Desenho

Introduction to Drawing
drawspace module 1.1

Brenda Hoddinott
www.drawspace.com
89 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-927365-99-1
Includes 15 resources and 5 activities
This curriculum is taught in Drawspaces interactive classrooms and can be
licensed for education purposes in digital format at www.drawspace.com.
Copyright 2012 Brenda Hoddinott (brenda@drawspace.com) and Jeff Baur
(jeff.baur@drawspace.com)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, digital, mechanical,
recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Brenda
Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing. Curriculum, illustrations, and intellectual property are
intended for educational purposes only and may not be sold in any form or by any means.
This publication contains the opinions and ideas of the author, Brenda Hoddinott, and it is intended
to provide helpful and informative material on all aspects of the subject matter. Brenda Hoddinott
and Drawspace Publishing disclaim any responsibility for any liability, damages, loss, or risk,
personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, resulting from the
use or misuse of information and applications of any of the contents of this book.
Publisher: Drawspace Publishing, Halifax, NS, Canada

Illustrations, curriculum, and book layout: Brenda Hoddinott
Cover design: Jeff Baur
Editor: Stephanie Halldorson
Copyright 2012 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
including electronic, digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.
Contents
****************************************************************************
*Activity
Introduction........................................................................................................IV
Information about Drawspace Curriculum and its various sidebars, as well as a suggestion for getting the best outcomes with
the resources and activities in this book
About Drawspace Curriculum ..............................................................................................................................IV

Sizing up the Sidebars ..........................................................................................................................................V
How to Use this Book ...........................................................................................................................................V
Glossary Of Art Terms ........................................................................................1

1.1.R1 Definitions of many of the art-related terms used in the resources and activities of Drawspace Curriculum
Flesch-Kincaid: Grade Level 10.5, Reading Ease 51.2
Traveling Back in Time with Graphite .............................................................17

1.1.R2 A few fun tidbits of information about the history of graphite
How the Lead Pencil Got its Name ..................................................................................................................17

The Link Between Graphite and Sheep ...............................................................................................................19
Examining Graphite and Grades ......................................................................21

1.1.R3 Understanding the differences between H and B grades of graphite
Hard is Light ..........................................................................................................................................................22

Soft is Black ...........................................................................................................................................................22
Seeing Grades in Drawings ..............................................................................24

1.1.R4 Graphite drawings demonstrate the visual qualities of H and B grades of pencils
Flesch-Kincaid: Grade Level 9.8, Reading Ease 63
Picking out Graphite Pencils ............................................................................28

1.1.R5 How to select the right graphite pencils for learning how to draw
Wood-encased Pencils .........................................................................................................................................29

Mechanical Pencils ...............................................................................................................................................30
Woodless pencils ..................................................................................................................................................31
*Play With Five Grades of Graphite ..................................................................32

1.1.A2 Use the base values of five different grades of pencils to add shading to nine simple line drawings
Supplies: drawing paper, 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B grades of pencils, and a pencil sharpener
II
Sketchbooks and Drawing Papers ....................................................................35
1.1.R6 Choosing the right size, quality, and weight of drawing paper
Sketchbooks Versus Individual Sheets ..............................................................................................................36

Deciding on a Paper Size .....................................................................................................................................37
Weighing in on Paper.............................................................................................................................................37
*Make a Storage Portfolio ................................................................................39

1.1.A1 Make a portfolio folder for the storage and preservation of drawing papers and two-dimensional artworks
Supplies: acid-free cardboard or matboard; roll of wide tape; strong, sharp utility knife; and a straight edge or
long ruler
Option 1: Using One Large Sheet of Board ........................................................................................................40
Option 2: Using Two Smaller Sheets of Board ...................................................................................................42
Check Up on the Tooth of Papers ....................................................................44

1.1.R7 How a papers tooth affects the appearance of graphite drawings
The Surface of a Smooth Tooth ...........................................................................................................................45

Big Smile for a Medium Tooth ..............................................................................................................................46
Textures on a Rough Tooth....................................................................................................................................48
Tools for Sharpening and Erasing ...................................................................50

1.1.R8 The best sharpeners and erasers for artists who draw
Tools for Sharpening ............................................................................................................................................50

Tools for Erasing ...................................................................................................................................................51
Erasers as Drawing Tools ....................................................................................................................................52
Checking Out Charcoal ....................................................................................54

1.1.R9 Discover the versatility of charcoal by examining the marks it makes in various applications
Charcoal Pencils ...................................................................................................................................................55

Charcoal Sticks and Powder ................................................................................................................................56
*Play with Kneaded and Vinyl Erasers .............................................................58

1.1.A4 Experiment with two different types of erasers as drawing tools
Supplies: heavy white drawing paper or smooth watercolor paper, charcoal (stick, powder, or pencil), kneaded
eraser, vinyl eraser, and paper towels
Setting up a Creative Space .............................................................................60

1.1.R10 A few ideas and tips for putting together an at-home art studio
Choosing a Comfortable Chair and Drawing Surface ......................................................................................60

Choosing the Right Light for Drawing ...............................................................................................................62
III
Putting Together a Portable Studio ..................................................................63
1.1.R11 Practical supplies to bring along when you take your love of drawing outside
Good Posture First! ..........................................................................................65

