Introduction to Traditional Media: Pencils, Charcoal, Erasers and More

by Tracy Butler

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What You'll Be Creating

In this tutorial I will introduce you to the types of drawing materials you can use to set you on the path to sketching and doodling, wherever and whenever the mood takes you.

Why Drawing?

You can draw just about anywhere and with the most basic of materials. Drawing can be one of the most relaxing and pleasurable pastimes, and if you want to take your creative skills further, drawing trains your hand-to-eye coordination, helping you to improve your work with any tool you choose. 

So, pick up a graphite or Conté pencil, or a piece of charcoal, and draw on the train on the way into work, an image that catches your fancy off the television, your husband/wife, your local garden—anything or anywhere.

1. Pencils

The Basics

Graphite pencils are generally wooden with a lead running through them, but you can buy a propelling pencil (an outer case), filling it with the lead you wish. The actual lead we use today is made up of a mixture of graphite and clay, as the original historical lead was poisonous. 

Pencils range in hardness from 9H (the hardest) to 9B (the softest), with F and HB in the middle. I prefer using the softer pencils for drawing—the Bs—and will concentrate on these in this tutorial.

B to 9B Pencils

B pencils have the following characteristics, with B being the hardest and 9B the softest. 

• The softer the pencil, the darker your lines and shading.
• The deeper your shadowing, the easier the pencil is to smudge.
• The thicker your lines, the more difficult it is to keep a pencil sharp, the more difficult it is to rub out your lines cleanly, and the more resistant they are to water-based paints. B is easiest to cover, while 9B is the most difficult (almost impossible), especially if you lay the graphite down thickly.

When I first start to sketch, I tend to use a B. This allows me to draw light lines, which can either be ignored as I work into the drawing or can be drawn over with a softer, darker pencil (see the sketch of the little boy above). If an object is moving—for example, the panda below—the B pencil allows me to make loads of quick corrections without losing what I am drawing.

Keeping Pencils Sharp

Working with sharp or blunt pencils is a personal choice, but I wanted to add a small note about sharpening them in the first place. 

Pencil sharpeners do what they are supposed to, but if you are out and about sketching, there may not always be somewhere for you to leave your shavings. So consider buying a tub sharpener, one that has its own reservoir for all your sharpenings until you can dispose of them.

Using a knife instead of a sharpener is a romantic idea, but carrying a knife around for that purpose isn't practical, and is possibly illegal. Although it gives you an unusual squared-off point, sharpening a pencil with a knife eats them at a phenomenally fast rate.

What Should You Buy?

To start with, you should buy a selection of individual pencils: B, 2B, 4B, 6B and 8B. You will get a feel for what they do, and will be able to decide if certain ones are just a bit too dark for you, or too light. Once you get used to them, you can then buy the harder or softer pencil before or after that.

There are so many makes of pencil out there, but I have a couple of favourites: Derwent and Faber-Castell. That's because they are less likely to break the whole way through if you drop them (something I am prone to do), and the graphite feels smoother when you draw with it, less gritty than others.

You can buy tins of pencils, but be careful of the labelling—make sure they contain a selection of soft and hard pencils, not all the same type. A lot of tins contain a number of H pencils as well as B, so keep an eye out for the contents.

2. Charcoal

Charcoal is messy. It goes everywhere, especially on your hands, your face, your work surface, your clothes, and the floor. But it is great fun to use, and the effects are really quite different to those of any other material out there.

The Basics

There are three types of charcoal:

• Vine, which is normally around the width of a pencil and is the result of burning sticks.
• Compressed, which is shaped into sticks of varying lengths and thicknesses.
• Charcoal pencil, which is charcoal through a wooden pencil instead of a lead.

As you can see from the drawing of the eye, above, you can get a lot of detail from the vine and pencil charcoals, and they can be used as you would a normal pencil. The compressed charcoal, though, is best for taking advantage of smudging and working in large areas. 

In the above drawing, I used a compressed charcoal to fill in the whole area, smudging bits with my finger or leaving the lines the charcoal has made. I then took a putty eraser (more details in section 4) to draw into the charcoal, lifting the black dust off to create the cube. You can scratch into the charcoal with your nails, and add more detail with charcoal vines, pencils or even a small knife. And if you are worried about smudging your finished drawing, a bit of hairspray will fix it in place.

What Should You Buy?

If you want to experiment with charcoal, I would start with two types. 

1. Willow charcoal of varying thickness allows you to get lovely lines, and is controllable, like a pencil. 
2. Compressed charcoal will enable you to cover large areas quickly and is darker than willow.

