ABOUT SURFACES FOR DRAWING

We can draw on almost anything, but artists rely primarily upon paper. There is a huge assortment of artists’ papers; only those rated as acid-free and archival should be used for permanent work, though.

Weight
Papers are graded by number of plies or by weight (pounds per ream, or grams per square meter [gsm]). The thicker or heavier the paper the rougher the handling it can withstand. For many drawing purposes, 90-lb., and even 60-lb. paper is adequate. However, artists who erase a lot, scrape or sand the paper, or drive their pencils or charcoal vigorously into the surface should choose heavier papers.

Materials
Most artists’ papers are made from either wood pulp, cotton rags, or a blend of the two. Wood pulp is the least costly of papers and is reasonably permanent only when chemically treated. If not treated, they rapidly deteriorate. Cotton papers are more durable, permanent, and versatile than wood pulp and are available is surfaces that range from extremely rough to very smooth and in many weights. Blends of cotton and pulp are more economical than paper made of just cotton rag and provide some of the benefits of cotton.

In addition, there is also a variety of beautiful Japanese papers hand-made of plants found only in the Far East. Some are bleached white, but many are natural in color: cream, greenish, or gray.

Types
Papers for many purposes exist, and artists are not confined to just drawing papers for making drawings.

Newsprint
Made of treated wood-pulp, newsprint is light in weight. Because it is so inexpensive, but has poor performance characteristics, it is usually used only by beginning students or for quick sketches and “throw-aways.” It is adequate for use with charcoal, conté, and the like, but does not respond well to pencil or wet drawing media.

Drawing
Drawing papers are available in huge variety, too huge to address here. Most are a modest weight, in the area of 100-gsm, and are hot-pressed or vellum-finish. A few offer both a smoother and toothier side, and some have deckled edges. Sheet sizes and rag content vary.

In addition to white and natural, many companies offer colored drawing papers with pigment introduced during manufacture. A tint may be smooth and even, or mottled in appearance. Only colored papers containing lightfast pigments should be used for permanent work.

Before investing in a quantity of an unfamiliar brand of drawing paper, first test a sample. Not all papers work well with all media, and they are not all are equally resistant to rough handling and erasures.

Bristol Board
In good quality, Bristol board is 100% rag and sparkling white. It is available in several surfaces, and in two-ply, three-ply, and four-ply weights. Bristol board accepts all dry drawing media, as well as pen-and-ink and washes. It is especially appropriate for pencil drawing.

Charcoal/Pastel Paper
Fairly light in weight, charcoal paper has a pronounced tooth for shaving material off the charcoal stick. Less expensive charcoal papers are machine made and possess a mechanical-looking surface. The differences between many charcoal and pastel papers, particularly in pads, is vague. It seems mainly that pastel papers are a little heavier than papers labeled for charcoal. Sheets of professional pastel paper are often coated with abrasive materials to effectively sand pastel off the pastel stick and cause it to adhere firmly to the paper's surface. 

Printmaking Paper
Printmaking papers are hot-pressed. Their weight range is between roughly 115- and 140-gsm and most can withstand rigorous drawing techniques. Some, unfortunately, are easily abraded by erasing. In addition to white, they are available in a number of pale tints.

Watercolor Paper
Watercolor paper is an excellent material to draw on. It is rugged, available in a variety of surfaces and weights and, in heavier weights (over 90 lbs.), withstands repeated erasures.

Japanese Papers
There is a selection of beautiful Japanese papers available. They are handmade of plants found usually only in the Far East. Some are bleached white, but most are natural in color.

Illustration Board
Illustration board is simply a piece of cardboard to which a sheet of paper has been bonded. There is great variety in the quality of the paper used, but it is always either hot- or cold-pressed. Only archival quality illustration board should be used for permanent work.

Surfaces
There are specific terms to describe each type of paper surface. They are not extremely well defined, unfortunately, and in one brand a hot-pressed paper can have a coarser tooth than in another brand, for example.

Rough
A drawing paper with a rough surface is too coarse for detailed, delicate work, but fine for broader drawing techniques. Watercolor papers labeled as “rough” are far too craggy for most drawing media and methods.

Vellum
Vellum finished surfaces have a slight tooth and are appropriate for all drawing media. They are especially useful for more careful drawings.

Laid
Laid describes the pattern that typifies the surfaces of some drawing, charcoal, and pastel papers. It is slightly rough and has a mechanical-looking texture.

Plate Finish
Plate finish refers to a grade of Bristol board with an exceptionally smooth surface. It is excellent for drawings of great precision and delicacy.

Cold-pressed
Cold-pressed papers have a pronounced tooth acceptable for charcoal and conté.

Hot-pressed
Hot-pressed papers have a slight tooth appropriate for most drawing media, and are particularly sympathetic to pencil.

<Return to top>

DRAWING MEDIA
& PAPER 
 

Papers 
Paper is available in pads, sheets, and rolls with many different surface finishes. For an overview of paper types and materials, see "About Surfaces For Drawing" at left. 