1.1.R12 How to sit properly and comfortably when you draw
How NOT to Sit ......................................................................................................................................................65

How to Sit While Drawing ....................................................................................................................................66
Protecting Your Wrist and Hand .......................................................................67

1.1.R13 How to properly hold drawing mediums to prevent discomfort and injury
Small Sketches on Flat and Slanted Surfaces ...................................................................................................68

Medium Sketches on Vertical Surfaces .............................................................................................................68
Large Sketches on Any Surface .........................................................................................................................69
Examining Diagonal Lines of Masters ..............................................................70

1.1.R14 Compare drawings to identify the natural hand movements of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo
*Find Your Natural Hand Movements ...............................................................74

1.1.A5 Discover your natural hand movements for drawing straight and curved lines
Supplies: drawing paper, 2B pencil, and a pencil sharpener

For Drawing Straight Lines ..................................................................................................................................74
For Drawing Curved Lines ..................................................................................................................................75
How to Rotate Your Paper as you Draw ...........................................................77

1.1.R15 Improve your drawing skills by rotating your paper to use your natural hand movements
*Sketch a Self-Portrait ......................................................................................80

1.1.A3 Document your current drawing skills by sketching yourself
Supplies: paper, erasers, a 2B pencil, and a mirror
Index .................................................................................................................81
IV
Introduction
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Now everyone can draw!

Introduction to Drawing complements Drawspace
Curriculum Module 1: Topic 1 as a lesson plan
based on fifteen resources and five activities.
The Drawspace philosophy on teaching art is to
emphasize the enjoyment aspects while gently
introducing the technical and academic skills
needed to master the subject. Through the creation
of a passion for the subject matter, the quest for
knowledge is deepened.
About Drawspace Curriculum

Drawspace Curriculum is used by art students and
educators all over the world and is designed to
provide easy-to-use, high-quality curriculum for
schools, colleges, and universities
recreational teachers
homeschooling families
students who prefer to teach themselves
Drawspace Curriculum is designed to gently
immerse beginners in the visual art of drawing.
This is the same curriculum successfully taught in
Drawspaces interactive classrooms.
Each curriculum module contains intuitively
organized topics. Each of these topics includes
resources and activities for students with
recreational and professional artistic goals.
Resources include illustrated discussions and indepth demonstrations about art-related skills and
techniques.
ArtSpeak
ArtSpeak: A fun word used
to describe the vocabulary
of art. An understanding
of art-related words and
terms enhances the
comprehension of art
curricula and helps make
creative experiences more
pleasurable (and less
frustrating).
Icon: A visual image or
a graphic symbol that is
used to identify information
or a specific task. For
example, icons can identify
sidebars in books or specific
functions on computer
display screens.
Illustration: An image that
is used to enhance a book
or publication, and/or to help
explain textual concepts.
For example, illustrations
are used throughout many
books to further the readers
comprehension of an idea.
Sidebar: A section of text
in a document that provides
additional information about
a topic. Many instructional
art books have sidebars
that provide readers with
definitions of art-related
words and terms.
Text: The words used in
writing.
V
Activities enable students to put theory into practice by rendering drawings and artrelated projects.
Sizing up the Sidebars

Scattered throughout this book are sidebars that are filled with useful information
related to the topics being discussed. There are six different types of sidebars and
each is easily identified by a simple icon.
Figure 1
ArtSpeak: (Figure 1) Definitions of

words and terms in the context of art
and drawing.
Figure 2
As an Aside: (Figure 2) Tidbits of

information about art-related subjects,
such as the history of art.
Figure 3
Caution!: (Figure 3) Better safe than

sorry! Protect your drawings (or yourself)
from potential dangers by following the
advice in these sidebars.
Figure 4
Tip!: (Figure 4) A tip can be more than

the pointy end of a stick! The tips inside
these sidebars can save you time,
energy, and frustration by suggesting
easier ways to do some tasks or how to
take better care of your supplies.
Figure 5
Visual Challenge: (Figure 5) Enhance

your ability to see as an artist by finding
and/or examining specific art-related
components in drawings or in your
environment.
Figure 6
Action Challenge: (Figure 6) Gather

your drawing supplies and try a new
technique, spend additional time
practicing a skill, and/or create a sketch
or drawing.
How to Use this Book

This book is designed to be read in order from beginning to end. Slowly work through
the entire book in sequence, doing each activity along the way.
VI
Each new piece of information, skill, or technique prepares you for the next.
This first book based on Drawspace Curriculum discusses drawing supplies and
shows you how to use them. Simple activities show you how to make a portfolio and
help you warm up your drawing hand. There is also a discussion of how to set up
a practical place to draw indoors and what to pack in a portable studio so you can
comfortably draw outdoors.
Glossary of Art Terms
Resource
Glossary of
Art Terms
Definitions of many of the art-related terms used in the
resources and activities of Drawspace Curriculum
A
Abstract: A style of art that may not depict a person,
place, or thing. In some cases, the subject exists in
reality but may be unrecognizable in the artwork. The
subjects of abstract drawings are created with line,
color, value, form, pattern, and/or shape.
Abstraction: A movement away from realistically
depicting objects, nature, or living beings. Partial
abstraction is where a subject exists in reality but may
be unrecognizable (e.g., using geometric shapes to
render a human face). Complete abstraction is where
line, color, form, pattern, and/or shape are used to
suggest emotion or a non-figurative subject.
Achromatic: An artwork rendered with only black,
white, and/or shades of gray (i.e., no color).
Acid-free: An archival quality, long-lasting paper
product that has had the acid removed from the pulp in
the paper-making process.
Acrylic painting: (noun) An artwork painted with
acrylic paints. Acrylic paintings look very similar to oil
paintings; however, acrylic paints are considerably more
stable than oils, which tend to yellow or become brittle
as they age. (verb) The process of creating an acrylic
painting.
Acrylic paints: Water-based, fast-drying artists

