Pencil Portrait Art - Tools of the Trade

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By MIchael Brinkley

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For many years people have asked me what is the most important thing to consider when becoming an artist. They usually expect me to answer in esoteric terms and are quite surprised when my answer is actually a practical one. The answer is tools.As crazy as it might seem, the right tools is more important than any emotional or spiritual influences in your art. Let's face it, every project requires its own tools. You wouldn't replace the drywall in your house with automotive tools. You would want to make sure you had exactly the right tools to get exactly the results you wanted. The world of art is no different.There are lots of expensive styles of art out there, but this is not one of them. Even the most expensive materials are still rather cheap when you consider the end result. You can of course use any pencil lying around and any piece of paper that you can scrounge up, but let's face it, you would not be happy with the results. I strongly encourage you to invest a few dollars on the best tools that you can find. I would recommend trying your local art stores like:Michaels

Aaron Brothers

Hobby Lobby

Dick Blick

Utrecht

Your SubjectThe first tool that you must strive to acquire is an intimate knowledge of your subject. Most people might not consider this to be a tool, but in fact it is the most important tool that you have available to you. It is essential that you study your subject and spend time with them before you ever begin to create your portrait. I have worked from photos of celebrities and have been able to duplicate the photos fairly well, but I do not know those celebrities. I have never spent time around them and learned what makes them laugh and what makes them cry. So, I was not able to capture the essence of the subject. When I did a portrait of a very close friend, what I knew of her personality came through. When I looked at the finished work, I realized that it looked more like her than the original photo did.PencilsYou will not get very far without a pencil, and it is very important that you choose the right pencils for your project. Graphite pencils are numbered from 9H to 9B. This determines the hardness of the pencil lead, with 9H being the hardest and 9B being the softest. The harder the lead, the more precise detail you can achieve, but you will end up with lighter images. The softer leads will produce rich dark tones, but you will not get the fine detail that you may be wanting. At some point you will want to invest in a full set of pencils and use multiple pencils in each drawing. But to be completely honest, I tend to use a 2B almost exclusively unless I need to add some serious contrast to my finished piece.Don't skimp out! Pencils and your paper are the two most important items that you will be using. Go ahead and splurge the $1.25 that it takes to purchase a good one.PaperThere are way too many aspects of paper to even begin touching the surface in this article. What I want to focus on is quality and finish. There are two primary finishes that you will want to work with at first: Cold Press and Hot Press. Cold press paper is created by forcing the paper between two cold cylinders. The result is a paper with a bit of a texture to it. Hot press is just the opposite. The cylinders are hot, resulting in a much smoother finish. There are pros and cons to both of them but this is the basic gist. Cold press, or textured, paper will pull more graphite from your pencil resulting in darker and richer tones. However, the down side is that you will not be able to get the same detail that you can get from the smooth surface of a hot pressed paper. I prefer to get as much detail as I can. Therefore I use a hot press. As you begin working with the medium you will decide for yourself what works best for each project.I want to talk about quality for a moment. A good quality paper will hold up very well. The pencil portrait technique that I use and teach is pretty brutal on the paper. A cheaper grade will not hold up as well and you will end up with the paper fibers actually breaking apart and your paper starting to disintegrate. You can get a really good pad of paper for anywhere between $7 and $15. Spend the money. You will be happy that you did. I tend to use a nice 100 lb Bristol vellum. However, I have been known to invest a little more in a hot press illustration board if I am doing work for hire.EraserEveryone has their favorite erasers. Most artists use a kneaded eraser, many use a gum eraser, I use a click eraser. Yup, the white erasers that they sell in the school supply isle for $1.50. It works just fine for me. The benefit of a kneaded eraser is that you can knead it like play-do to create fine tip points to lift out graphite to create highlights. If you want to use one, by all means do so. They are wonderful for that purpose. I just never use them myself.I have also been known to use a battery operated eraser. They can be very handy for adding highlights to hair or for enhancing the light reflected from the eyes.TortillionA tortillion is basically a tightly wound roll of paper that is used to blend graphite. It is actually the key to doing the style of art that I teach. Without this tool, you will never get the smooth gradations of tone that you need to get a photo-realistic look. The good news is that this is the cheapest of all of your tools. You can usually get several in a package for around a dollar.Pencil SharpenerWhat pencil sharpener you use is entirely your choice. Just keep in mind that you will want a nice sharp lead for most of the work that you are doing. So, don't skimp out too cheaply. If you go with an electric one, you will want to invest in one that has cutting gears as opposed to blade cutters. They are a little pricier, but provide a much nicer and sharper point than the blade sharpeners do.ConclusionThat is really all that you need for creating photo realistic works of art. I work mostly with portraits, but the same tools are used no matter what you are subject is. As you can see, this is one of the least expensive forms of art to get into. For around $15 you can get all of the supplies you need to do several works of art, and once you learn the techniques, you will have people knocking down your door wanting you to create for them.Michael BrinkleyProfessional Artist and Tutorhttp://www.pencilportrait.org[http://www.prismacolorpencil.org]Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=MIchael_Brinkley

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