Newsprint is exactly that: newsprint. Purchase the brand that is least expensive. 

Strathmore Bristol board, available in sheets and pads, and Lanaquarelle hot-pressed watercolor paper provide hard, smooth surfaces for careful drawings in pencil or ink. For a slightly softer and more poetic surface, I have found Arches hot-pressed watercolor paper to be excellent, and Fabriano Artistico nearly as pleasing. Canson's Rives BFK and Stonehenge are printmaking papers, but they are fine for drawing with charcoal or conte (marginal for pencil if you erase a lot) and are available in a range of natural shades. Canson also offers a wide assortment of quality drawing papers of many types, including a nice selection of papers tinted with both quiet and strong colors. Hahnemuhle's Copperplate is excellent for both drawing and printmaking. 

For spiral-bound drawing pads, I like Strathmore's 400 series, which is a little heavier and with a better surface than other Strathmore sketch or drawing pads. I have not been as satisfied with pads from Canson, although I know many artists who are.

Good papers specifically for charcoal and pastel include Fabriano Ingres, Hahnemuhle Ingres, and Canson Mi-Teintes. These papers have their own individual textures or tooth to scrape material off the charcoal or pastel stick and hold it onto the paper's surface.

Pencil & Graphite 
Most companies that make pencils offer both the wooden barreled type and loose lead rods meant to be held in a gripper.

• Turquoise from Prismacolor
  (a reliable brand I have used for many years)
• Derwent
  (excellent wooden barreled pencils)
• Staedtler 
  (decent, but for lead rods I prefer Turquoise)

In addition to pencils and rods, graphite can also be obtained in the form of sticks 1/4" to 1/2" thick in a hardness range of 2B, 3B, 4B, and 6B. Grapite sticks allow for broad application of the graphite to produce large areas of tone swiftly.  

Charcoal
Charcoal is available in two basic types: vine and compressed. (Willow is a sub-category of vine.)

Vine charcoal is offered in extra-soft, soft, medium, and hard in thin-stick, thick-stick, and tree-stick forms (about 1/2" diameter). Vine charcoal is easy to brush or wipe away, making it a very forgiving medium for the less experienced drawer.

Compressed charcoal is composed of vine charcoal dust that has been formed into a stick with the help of a binding agent. Pencils with compressed charcoal "leads" are also available. It is not easily erased or smudged. 

It is difficult to find bad charcoal. Brands I have had success with include General's, Winsor & Newton, and Coates.

Conte Crayon
Conte is sold as individual sticks or in sets.

Traditionally, conte had been offered only in black, white, and a narrow range of orange-ish and brown-ish tones. In recent years, a large assortment of colors has become available.

Conte is permanent and is used in a manner somewhat similar to that of compressed charcoal or pastel, but does not dust off the paper's surface so easily. 

 <Return to top>

DRAWING 
ACCESSORIES
 

Fixative
Spray fixatives protect drawings from being accidentally smudged. Workable types allow the artist to continue working of the drawing after it has been sprayed. Permanent fixatives resist further application of the drawing media, particularly pencil.

The best known brand is Krylon, but house brands are equally effective and cost considerably less. In a pinch, hair spray may be used.  

Chamois
A chamois is an extremely soft swatch of thin leather. It is used to erase charcoal or smear it around, and is sometimes employed by pencil artists to soften an area of the drawing or to make it slightly paler.

Charcoal artists frequently own at least three: a clean one to erase with, a somewhat soiled piece for smearing the charcoal, and a chamois that is so grungy that it can be drawn with as though it was made of charcoal. A heavily soiled chamois can be cleaned in a washing machine along with other laundry.

Even though they are often less expensive, chamois sold by automotive shops for car care are frequently too thick for artistic use and bits of the chamois may flock off when it is rubbed against the drawing. The best quality is normally found at art supply strores. 

Pencil Sharpeners
& Pointers
Most plastic pocket sharpeners do not produce an adaquately sharp point; metal sharpeners are preferred.

Hand-held and desktop pointers are made for lead rods that are mounted in a gripper. Make certain that the pointer you purchase can accomodate the thickness of the leads you use.

Blending Stumps
Made of thick paper rolled up into a cylinder with a point at one end, stumps are used to smoothly blend tones of charcoal, pastel, and similar materials. Stumps are sold in various diameters from quite thin to fairly thick.

Erasing Shield 
A thin sheet of metal about the size of a credit card, small holes in the shield allow for precise erasuring while the shield protects surrounding areas.

Erasers
Several types of erasers are especially useful to the drawing artist.

A kneaded eraser is easily cleaned by kneading it in the palm of your hand. Its malleability also allows it to be shaped to meet specific needs.

Tan gum erasers can be used vigorously with little danger of damaging the paper's surface. 

Pink pearl erasers are a bit more rugged than gum erasers are useful for lifting from heavily worked areas of a drawing.

Both gum and pink erasers are appropriate for "subtractive" drawing techniques.    

<Return to top>