paints that are thicker and stronger than tempera or
watercolor. Even though water is used to dilute acrylics
from the tube, they become water-resistant when dry.
Acrylics work in much the same way as watercolor
paints. However, unlike watercolors, acrylics cannot be
rehydrated (i.e., brought back to a liquid) once dry.
Age progression: The art of rendering individuals
older than they are. Often used in police work, age
progression may help update an image of a child who
has been missing for a long time. However, even though
peoples faces change throughout their lives in natural
and predictable stages, its impossible to accurately
determine how an individual will look at a specific age.
For this reason, age progression and age regression
techniques are generally considered an art, rather than
a science.
Age regression: The art of rendering a person
younger than her or his actual age.
Anchor: A component of composition in which a
section of a drawing subject appears to extend outside
the edges of a drawing or painting.
Angle: The size of the space between two straight
lines that intersect or meet. This space is usually
measured in degrees.
Angle line: The line created when two straight

lines meet or intersect to form an angle (or angles).
Angle lines are used to draw such shapes as squares,
rectangles, and triangles.
Archaeologist: A person who studies ancient
peoples by finding and documenting the things they left
behind. (Many archaeologists have excellent drawing
skills.)
Architect: A person who uses artistic skills to plan
and design buildings (or groups of buildings) and the
surrounding property.
Art: (also called artwork) The creations (e.g., drawings
and paintings) of artists who employ their abilities
to make original works of art from the intellectual
conception to a never-before-seen conclusion.
Artist: Somebody who works within one or more art
disciplines (e.g., visual art, performance art, dance,
writing, or music).
ArtSpeak: A fun word used to describe the
vocabulary of art. An understanding of art-related words
and terms enhances the comprehension of an art
curriculum and helps make creative experiences more
pleasurable (and less frustrating).
Atmospheric perspective: (also called aerial
perspective) A visual depth of field created by various
particles in the atmosphere. As an object recedes
farther into distant space, it becomes lighter in value
and its edges become more blurred.
Base of a nose: (also called the septum) The part

of the nose between the nostrils that connects the nose
to the lower face above the upper lip.
Basic colors: The six most well-known colors:
yellow, red, and blue (i.e., the primary colors) and
orange, purple, and green (i.e., the secondary colors). A
box of eight childrens crayons includes the basic colors
and black and brown.
Binder: (also called a three-ring binder) A sturdy
folder for organizing reference materials, lesson files,
printed electronic books, and small drawings. Small
drawings can be sprayed with a fixative and inserted
into three-ring, transparent vinyl sheet protectors before
they are added to a binder.
Binding agent: (also called a binder) An ingredient
in paint that solidifies as it dries, thereby binding the
pigment particles together so that the paint adheres to
a surface. Binding agents are also added to powdered
drawing mediums (such as charcoal) to compress them
into solid cylindrical, square, and/or rectangular forms.
Black: The complete absence of light (e.g., a room in
which there is no light source whatsoever). In painting,
replicating black requires a mixture of paints that create
the darkest possible value. In drawing, soft charcoal can
make a powerful black.
Blending: The process of gently rubbing a section of
shading with a blending tool (e.g., paper towel) to evenly
distribute the medium over the papers surface.
Background: (also called distant space) The

sections of a drawing or painting that are farthest away
from the viewer.
Blending stump: (also called a tortillon, stump,

or blender) A long, thin, cylindrical artists tool that is
pointed at both ends and made of tightly wound paper
or felt. Blending stumps are used to blend charcoal,
graphite, and pastel drawings. When the tips become
too dirty or dull to work properly, they can be sharpened.
Blending stumps are sold in art supply stores and are
available in small to large sizes. Big ones are great for
large areas of shading, and the tiny ones work well for
smaller, more detailed sections.
Balance: A stable arrangement of subjects and

values within a drawing composition.
Blending tool: Anything that is used by an artist to

blend a medium.
Ball of a nose: The large, central, rounded form of

the lower half of the nose.
Blind contour drawing: A slightly unconventional

method of creating a contour drawing in which artists
look only at the subject and not at their drawing paper
as they work. By visually following the edges of the
subject while drawing, visual skills are strengthened.
Avant-garde: The creation and application of new,

original, and/or experimental ideas and techniques.
Blue: A primary color that represents tranquility,

harmony, and peace. Think of a blue sky, a calm ocean,
or an iceberg.
Bridge of a nose: (sometimes called the nasal
bone) The section of a nose where the upper bony
section joins the cartilage. While barely visible on young
children, the bridge of an adult nose often protrudes as
a noticeable bulge or bump. The contoured outline of
the bridge is most obvious when the nose is viewed in
profile.
Charcoal: A drawing medium made from a burnt

organic material such as wood. Charcoal comes in
various grades and is available in pencils, powder, and
sticks.
Charcoal pencil: A thin cylindrical stick of
compressed charcoal powder inside a wooden casing.
Charcoal powder: A powdered form of charcoal
that works well for shading large areas of a drawing or
preparing a base for drawing with erasers.
Bulls eye: The center section of a drawing space.

