Drawing Lesson - Graphite Wooden & Woodless Pencils

Line Control and Properties

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Materials: graphite pencils, 14 x 17 drawing paper.

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In this exercise, explore some of the properties of graphite pencils and the variety of marks and lines they can achieve. Graphite is fragile and comes in sticks, pencils, and powder. Due to its oily property, it is permanent and does not require any fixative. When used to shade large areas, it appears smooth and velvety. When sharpened, it creates an intense line when pressed into the paper.

 

Wooden Pencil: Wood pencils have a wide range of hardness and softness: H9, 9H, 8H, 7H, 6H, 5H, 4H, 3H, 2H, H, HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, 6B, 7B, 8B, 9B. Most artists use pencils ranging from HB to 8B to have a more exciting line quality.

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Woodless Pencil: These are graphite pencils without wood on the outside like traditional graphite pencils and usually come in only softer forms HB, 2B, 4B, 6B, and 8B.

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Exercise: Create a chart like the one below using graphite pencils. First, create a range of gradations from light to dark using 9H to 9B pencils, as shown at the top of the diagram. Next, copy the textures and patterns in the boxes below. After successfully creating these textures and gradations, create another chart with uniquely created marks not on the chart previously created.

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