3. Conté Pencils

I have included these in this tutorial as they are treated just like pencils, but have a little bit of colour to them. Instead of graphite, Contés contain chalk and are available in black, brown, terracotta red, grey and white. They are great as stand-alone drawing materials, or they can be used alongside charcoal and ordinary pencils to lift your drawing, especially if you are working on coloured paper. 

I have to admit I love using these, and have just spent a few happy hours drawing in a museum with them. They didn't need sharpening the whole time, and when I made a mistake, I could gently smudge it away with a finger.

What Should You Buy?

This is an easy one. Conté pencils are the make, so you just need to decide which colours you prefer. To start with, you can buy packs of six assorted colours, but I would look for the ones that contain white, as white can have the most uplifting effect on your drawing, and it's well worth playing with.

4. Erasers

You can buy erasers just about anywhere, but they are not always the ones you should use when creating art. Below is an image of four erasers, and the top two I would avoid. The blue could colour the paper you are working on, and the black (which could do the same) is also so rough that it could damage the surface of your drawing.

What you are looking for is a smooth white eraser, like the one on the bottom left. 

The one on the bottom right is a putty eraser, and although it is no good at large areas, it is great for creating clear or white spots within your drawing. It can be shaped into a point for precision, but the more you use it, the dirtier it becomes, as you can see below. (The sphere was created using a 9B pencil and a putty eraser.) I tend to use a putty eraser more as a tool than an eraser.

However, I actually try to avoid using an eraser, as going without tends to push me to improve. If I make a mistake, there is nothing I can do about it but draw on, and try not to make that mistake again.

What Should You Buy?

You should buy two erasers: latex and putty. The best latex, I find, hands down, is Staedtler Mars Plastic, because it keeps your work clean and doesn't fall to pieces. The putty eraser you use can be any make, and white. I've never been keen on coloured erasers, as you don't know what the colour is going to do.

5. Papers

There is an endless choice and variety of paper out there, ranging from smooth to textured, whites, creams and every colour you can think of. The one you choose to use affects so many aspects of your drawing. You can buy paper loose or in a sketchbook.

Paper Thickness

When you are talking about the weight of paper, you are actually referring to its thickness. I prefer to work on papers that are 120gsm and heavier. They have a luxurious feel to them, and can take a lot more abuse than 80gsm. I can lean heavily without my pencil marks imprinting on the paper below, and I can (if I have succumbed) repeatedly use an eraser without damaging the surface. And on the heavier ones, I can add water-based materials without the paper getting very wrinkly.

Surface and Texture

Texture is a personal choice. When drawing, I like to work on a slightly textured stock, because smooth can smudge and at times it is difficult to make the lines I want with my chosen materials. A rougher texture also affects the finish of your drawing, as you can see from the sketch of a cat below.

Colour

I prefer to draw on whites, creams, muted browns, greys and blacks, and find that any other colour tends to be too overpowering. The darker shades of paper are wonderful for concentrating on light and highlight—Conté pencils are wonderful for this.

Sizes

Paper comes loose leaf and in a variety of sizes. A4 is the size of printer paper. A3 is double that, A2 double again, and so on. Below are the ones most artists use, but they can go a lot bigger:

• A1: 59.4 x 84.1cm, 23.4 x 33.1"
• A2: 42 x 59.4cm, 16.5 x 23.4"
• A3: 29.7 x 42cm, 11.7 x 16.5"
• A4: 21 x 29.7cm, 8.3 x 11.7"
• A5: 14.8 x 21cm, 5.8 x 8.3"
• A6: 10.5 x 14.8cm, 4.1 x 5.8"

I should mention that paper sizes differ in the US.

What Should You Buy?

For pencil drawing, start with something off-white and very slightly textured. It would be tempting to use printer paper, but it's far too smooth and gives no room for making mistakes. With both charcoal and Conté, use a more textured paper, and go for something with a bit of colour to see what effect it has on your chosen subject, but try and avoid bright shades as they are very overpowering.

And, to keep the costs down, I have also been known to use lining paper (the stuff that goes under wallpaper), which is available at DIY shops. It has a slight texture to it, can take a lot of punishment, is great for most media, including some paints, and can be torn off to the size you want.

The size of paper you choose is a preference, but if you are drawing out and about, taking a selection of A4 sheets on a clipboard works very well, and it can easily be rested in your lap.

6. Sketchbooks

Sketchbooks are an artist's diary, notebook and inspiration. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, which can be carried in a bag for convenience, or under your arm if you like something bigger.