A composition is weakened when the primary subject is
drawn within the bulls eye.
Charcoal sticks: A type of charcoal that is made by

compressing powdered charcoal and a binding agent
into cylindrical or rectangular sticks.
Burnishing: The process of applying one or

more layers of a dry medium (e.g., colored pencils or
graphite) over another to lighten, darken, or blend the
colors or values.
Chiaroscuro: A drawing and painting technique that

was introduced during the Renaissance in which light
and dark values are balanced to create the illusion of a
three-dimensional reality.
C
Carbon pencil: A drawing medium that makes soft,
velvety marks that are gorgeous for sketching.
Caricature: A type of cartoon, usually based
on an actual person, with the individuals various
characteristics and facial features exaggerated for
comic effect.
Cartoon: A humorous, lighthearted, and/or satirical
drawing or sketch.
Cast shadow: A dark section on an object or a
surface adjacent to a subject that receives little or no
direct light. The values of a cast shadow are darkest
next to the object and become gradually lighter as they
move farther away.
Chalk pastels: A drawing medium that is available
in pencils and sticks. Colors can be dry mixed by
layering one on top of another and can be easily
blended for soft, realistic still-life subjects and portraits.
The sharp corners and edges of sticks can be used to
draw thin lines and the sides can make broad strokes.
Chalk: A drawing medium derived from various
natural sources, including hematite, carbon, and calcite.
Chalk is available in a broad range of natural browns
and sepias that are ideal for rendering studies of great
masters drawings.
Circle: A geometric shape in which all the points of its

outline are an equal distance from its center point.
Circular shape: A shape created when the ends of
a curved line meet (such as in the letter O). Circular
shapes are often used to outline the forms of various
objects and living beings.
Classical drawing: The drawing techniques
invented by ancient Greeks and Romans for creating
realistic drawings. Classical drawing was later enhanced
by the great masters of the Renaissance.
Clay: A naturally occurring material that hardens when
dried. Clay is mixed with graphite to make graphite
mediums.
Clip: A tool usually made of metal that can be used
indoors or outdoors to securely clamp sheets of paper
to a drawing board. When artists draw outdoors, clips
can prevent their drawings from falling on the ground or
blowing away.
Clockwise: A circular direction or motion that follows
the movement of the hands of a clock.
Collage: An artwork created by gluing a selection of
objects (such as photographs, ribbons, and/or colored
papers) to paper, board, or canvas.
Color: The visual qualities of objects based on

individual perceptions of their hues and values. Basic
colors include yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, and
green.
Cont crayon: A drawing medium in which

pigments are mixed with non-adhesive binders and wax.
Cont performs like a cross between a chalk pastel and
a childs wax crayon.
Color wheel: A method of arranging colors in a

circular format to easily reference primary, secondary,
intermediary, and complementary colors.
Continuous line: A line that is rendered without

lifting the medium from the drawing surface.
Colored pencils: A dry medium for creating colored

drawings. Colored pencils come in a wide variety
of qualities from student to professional. During the
manufacturing process, various synthetic and/or organic
pigments are added to binding agents and wax. The
permanency rating of the pigment helps determine the
quality of the pencils. Colored pencils are relatively
inexpensive, not messy, and portable. They work
equally well for subjects that are soft and delicate or
bold and bright.
Contour: The outline of a shape or form (or a section

of a shape or form).
Contour crosshatching: A highly effective
classical shading technique for creating the illusion of
three-dimensional forms.
Contour drawing: (noun) A drawing comprised of
outlines that follow the contours of the edges of various
components of a drawing subject. (verb) The process of
creating a contour drawing.
Commercial arts: A diverse range of artistic

careers in which professional artists create artworks
and/or typography for the production, manufacture,
processing, promotion, or merchandising of products.
Contour hatching: A classical shading technique

in which sets of curved hatching lines follow the
outlines, contours, and/or forms of the drawing subject
and accentuate the illusion of a three-dimensional
reality.
Commission: An order placed with an artist for an

original work of art.
Contour lines: Lines formed when the shared

edges of spaces and/or objects meet.
Complementary colors: A set of two very

different colors that are directly opposite one another on
a color wheel (e.g., red and green, yellow and purple,
and orange and blue). When placed beside one other,
these colors make one another seem brighter and more
vibrant.
Contrast: The comparison of different values when

put beside one another. Contrast is an invaluable tool
for accentuating various components of composition.
Composite art: The best-known discipline of

forensic art in which the artist (often called a sketch
artist) translates other peoples memories into drawings.
Composition: The arrangement of the various parts
of a drawing subject within the borders of a drawing
space.
Compound curve: A curved line that
changes direction to travel in both clockwise and
counterclockwise directions (e.g., the letter S).
Conservation framing: (also called preservation
framing) The specific archival materials (e.g. museum
quality archival glass) and techniques used in the
process of framing an artwork to protect it from longterm deterioration or damage from environmental
pollutants, acid, and light.
Cool colors: The colors blue, green, and purple, as

