing #pencil_drawing #pencilart #pencil #stephentraversart

[gnarthdarkanen]

Great set of tips... Especially useful is that H-hardness to B-blackness portion. I have an old OLD Eagle "lead set" with containers of all noted hardness to blackness for a "Draftsman's Mechanical Pencil" (which is still my favorite pencil-ish instrument)... SO I knew of the scale, BUT I just don't see many videos explaining any of it... SO GREAT job on the details!!

I would like to add... AND keep in mind, this is PRIMARILY for beginners...

Cut a sheet of sandpaper into 4ths, and keep them in your drawing "kit". You don't need any special, but around a 300 Grit (yes, same as #300) which is relatively middle of the road stuff, is about perfect... This stuff is VERY useful for "tipping" a pencil, or rather, just burnishing the very end of it for a nice sharp point in a few seconds... just tilt it and brush it side to side... blow off the dust AWAY from anything important (you know, like your drawing?) and you CAN even go a little slower and rotate the pencil as you work, BUT that's not nearly as important if you just want a few more nice CRISP lines all dark and everything... You CAN play at it, and learn to SHAPE the tip as much as sharpen anything, which can help make other marks a little easier, too... A nice flat edge instead of a point lets you get really crisp THIN lines one way, but discretely wider lines pulling the pencil perpendicularly to the thin lines... for instance... A few sheets of sandpaper keeps that knife from eating up your pencil and still provides a quick sharpened point with little investment...

AND experiment with how (exactly) you position your hand to hold the pencil. What's shown in the video is the usual "underhand" hold supporting it. With a forefinger directly in line over the top of the pencil, gently holding it between the thumb and middle and ring fingers is an "overhand" hold that many portrait artists prefer for their work, offering a little more delicate touch to the variations of shading one can accomplish...

Whenever I draw with pencil, my hands (yeah... ambi' here) wander all over the place... as does my particular "techniques"... SO in the beginning, while you find your own particular style of doing things, experimentation takes a certain precedent... or at least, it should. Don't be afraid of finding different ways of doing things, even the same old things... It gives us options for later, where we might not be so easily inclined to do the same things the same old ways for whatever reasons.

AND if you're so interested in making something truly NEW and unique, then you're going to have to step out into NEW territory and techniques to get it... so there is that. ;o)

[neilt]

Yay...graphite. Hope you're going to do a few more videos on using pencil. We used to use 10H when I trained in stonemasonry...good for drawing on stone but not much else!!

[valeriedrew]

Even as a seasoned pencil artist that was very useful advice to look at lines from a different perspective. Thanks. Did you hear my gasp as the pencil hit the floor 😮😂😂

[AbiNomac]

About the length of a pencil or lack of. For my short pencils I have purchased “pencil extenders.” I don’t know if that is their name but that’s what call them. Now the short pencils are longer than what they were originally and I get to use all of the pencil until there virtually nothing left.
Thanks Stephen.

[williamw]

Yes finally pencil! Maybe you could show your process when doing a pencil drawing, if and how you make guidelines, how u indicate different materials etc.

[eugenetswong]

Actually, Stephen, blunt pencils are probably the best for hatching.

Thanks for video!

[mikemcenroe]

With all the good points about smudging, I was surprised that you didn't address the ultimate smudge problem: what happens when you close the sketchbook on that beautiful effort and then carry the book around to the next subject only to discover that the last drawing is one big smudge! I suggest workable fixatif or, if you're traveling, a small bottle of unscented hairspray. Both work well and save a lot of heartache.

[santone]

Great video Stephen I was also going to mention pencil extenders. I have used them a lot they are not expensive. Especially considering they save a lot on replacing the pencils so often. Also a lot of portrait artist I have noticed prefer the shorter pencils when using an over hand grip, I think they fit in the palm of the hand easier for gesture drawing.

[ambikaupadhya]

Thank you so much for the information you shared 🤝

[fibonacci]

Thanks a lot for your tips, Stephen.
Especially cutting the eraser in order to get a thin erasing shape was helpful. 👍

[AsadKhan-usvk]

Very useful video for those who want to start drawings and sketching. Sir, i have problem regarding scale when i start sketching from one end and reach to the othe end i realise that the object i am drawing i too big for paper it become out of proportion. Kindly make a video regarding scale. Thanks

[art_of__.kanika]

Thank you so much for this information 😊😇

[jerrysstories]

I'm loving this series! I just started seriously practicing my "drawring" a few weeks ago, with my tin of Derwents, my relic-of-school-days sharpener, and no advice at all. Some of your tips today, I already figured out through trial and error, but sharpening erasers was a game-changing revelation! :-)
Have you got any tips for faces? I found a great photo, and I've been drawing it over and over, so I can track my progress. She's progressed from looking severely disfigured to just looking very drunk, and in my latest effort she almost has a facial expression! I hope someday she'll be recognizable as herself, and I'll be able to draw faces without a cheat grid.
My biggest surprise so far? The most difficult part of the face to draw is the nose!

[larryglatt]

I also noticed that there are differences between manufacturers & additionally mechanical pencil leads & those such as your Staedler's, which I have as well as mechanical pencils.

[danmcgov]

Thanks for the video. I'm taking a drawing class at a local community college, and he recommended an AFMAT pencil sharpener. It provides a similar point to using a knife. Personally, I like switching between a pen and pencil with my drawings for a little variety.

Have you dabbled with digital drawing?

[hodge]

Faber Castell makes matt graphite pencils up to 14B

[eileencollins]

I like pencil drawing. You have given a great group of points that are very helpful. I do have a In the area when you are talking about short pencils, you do not mention pencil extenders, which I have seen in the store but never used. Do you use pencil extenders when your pencils are getting too short? If not, why? Thanks for so many great videos!

[atakanbardakc]

Hello. Could you please add Turkish subtitles to this video and previous videos? Thank you