Some have their pages permanently stitched in, while others have perforations for tearing paper out. 

What Should You Buy?

I tend to avoid the spiral bound ones as I like to work across the two pages that are open in front of me, allowing my conveniently sized A4 to become A3. The spiral can get in the way of my hand when I'm working.

If you are out and about or have little space, look for an A6 or A5 sketchbook as they are easy to store in a bag, and can rest in your other hand while you are drawing.

Larger sketchbooks are great for working on at home, but unless you are happy, and comfortable enough, to sit on the ground or don't mind carrying a portable easel, I would avoid these if drawing elsewhere.

Put your contact details in your sketchbook in case you lose it, and date it. It is wonderful to see how you have improved over time, and the date will help you keep track.

Conclusion

There are no steadfast rules to drawing and sketching, except practice with your materials and use what you like best. Mix graphite pencils with charcoal and Conté, and see what effects you can get. Sketch while you are traveling, and most of all have fun.

All the materials I have mentioned are available from art shops both on your high street and online.

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How to Create a Surreal Photo Manipulation in Adobe Photoshop

by Jarka Hrncarkova

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What You'll Be Creating

In this tutorial you'll learn how to create a surreal scene combining photos of the sky. You'll also learn how to easily blend different photos of light effects using Blending Modes and how to create realistic looking lens flare to create the light portal.

I'll show you how to apply textures to add details to your photo manipulation, and how to work with plugins to get beautiful colors. Let's get started.

Tutorial Assets

Download the following photos to create this tutorial:

• Fractals, sky, man, light effects

1. Preparing the Background

Step 1

Open Adobe Photoshop and go to File > New... (or press Control-N on your keyboard) to create a new document. 

Set Width to 1400 px, Height to 2100 px and Resolution to 300.

Download all stock photos attached with this tutorial. Open the image namedbackground.jpg and drag it into the document you've just created. Double-click on the new layer and name it BACKGROUND.

(If you don't see the Layers panel go to Window > Layers.)

Take a look at the following image. You should double-click on the place where the arrow shows.

Quick tip: It's a good habit to name all your layers. When you have to work with more layers it's easier and quicker to navigate between them.

Step 2

Open the image named clouds.jpg and drag it into your photo manipulation. Place this new layer on top of all the layers and name it CLOUDS. Move the layer to the bottom right corner. 

As you can see there is harsh transition between BACKGROUND and CLOUDS. You'll blend it in this step. The part you need to blend is circled in the following image.

To blend CLOUDS properly with the rest of the image, add a Layer Mask to it. You can find the Add layer mask button in the bottom part of Layers panel.

In the image below you can see how the Add layer mask button looks. 

Grab the Brush Tool (B). Select a soft round brush and set its Opacity to about60%. Pick black color. Make sure that the layer mask is active (just click on it) and start painting over the areas with harsh transition. Those parts will disappear. 

Quick tip: While blending, try to work with different brush sizes and opacities to see what works best for your image.

In the image below you can see how your photo manipulation should look so far.

2. Color Adjustments

In this part you'll change colors and increase contrast to give the background a more dramatic mood.

Step 1

Let's start by changing the colors. Add a new Hue/Saturation adjustment layer on top of all layers. You can find the Create new fill or adjustment layer button in the bottom part of the Layers panel, right next to the Add new layer mask button you used in the previous step.

The button is highlighted in the following image.

Set the Hue value to -30 and Saturation to -30 as well.

Step 2

To make the upper part of the sky more dramatic, you need to darken it a little. Add a new Curves layer mask on top of all the layers, and set the curve roughly as shown in the following image.

You want to adjust only the upper part of the image and not the rest. Grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G), and fill the layer mask of this adjustment layer with black color. The adjustment disappears.

To make it visible only on the upper part, grab the Gradient Tool (G). ChooseLinear Gradient (see the image below to see the location of the button.)

Click on the image of the gradient in the upper left corner to open the Gradient Editor.

Select Foreground to Transparent Gradient and set the foreground color to white (#FFFFFF).

Press OK to apply the changes.

Make sure the layer mask of the Curves adjustment layer is active (click on it) and paint white gradient from the upper part to the middle of the image. 

Look at the image below to see how your photo manipulation should look so far.

Step 3

To make the image look a bit more dramatic, you'll increase contrast in this step.

Add a new Curves adjustment layer on top of all the layers, and set the curve as shown in the image below.

You've created five layers so far. Let's take a quick look at them to have everything in order.