well as mixtures of any of these three colors with white
or black or with one another. Cool colors are usually
soothing and calming (e.g., colors that reflect on snow
and ice.)
Copyright: A form of protection that grants artists
the exclusive right to sell, reproduce, or exhibit their
own original artworks. In a country that has signed the
Berne Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic
Property (also known as the Berne Convention) artists
automatically own the copyrights to their original
creations from the moment each is completed.
Counterclockwise: (also called anticlockwise) A
direction or motion that is opposite to the movement of
the hands of a clock.
Cranial mass: (also called the cranium) The large
upper section of the skull at the upper back of the head.
Crosshatching: A shading technique in which

sets of straight or curved lines cross over, overlap,
crisscross, and/or cut through other sets.
Drawing powder: Tiny loose particles of a dry

drawing medium that have been broken down from a
solid into a powder.
Curved contour lines: Lines that follow the

contours of a drawing subject and illustrate its threedimensional forms.
Drawing space: The area in which a drawing is

rendered within a specific perimeter. It can be the shape
of a sheet of paper itself or a shape outlined on paper,
such as a square, rectangle, or circle.
Curved line: A line that curves or bends (e.g., the

letters C and U). Curved lines can be drawn in any
direction and be any length.
Curved-sided shapes: Shapes that are created
with curved lines and have sections where two or more
of the curved lines meet at a point or points (e.g., heart
or teardrop shapes).
D
Diagonal line: A line that is neither vertical nor
horizontal but rather slants at an angle.
Diamond shape: A parallelogram in which a
straight line drawn from two opposite points would be
perpendicular to a line connecting the second set of
opposite points.
Diptych: A set of two related paintings or drawings
that come together as a single artwork.
Distant space: (also called the background) The
sections of a drawing or painting that are farthest away
from the viewer.
Drafting desk: (also called drafting table) An
adjustable worktable with a slanted top.
Drawing: (noun) The image that results from the
application of a medium to a surface. A drawing defines
an artists choice of subjects from his or her own unique
perspective. (verb) The process of applying a medium to
a surface to create an image.
Drawing accessories: Any tools or products that
enhance an artists drawing experiences.
Drawing board: An unbendable, portable, smooth
surface used to support an artists sketchbook or
drawing paper.
Drawing paper: An acid-free paper that is designed
specifically for artists and is available in various types,
weights, colors, textures, and sizes.
Drawing stick: A drawing tool that is made by

compressing and shaping a medium (e.g., cont crayon,
chalk, oil or chalk pastels, graphite, or charcoal) into a
cylindrical or rectangular chunk.
Dry media: Non-liquid drawing mediums (e.g.,
colored pencils, graphite, cont crayon, charcoal, and
chalk).
Dry mixing: The process of using a dry medium
(e.g., colored pencils) to mix two or more different colors
together to make a new color.
Dry mount: The process of adhering paper artwork
or photographs to a board by using dry adhesive
substances, high heat, and/or a dry mount press.
Duct tape: (also called duck tape) A well-known
strong, flexible, fabric-backed sticky tape used for a vast
range of professional and creative applications.
E
Ear: The organ for hearing in humans and many
animals.
Ear canal: The opening to the inner ear.
Easel: An artists accessory often made from wood
or metal that can be used to support a canvas when
painting or a sheet of drawing paper attached to a
drawing board when drawing. An easel can be any size
from a simple tabletop collapsible tripod to a large, floorto-ceiling studio type with a large base.
Egg tempera: A water-based paint that is made with
an egg yolk binder.
Elements of art: The fundamental visual symbols
found in visual art, including (but not limited to) line,
shape, form, texture, and color.
Eye: The organ of sight and light sensitivity.
Eyeball: (also called the white of the eye) The entire

spherical section of an eye that is safely protected within
an opening in the skull called the orbital socket.
Eyebrow: An arch-shaped group of hairs above the
eye.
Eyelashes: Fine hairs that grow from the outer edges
of the upper and lower eyelids.
F
Facial expressions: Voluntary and involuntary
movements of facial muscles in response to various
emotions. As the facial muscles do their jobs, different
sections of the face move and often create folds and
wrinkles in the skin.
Facial features: The eyes, nose, and mouth.
Facial guidelines: Proportional guides that identify
the approximate locations of human features and ears
on an average head within specific spaces.
Facial mass: (also called the face or facial area) The
lower frontal section of a human head.
Facial muscles: The muscles of a human face.
Facial slope: The angle of a persons head
(excluding the nose) when viewed from the side from
the forward projection at the base of the upper teeth
upward to the forehead.
Feathered line: A series of short lines that appear to
be a single line.
Figurative: The visual depiction of a human body in
a drawing or painting.
Figure: The body of a human being.
Fixative spray: An aerosol liquid that is lightly
sprayed on artworks to adhere a medium to paper and
lessen the likelihood of smudging.
Focal point: (also called center of interest or center
of focus) A term used to identify the most important
element(s) in an artwork.
Folk art: A genre of art that depicts the traditional or
indigenous lifestyle, customs, culture, and values of a
specific society.
Foreground: The sections of an artwork that

