Pencil drawing

“ In the very first drawing, for example, and all others, insist on having lightly penciled blocking out lines of indefinite length—lines that are just visible, that is all. Do not allow the pupil to form the habit of drawing a heavy line between two points previously located. It is needless to say that the pencil must be of good lead, properly sharpened, and kept sharp. It is an excellent plan to insist that all construction or blocking out lines be left just as originally drawn, no eraser being used at all. If lightly made, as they should be, they will be inconspicuous in the finished drawing. ”

“ This will not occur in a good block made by the swelled gelatine method. Further, the process does not restrict the draughtsman to dead black ink; the drawings may be made in pencil, crayon, or in ordinary writing ink: it is even claimed that wash drawings and photographs page 86 can be reproduced satisfactorily by this method. In the case of pencil drawings, the best results will be given when the surface of the paper used by the draughtsman is slightly rough; a pencil drawing on Bristol board, for example, will not be so well reproduced as one on ordinary smooth drawing paper. ”

“ The pencil or crayon point, in passing over a rough or broken surface, forms a series of dots instead of a continuous line. The same thing occurs when pencil is used on a rough surface drawing paper. Such pencillings, being examined, are found to be lead marks, interspersed with minute interstices of white paper, the whole giving a sort of grey tint of greater or less intensity.
For broad sketchy effects such a drawing method is exceedingly valuable; some very delightful things may be done without the least appearance of the mechanical. ”

“ The artists felt themselves free from any obligation to give expression to the countenances of their subjects so long as the fundamental idea was there, and the loops offered an easy vehicle for the utterance of thoughts and feelings which a modern artist would feel obliged to express in the drawing itself—by a skillful quirk of the pencil, an added line, an exaggerated smile or frown. ”

“ Then the middle lines and objects may be placed, and the sketch filled up by referring all others to those three groups which may be regarded as determined.
The lead pencil for field drawing should be moderately hard, and the general tone of the drawing should be rather light. The shading of slopes ought not to overpower by its depth the distinctness of other objects, and the pencil should be so used and of such a quality as not to be easily defaced by rubbing. ”

“ One strong feeling is left in my mind that whatever directs the pencil is all-powerful, and that nothing is too difficult for its performance if it only chooses to assert its power.
I ought to add that the style of design which my hand draws is strange to me. I have never observed anything like them anywhere. Neither do I know of any influence, suggestive or otherwise, that could have given me this power, with the exception (as I have stated) of having seen a man make a slight exhibition of automatic drawing, but this exhibition was long after I had noticed movements of my own hand. ”

“ This outline I transfer to the plate. Then I go out and carefully study in pencil, on the original outline sketch, the subject I want to do, so as to ‘get acquainted’ with it before beginning the more exacting work upon the copperplate. I never use a drawing to work from except sometimes as an extra guide in the biting, where a [Pg 254] careful study can be very useful.” They are beautiful things, these pencil-drawings of New York and Frankfort, but there can be only one of each. ”

“ There is nothing to be ashamed of in drawing first in pencil; one might perhaps be able to draw in quite as correctly with the pen, but the advantage of a pencil outline as a guide is that it gives more time and leisure thought for carefully considering the pen work before putting it in. By this course there is less danger of confused hesitating lines. From the first let the ink lines be clear, distinct, and black ”

“ Always draw on the right side of the sheet, which can be found by holding the sheet up to the light and looking across its surface with the eye nearly in the same plane as the paper; note which side is the smoothest and has the least number of blemishes on it; this is the right side to draw on.
As to sharpening pencils, it is always best to cut a chisel point on the pencil used for drawing, and put a circular point on the pencils in the bow pencil and pencil leg. The chisel point makes a finer line and lasts much longer than a round point. ”

“ The unpublished sketches which we have been allowed to reproduce from du Maurier's private sketch-book, and which we are using as end pieces, are very interesting. In the strictest artistic sense there is very little of the art of pen-drawing to-day. In the work done with the pen for modern illustration the inking-in is too much of an after process of ink upon pencil work. The quality of the drawing is really determined by the pencil, which is the actual medium of work. ”

“ It is a good thing to accustom yourself to hew and shape your drawing out of a dirty piece of paper. When you have got it as right as you can, take a quill pen, not very fine at the point; rest your hand on a book about an inch and a half thick, so as to hold the pen long; and go over your pencil outline with ink, raising your pen point as seldom as possible, and never leaning more heavily on one part of the line than on another. In most outline drawings of the present day, parts of the curves are thickened to give an effect of shade ”

“ Rub the chalk on a piece of waste paper, and on one side only; that will give a flattened side for sharp and decided drawing.
Drawing with the Brush Drawing with the brush is more difficult than with the pencil, but you should accustom yourself to the use of both.
It is far better to paint a picture from the very beginning with a brush. Drawing first with a pencil and then with a brush necessitates changing one's tool, and readjusting one's mind. We look at a model, pencil in hand, very differently from the way we regard the same object when holding a brush. ”

“ WHEN we are very small nothing seems too difficult for our pencil. If we wish to draw a tree, a horse, or an engine, we make no bones about the matter, we draw it. Possibly the drawings may look rather quaint in the eyes of other people, but they satisfy ourselves. ”

“ Drawing with a Lead Pencil A PENCIL has many excellent qualities. It is a clean tool and easy to handle. It can be carried in the pocket and pressed into the service whenever required. Beyond sharpening, it requires no attention.
To sharpen a pencil you should pare the wood in small shavings with a sharp knife. When a small portion of the lead is exposed place the lead on a piece of paper and whittle down to a firm and not very thin point. A very sharp point is a mistake. ”