3. Adding a Man

Step 1

Drag the file man.png into your photo manipulation. Place this new layer on top of all the layers and name it MAN. 

To blend it properly with the rest of the image you need to hide part of the legs and make him lighter. Let's start with blending.

Add a layer mask to MAN. Grab the Brush Tool (B), pick black color and select a soft round brush. Set the Opacity to about 70% and gently paint over the man's leg. See the image below to get an idea of where you should paint.

Step 2

To make the man lighter, add a new Curves adjustment layer on top of all the layers. Set the curve as you can see in the image below.

You want to lighten only MAN and not the rest of the image. To achieve that, click on the square button in the bottom part of the Curves panel. It creates a clipping mask from it.

Quick tip: You can create a clipping mask not only from an adjustment layers but also from any layer you've created. It clips itself to the layer below and affects only that one and not the rest of the image.

4. Creating the Portal

In the following steps you'll create the light portal. 

Quick tip: If you want to shoot stock photos of different light effects yourself, try to visit an optical illusion exhibition. You'll get plenty of materials there.

Step 1

Drag the file inner.jpg into your photo manipulation and place it on top of all the layers. Name it INNER LIGHT 1. 

Right click on the layer and select Duplicate layer. Name the new layer INNER LIGHT 2. Duplicate it one more time and name the new layer INNER LIGHT 3.

Hide INNER LIGHT 2 and 3 so you can focus on blending the first layer. To hide the layers, click on the small eye icon on the left side of each layer.

In the following image you can see how your photo manipulation looks after placing INNER LIGHT 1. You can check your layer order as well.

Step 2

In this step you'll blend the INNER LIGHT 1 layer properly with the rest of the image. You'll change its Blending Mode and hide some parts with help of a layer mask.

Click on the INNER LIGHT 1 layer to make sure it's active and change its Blending Mode to Screen. You can find that option in the upper part of your Layers panel. 

To blend it even better, hide the inner sphere. Add a layer mask to the INNER LIGHT 1 layer. Grab the Brush Tool (B), select a soft round brush, and change its Opacityto about 60%. Use black color and start painting over the areas of the sphere you want to hide.

Take a look at the following image to see where you should paint. These areas are highlighted with cyan color.

In the following image you can see the blending of this layer step by step.

Step 3

Make the INNER LIGHT 2 layer visible. As in the previous step, change its Blending Mode to Screen.

To add some variation to the portal, you need to rotate this layer. To do so, go to Edit > Free Transform. Rotate the layer 180°. Press Enter on your keyboard after you're done to apply the changes.

Create a layer mask for this layer. Grab the Brush Tool (B). Use the same settings as in the previous step and hide the sphere in the center again. 

In the following image you can see the process of blending this layer.

Step 4

We'll blend this layer the same way as we did in the previous step. First go to Edit > Free Transform and rotate the layer 90° to the right.

Change its Blending Mode to Screen.

Add a layer mask and hide the sphere in the center of this layer.

Step 5

Drag the file portal.jpg into your photo manipulation and place it on top of all the layers. Name it PORTAL.

As before, change its Blending Mode to Screen.

The orb in the center is too bright. To make it less visible, add a layer mask to PORTAL. Grab the Brush Tool (B). Use the same settings for the brush and gently paint over the center part of the layer.

In the following image, you can see how your photo manipulation should look so far.

Step 6

As you can see, the PORTAL layer is bluer than other parts of portal you've added. You'll adjust it in this step.

Add a new Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and set the Hue to -60, Saturationto -50 and Lightness to -10.

Don't forget to create a clipping mask from this layer to adjust only one layer below (PORTAL) and not the rest of the image.

Step 7

In this quick step you'll make your photo manipulation slightly darker. 

Add a new Curves adjustment layer on top of all the layers, and set it as shown below.

5. Adding Details to the Portal

Step 1

Drag the file details.jpg into your photo manipulation and place it on top of all the layers. Name it DETAILS 1. Right click on the layer and select Duplicate layer.

Name the new layer DETAILS 2 and hide it by clicking on the eye icon on the left.

Step 2

The blending of this layer is quite similar to the blending of previous layers. Click on the DETAILS 1 layer and change its Blending Mode to Screen. Lower its Opacityto 40%.

To blend it even better, add a layer mask to this layer. Grab the Brush Tool (B). Use the same settings as in the previous step and make the center and outer left part less visible. Take a look at the following image to see where you should paint. These areas are highlighted with cyan color.

Step 3

Make the DETAILS 2 layer visible again.