are closest to the viewer. Subjects in the foreground
are usually rendered with more detail and a greater
contrast of values than those in the middle ground or
background.
Forensic art: Artistic techniques used by police
departments and investigative agencies in the
identification, apprehension, or conviction of wanted or
missing persons.
Foreshortening: A component of perspective that
describes the visual distortion of objects and living
beings when viewed from extreme angles. The word
foreshortening applies to a single object or figure
whereas the word perspective refers to an entire scene.
Form: An element of art that is created in drawings
and paintings by using shading and/or colors to
transform shapes into three-dimensional structures.
Fresco: (also called a mural) An artwork painted
on a thin layer of plaster that covers a wall or ceiling.
Frescoes that date back more than 3,500 years have
been discovered in Greece. The ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel (in Rome) is also a fresco that was painted by
Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512.
Friable: The extent to which a dry drawing medium
crumbles or breaks. Drawings created with friable
mediums are usually sprayed with a fixative to prevent
the medium from eventually falling off the paper.
G
Geometric perspective: (also called linear
perspective) A precise drawing technique to render
a visual depth of field with a horizon line, vanishing
point(s), and perspective lines. As an object appears
to recede into distant space, it becomes progressively
smaller until it seems to vanish into a vanishing point.
Gesture sketch: A quickly rendered sketch that
uses simple sketching techniques to capture the energy
of the past, present, or potential movements of living
beings.
Golden Mean: (also called the Golden Ratio or
Divine Ratio) A mathematical formula devised by
the ancient Greeks and used to create a balanced
composition through the strategic placement of focal
points.
Grade: The softness or hardness of the mixture used

in the manufacture of drawing mediums.
Graduation: (also called gradient, graduated
shading, or graduated values) A continuous, seamless
progression of values from dark to light or light to dark.
Graphite: A soft black form of opaque carbon found in
nature that is usually mixed with clay in the manufacture
of various types of drawing tools for artists.
High contrast: Shading that is created by drawing

the darkest values adjacent to the highlights and lightest
values.
High Renaissance: (also see Renaissance) The
styles and techniques of the early sixteenth-century
paintings of Florence and Rome characterized by
technical mastery and humanistic content.
Green: A secondary color made with yellow and blue

that is soothing, nurturing, and calming, and symbolizes
nature, good luck, youth, and generosity.
Highlight: A small section of a drawing subject that

is rendered with white or a very light value to identify
the brightest area where light bounces off its surface.
Highlights are more pronounced on shiny or glistening
surfaces than those surfaces that are dull or matte.
Grid: A precise arrangement of a specific number of

squares of exact sizes proportionately drawn on both a
photo and a drawing surface.
History: A written record of the past usually about

the lives and activities of human beings and their
environments.
Gum arabic: A binding agent that is added to

various media to improve the bonding properties of their
ingredients.
Horizon line: (also called eye level) An imaginary

horizontal line that exists at the viewers eye level and
divides the line of vision. The artist controls whether the
viewer looks at the artwork at eye level or downward or
upward. The viewers eye level is based on where the
horizon line is drawn.
H
Handmade paper: Any type of paper that is made
without modern technology or machinery.
Horizontal: A flat surface or line that is at a right

angle to vertical lines and is parallel to a level surface.
Hardcover: A durable type of book cover that is

made from a thick and unbendable material.
Horizontal line: A geometric object that is at a right

angle to a vertical line and parallel to a level surface.
Hardness: The numerical rating of H-grade media

according to their ingredients. Harder mixtures have
higher numbers.
Hot pressed: A type of paper that is pressed through

hot cylinders during its manufacture. Many smooth
watercolor papers are hot pressed.
Hatching: A series of lines (called a set) drawn

closely together to give the illusion of values. Depending
on the shading effects desired, the individual lines in
hatching sets can be far apart or close together.
Hue: Another word for a color (e.g., red, purple, or

teal).
Heightening: The technique of applying a light

pigment (e.g., white chalk) to sections of a drawing to
enhance the illusion of mass, form, and light.
Hematite: The ingredient in natural red chalk that
determines its specific hue.
Heptagon: A straight-sided shape with seven sides
and seven angles.
Hexagon: A straight-sided shape with six sides and
six angles.
I
Icon: A visual image or a graphic symbol that is used
to identify information or a specific task. For example,
icons can identify sidebars in books or specific functions
on computer display screens.
Illustration: An image that is used to enhance
a book or publication and/or to help explain textual
concepts. For example, illustrations are used throughout
many books to further the readers comprehension of an
idea.
Illustrative realism: A style of art often used by

