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Lets Talk Graphite..

Why is graphite such a good medium?
Graphite was the very first medium I practised in when I was a child. I guess from the age I could hold a pencil you could say I had always wanted to scribble on anything … Likely walls as well much to my mums delight I’m sure haha.

– Cheapest option.. Great place to start
If anyone is looking to start creating, drawing etc graphite is a fantastic medium to get practising with. It’s probably the cheapest medium to get started with and you don’t have to be so exact on quality of materials. Graphite is graphite unlike colour pencils where you have to worry about lightfast ratings and longevity. So that is a massive bonus.

Close up of a Gorilla commission I did a couple of years ago.
Ref photo: Jan Willemsen at Wildlife Reference Photos


– What materials should you buy?
* Pencils – Any set of graphite pencils will do. Ultimately you can create the same effect but the more expensive recognosied brands for artists such as Faber Castell 9000 and Derwent Graphic have nice wood casings and no ‘nuggets’. What I mean by this is sometimes you get like a small bit of grit which if using your pencils hard enough may scratch your paper. Even when this has happened with a pencil I have used I haven’t ever damaged my paper. But it is something to be aware of. All you need to do is sharpen your pencil to get rid of this and you’re back working.
* Paper – This falls to personal choice in many instances. You can be a lot less picky with your paper for graphite than you can colour pencils or pastels. I know some artists like a bit of tooth to their paper but I personally like something a little smoother. I use Strathmore paper and use the smoother side of their paper in the pads. The other side is ever so slightly more textured; more tooth. It’s said that the more tooth with enable you to get your darks darker. But the way work I haven’t found it to be an issue.
* Blending tools – For beginners just want to have a play with graphite you can buy a set of paper stumps also known as paper tortillions. These work great. Cotton buds which most households keep are also a good thing to use. For larger areas tissue works or a car Chamois.

A must have for me spoken in other blog posts is graphite powder..
Have a search on my website with the magnifying glass for graphite powder and I have a few different posts showing work and covering in more detail how I use it. My Rhino is a perfect demonstration of this. The full time lapse video of this will be posted on tomorrows blog post.

Rhino commission completed last year
Ref photo: Craig Maisfield
** SALE **
To make way for future pieces I am offering this Cheetah cub origianl graphite drawing at a bargain price of £40 including UK P&P! Professionally mounted ready to frame 🙂


Ref Photo: Emmanuel Keller @ Wildlife Reference Photos.
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