Go to Edit > Free Transform and rotate it 90°. Change its Blending Mode toScreen and lower its Opacity to 40%.

Add a layer mask to DETAILS 2. Grab the Brush Tool (B). Use the same settings as in the previous step and start blending this layer with the rest of the image. 

In the following image you can see which parts you should hide in order to blend the layer properly. They're highlighted with cyan color.

Step 4

To create a vignette, start by adding a new Curves adjustment layer on top of all the layers, and set it as shown below.

You want to make only the edges of the image darker. To achieve that, grab theElliptical Marquee Tool (M) and create an ellipse in the center of the image.

Feather the selection. Go to Select > Modify > Feather... (This path may differ in different versions of Photoshop. If you can't find it, simply press Shift-F6 on your keyboard.)

Set the Feather Radius to 250 px and press Enter.

Grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G) with black color. Make sure that the layer mask of the Curves adjustment layer is active by clicking on it. Fill the selection with black. The adjustment disappears there, and you should get a vignette as in the following image.

Step 5

To add even more depth to the image you'll lighten the center of the photo manipulation in this step.

Add a new empty layer under the layer DETAILS 1. Name it MIST. Grab the Brush Tool (B). Select a big, soft round brush and set its Opacity to 20%. Pick a very bright blue color.

Now simply paint one dot in the center of the image. To blend it well with the rest of the image, change its Blending Mode from Normal to Screen.

In the image below you can see where and what you should paint. Paint the dot in the same place as the cyan dot in the first image.

In the second image you can see how the photo manipulation looks with MIST set to Normal Blending Mode, and in the third picture with Screen Blending Mode.

Step 6

To make the image more balanced, you'll add some more details to the portal in this step. The process of blending is the same as in the previous step, so I'll only show you where you should place new layers. 

Drag details.jpg into your photo manipulation, and duplicate it twice so you'll have three layers. Name them LIGHT DETAILS 1, 2 and 3. Change their Blending Modes to Screen and blend them with the rest of the image.

Look at the following image to see where to place these layers.

6. Color Adjustment

All the main elements are already placed in your photo manipulation. In the following steps you'll focus on color adjustment to create the dreamy atmosphere of the image.

Step 1

In this step you'll make the image darker and less contrasted. Add a new Curves adjustment layer on top of all the layers and set it as shown below.

Step 2

For this step you need to have a Photoshop plugin called Color Efex Pro. It's a paid plugin but offers a 14-day trial period, so you should be able to finish this tutorial without buying it.

Download the plugin and install it. After installation is complete, go back to Photoshop.

Grab the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) and select the whole image. Go to Edit > Copy Merged and Edit > Paste to paste the merged image. Place the new layer on top of all the layers and name it COLORS.

Go to Filter > Nik Software > Color Efex Pro. In the left menu, select the filter called Bleach Bypass. 

Set it as shown in the following image.

Click on + Add Filter to apply the changes.

Step 3

Leave the plugin open and choose another filter called Cross Processing.

Set the filter as shown below and press OK to apply all changes.

In the following image you can see how these adjustments affect your photo manipulation.

Step 4

The photo manipulation will look better if it's less saturated. To achieve that, add a new Hue/Saturation adjustment layer on top of all the layers and set the Saturationto -20.

Step 5

Drag the file texture.jpg into your photo manipulation and place it on top of all the layers. Name it TEXTURE.

To blend it properly, change its Blending Mode from Normal to Soft Light and change its Opacity to 20%.

Step 6

To add a little more depth to the photo manipulation, you'll darken its edges in this step.

Add a new empty layer on top of all the layers and name it DARKENING. Change itsBlending Mode from Normal to Soft Light.

Grab the Brush Tool (B). Select a soft round brush and set its Opacity to 10%. Pick black color and start painting over the edges. Take a look at the following image to see where you should paint. It's highlighted with cyan color.

Step 7

In this last step you'll add a lens flare to create more interesting lighting.

Add a new empty layer on top of all the layers and name it LENS FLARE. Grab thePaint Bucket Tool (G), pick black color and fill the layer with it.

Go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare. Choose the Lens Type 105mm Prime and set it as shown in the following image.

To blend the layer properly with the rest of the image, change its Blending Modefrom Normal to Screen and lower its Opacity to 75%.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've just finished your surreal photo manipulation. You've learnt how to:

• use Blending Modes to create interesting lighting effects
• work in external Photoshop plugins to create more interesting color adjustments
• apply textures to bring details to your work

Let me know if the tutorial was useful and inspiring for you in the comments below!

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