commercial artists (such as illustrators, designers,
and graphic artists) in which subjects are rendered
with techniques, such as unrealistic outlines, to help
the image stand out strongly in digital and printed
documents.
Image modification: An artistic technique used by
forensic artists to modify an image. The process can be
as simple as adding or removing a beard or mustache
from a photograph of a suspect, or as complicated as
drawing an entire face hidden behind a ski mask by
referring to nothing more than a video image.
Impressionism: A style of painting (and drawing)
originating in France in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries that sought to capture a visual
impression of a subject rather than its objective reality.
In-home studio: A personal drawing place within (or
adjacent to) an artists home. An ideal in-home studio
has adequate space for the artist and his or her art
supplies. It can range from a small section of a table to
a large, fully equipped professional art studio.
Ink: A thin liquid (usually black or colored) that is
applied to a surface with a brush or pen to write, paint,
or draw. Inks have been used by artists for hundreds of
years. Most Renaissance pen and ink drawings were
rendered with black and/or various shades of brown,
red, and orange. The most popular inks for traditional
and classical drawing are India, Chinese, and Bistro.
Inner corner of an eye: A small, reddish,
triangular or oval-shaped form in the inside corner of the
eye close to the nose.
J
Juxtaposition: An aspect of composition that
refers to the close placement of elements in order to
compare or contrast their relationships and/or enhance
the message or meaning of the artwork. Artists can
put two or more objects together that have opposite
associations or interpretations (e.g., putting something
new and shiny beside an object that is old and
weathered).
K
Key: The overall amount of light and dark values in a
drawing.
Kneaded eraser: A versatile, soft, pliable type of
eraser used to erase parts of a drawing or to gently pat
a drawing medium to make a lighter value or line.
L
Landscape: A drawing or painting depicting
an expanse of natural scenery that includes some
components of land such as trees, mountains, or
beaches.
Landscape format: (also called horizontal format)
A rectangular drawing space that is rotated so the two
longer sides are at the top and bottom.
Intensity: The brightness or dullness of a color.
Leadpoint: An ancient drawing tool made of lead or

a lead alloy that left marks on unprepared paper. Lead
produced a beautiful faint line that could be erased.
Intermediary colors: Colors that are created by

combining secondary colors.
Left brain: The left hemisphere of the brain, which

controls analytical, mathematical, and verbal thinking.
Iris: The colored circular section of an eyeball

surrounding the pupil.
Level: The comparison of one horizontal surface or

line to another or others.
Life drawing: (noun) An artwork created by using
living beings as references rather than objects. (verb)
The process of drawing from a living being rather than a
photo or sketch.
Light source: The direction from which a dominant

light originates. A light source identifies the light and
shadow areas of a drawing subject allowing artists to
know where to add light or dark lines and values in their
artworks.
Line: A visually identifiable path of a point moving in
space. Straight, angle, and curved lines can vary in
width, direction, and length, and are used in drawings to
visually separate and/or define the forms of a drawing
subject.
Line drawing: An artwork created with only lines. A
line drawing aims to accurately outline the contours of
the various shapes and/or forms of a drawing subject.
Line of symmetry: A real or imaginary line dividing
an object or drawing space into two equal sections. In a
drawing, the outline on one side of the line of symmetry
needs to be a mirror image of the other side.
Lineweight: (also called the weight of a line) The
value and/or width of a line.
Low contrast: Shading with a limited range of
values.
Lower eyelid: The fold of skin that protects the lower
section of the eyeball. The lower eyelid cannot move
without help from facial muscles around the eye.
Master: A term of respect and honor earned by

accomplished artists with exemplary skills in their
specific discipline.
Matte: A surface texture that is dull and lusterless that
often has additional characteristics such as smooth or
rough. Many fabrics, rocks, and unfinished wood have a
matte texture.
Mechanical pencil: A drawing tool with an internal
mechanism that pushes a thin graphite lead placed in a
tiny tube inside the holder upward through the tip.
Medium: An art material, such as clay, paint, or
graphite, that is used to make art. Almost anything can
be an art medium, from the burnt end of a stick to a
computer software program.
Mediums: (also called media) More than one
medium.
Metalpoint: A drawing tool, popular during the
Renaissance, that was made from a relatively soft
metal, such as lead, silver, gold, or copper.
Mixed lineweight: A single contour line made up of
a combination of different lineweights (e.g., thick, thin,
light, and/or dark).
Mixed media: An artwork created with two or more
different mediums.
Modernism: A style of art that makes a distinctive

break away from all previous genres.
Manga: A Japanese word for comic book that refers

to a popular style of cartooning that originated in Japan.
Manga also refers to reprints of Japanese comics that
are translated from Japanese into other languages
(including English).
Monochromatic: A drawing or painting that is

rendered with a range of values (or tints) of a single
color.
Manikin: An accurately proportioned male or female

model that can be bent and contorted into various
poses. Many manikins are designed specifically for
artists as references for practicing figurative drawings
and/or establishing accurate human proportions for a
specific pose in an artwork. Manikins of animals are also
available.
Markers: Disposable drawing and writing tools with
a soft tip often made of felt that are filled with a colored
or black liquid or ink. Markers are available with tips of
many sizes from very fine to large.
Mummy portrait: A painting of a man, woman, or