“ Let there be first a drawing made correctly with black lead pencil: let nothing be to seek; then rub it off on the plate cover'd with white wax, or perhaps pass it thro' press—this will produce certain & determin'd forms on the plate & time will not be wasted in seeking them afterwards. ”

“ A drawing of the part of the landscape or figure first to be made is sketched by pencil upon the web, and with the picture to be copied constantly in sight, the workman or artist, as he should be called, works slowly upon his task, glad if in a day he can work into the tapestry a branch, a hand, or an eye. ”

“ When the drawing has been first drawn in with pencil and inked over, every vestige of pencil marks must be carefully removed, otherwise the process reproduces them, not as soft grey marks, but as black as those made in ink, and some very unpleasant surprises will be the result. ”

“ The pencil is indeed a very precious instrument after you are master of the pen and brush, for the pencil, cunningly used, is both, and will draw a line with the precision of the one and the gradation of the other; nevertheless, it is so unsatisfactory to see the sharp touches, on which the best of the detail 82 depends, getting gradually deadened by time, or to find the places where force was wanted look shiny, and like a fire-grate, that I should recommend rather the steady use of the pen, or brush, and color, whenever time admits of it ”

“ With regard to drawings in wash, charcoal or pencil, in which there are half-tones; these are better drawn on an enlarged scale, especially if the author is not a skilled draughtsman, for improper gradations in shading and other imperfections will not appear so noticeable in the reduced reproduction. Originals should all be made in one colour; in the case of wash drawings, diluted Indian ink (really Chinese ink) will give excellent results.
In making pencil drawings, a fairly stout hand-made paper with not too much grain should be used. ”

“ Study the work of the best illustrators, noting the tone-scheme and the placing upon the page.
ETCHING Etching, pen drawing and pencil sketching are line-arts. The needle, pen and lead pencil are tools for drawing lines, and there is much reason in Whistler's contention that tone and shading should not be attempted with them. The tool always gives character to work, and the best results are obtained when the possibilities of tools and materials are fully appreciated. If a sharp point is used in drawing, it will produce pure line, whose quality may reach any degree of excellence. ”

“ Frequently it will be found when drawing fine lines that the pen ceases to mark before the end of the line is reached, and as we have already said, it is very difficult to join a line without leaving visible traces of the operation. To remedy this defect, the pen must be reset as described in Section I. If a very hard pencil has been used, or if the pencil has been pressed heavily upon the paper, the pencil line will lie in a groove in the paper, and as the nib of the pen will not touch the bottom of this groove, the line drawn will be ragged. ”

“ The pencil holder B is fastened to the other end of the elastic over the drawing paper. A pointer, or a knot, is placed in the elastic at C. The pencil holder consists of a stick of wood turned into a handle with a hole bored centrally for a pencil.
The Size of the Enlarged Picture Depends on the Length of the Elastic and the Spacing of Pencil and Pointer
In use, the pencil is moved over the drawing paper while the knot or pointer is watched, to keep it following the lines of the original drawing. ”

“ In going over the pencil work the ink-line follows it in many cases so closely that it cannot assert the characteristics of penmanship. But in making preliminary small studies for a picture with the pen, an artist, feeling less necessity for a certain kind of accuracy, often uses the pen much more freely, sympathetically, and happily because he is actually drawing with it and not merely following over forms determined first in another medium. ”

“ We do not usually say, or think, that a sculptor is drawing when he is using his chisel, although he may be expressing or defining forms, nor that an engraver is drawing when he is pushing the burin with the palm of the hand, although the result may be the rendering of a design. But we do say that an artist is drawing when he uses the lead pencil, and here we have a motion bearing some resemblance to that of traction generally. ”

“ But it is a matter of practice mainly, and the pen you usually write with is apt to be the best medium for practice at first. In fact, we are particularly anxious to have our reader not worry about pen technic. Let him realize that he might wish to put his drawing upon the chalk plate, in which case he would make a tracing of a photograph, and, placing it upon the chalk, press upon it with a hard-pointed pencil, and thus transfer his outline into an indentation on the chalk. ”

“ Now, while in wash drawings, crayon, or pencil sketches, "scrape" boards, and the like, there must be some amount of instinctive artistic ability, not only to guide the hand in execution but to govern taste, idea, and selection; yet in simple line drawing with the pen, without any art knowledge or technical ability, it may be possible to produce a perfectly reproducible drawing, fulfilling in every way the essential duty of an illustration. ”

“ The kind of drawing which is taught, or supposed to be taught, in our schools, in a term or two, perhaps at the rate of an hour's practice a week, is not drawing at all. It is only the performance of a few dexterous (not always even that) evolutions on paper with a black-lead pencil; profitless alike to performer and beholder, unless as a matter of vanity, and that the smallest possible vanity. ”

“ A General System It is a common fault of students to dive into the picture unthinkingly, beginning anywhere, without the vaguest plan of a general effect, whereas it is of the utmost importance that every stroke of the pen be made with intelligent regard to the ultimate result. The following general method will be found valuable.
Pencil the outline of the entire subject before beginning the pen work. It will not do to start on the rendering as soon as the building alone is pencilled out, leaving the accessories to be put in as one goes along. ”

“ Look at those nearest to you . . . and draw their shapes delicately. Hold your pencil lightly, give a gentle, feather touch, and, as feathers are bunched together, and some will be in shadow, put in the shadows lightly, but sharply. Then pause and look at your drawing.
Have you 'handled' the drawing of the wood and the feathers differently? Does the leather look more substantial than the feathers?
The work is not easy, but practice will soon give a surer touch. You are playing a scale with your pencil as one plays a scale on a piano. ”