child that was attached to the face of a burial mummy.
Many date back to the Roman occupation of Egypt.
Mural: A drawing or painting on a wall, ceiling, or other
large surface.
N
Negative space: The area, space, or background
that visually surrounds or appears behind an object,
person, or another space.
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Newsprint: An inexpensive paper that is not acidfree and is generally used for printing newspapers.
Newsprint is not recommended for drawing because it
is very thin, tears easily, and quickly yellows due to its
acidic content.
Nose: The organ of smell and the entrance to the
respiratory tract.
Nostrils: The two openings on the lower section of a
nose.
O
Octagon: An eight-sided shape with eight angles.
Oil paint: (also called oil or oils) A painting medium
that is made by mixing a finely ground adhesive pigment
with an oil binder. Oil paint was the primary painting
medium of the High Renaissance and has continued
to dominate painting for the past 500 years. Oil-based
paints take much longer to dry than acrylics but offer a
greater ease of manipulation, and their colors change
very little when dry.
Oil painting: A work of art created by applying oil
paints to a surface (such as canvas, heavy linen, or
board).
Oil pastels: A dry drawing and painting medium in
which pigments are mixed with a very dense oil binder.
Oil pastels are available in cylindrical and rectangular
sticks covered with a thin paper. Oil solvents (such as
turpentine) can be brushed on an oil pastel drawing to
blend the colors for a more painterly appearance.
One-point perspective: The technique of using a
single vanishing point to create the illusion of a straighton view into distant space. One-point perspective occurs
when a face of an object (such as a cube) is closer to
the viewer than its sides.
Opaque: A medium or material through which light
cannot be detected.
Optical illusion: (also called a visual illusion)
An image that differs from objective reality, but, when
processed by the subconscious, is interpreted as reality.
Orbital socket: (also called the orbital cavity) The

protective bone cavity of the face that keeps the eyeball
protected.
Original: An artwork (such as a painting or drawing)
that was created by an artist who was the first to bring
the work from its intellectual conception to its creative
conclusion. There can never be more than one original;
however, reproductions can be made (by the artist or
with the written permission of the artist) by replicating
the original image.
Oval: (also called an ellipse) An elongated circle.
Overlapping: A component of perspective and
composition used to create or enhance the illusion of a
three-dimensional reality on a two-dimensional surface
by rendering a subject so it visually appears to be in
front of another subject.
P
Paint: An art medium (e.g., watercolor, oil, or acrylic)
that is made by mixing pigment with a thick or thin liquid.
Paint is applied to a surface (e.g., paper, fabric, or
board) with a tool (e.g., brush, palette knife, or fingers)
to create a painting.
Painter: A person who paints.
Painting: An artistic composition created by applying
a liquid medium (e.g., paint or ink) to a surface.
Parallel: Two or more straight lines that slant in the
exact same direction and can extend to infinity without
ever intersecting.
Parallelogram: A four-sided shape with two sets of
parallel sides that are equal in length and in which the
opposite angles are identical.
Parchment: (also called vellum) An ancient drawing
or writing surface made from calf, sheep, or goat skin
that was widely used before paper was easily available.
Contemporary artists generally prefer a synthetic
parchment paper, which is much less expensive, more
readily available, and is not made from animal skins.
Orange: A secondary color created with yellow and

red. Orange is energetic, vibrant, and flamboyant.
Pastels: Dry drawing mediums available in either

sticks or pencils that are manufactured by mixing dry,
powdered pigments with binding agents. Artworks
created with pastels can be called sketches, drawings,
or paintings.
Pattern: The visual arrangement of the different
values of a drawing subject as represented by lines and/
or shading.
Pencil: A broad category of writing and drawing tools
that have a medium inside a holder. It wasnt until the
end of the nineteenth century that pencil defined a stick
of graphite encased in a cylindrical piece of wood.
Pens: Disposable, refillable, or rechargeable drawing
tools used for commercial art, sketching, and drawing.
Pentagon: A straight-sided shape with five sides and
five angles.
Perpendicular: A straight line (real or imaginary)
that meets (or intersects) another straight line to form at
least one ninety-degree angle.
Perspective: (also called geometric or linear
perspective) A technique made up of a precise series of
rules that makes subjects in drawings appear to recede
into distant space.
Perspective lines: Imaginary straight lines that
extend from the edges of drawing subjects back to a
vanishing point (or points) on the horizon line.
Photorealism: A genre of drawing and painting
based on photographs that are used by the artist as
references to create a highly realistic artwork with
photographic qualities.
Pigment: The colored material that is mixed with
dry or liquid mediums to create the colors in a colored
artwork.
Pointillism: A method of drawing or painting
with several layers of small colored dots, strokes, or
individual brushstrokes. When viewed from a distance,
the dots in pointillist paintings and drawings appear
to blend together to create the illusion of depth,
visual masses, and forms. Nineteenth-century French
impressionistic artists (including George Seurat and
Paul Signac) helped this genre to become a highly
respected style of painting and (more recently) drawing.
Polychromatic: An artwork created with several

different colors.
Portable studio: Drawing or painting materials that
are packed in an easily transportable container used for
creating art at locations beyond ones home.
Portfolio: A hard-sided case in which artists transport
and store paintings, drawings, sheets of drawing paper,
and/or their portfolio of work.
Portfolio of work: A body of work (i.e., drawings,
paintings, and designs) created by an artist for selfpromotion and/or to supplement applications for career
advancement opportunities, such as educational
upgrades or gallery exhibitions.
Portrait: An artwork depicting a likeness to the face
(and sometimes the entire body) of a person or animal.
Portrait format: (also called vertical format) A
rectangular drawing space that is rotated so the two
shorter sides are at the top and bottom.
Positive space: The space occupied by an object
or living being and/or its various parts.
Post-mortem reconstruction: Artistic and
scientific techniques used by forensic artists to sculpt a
three-dimensional head and face from a skull.
Pouncing: A technique that was most popular during
the Renaissance for transferring the outlines of an
image to another surface (e.g., transferring a drawing on
paper to a canvas or wall). First, the outline of the image
is perforated with a series of tiny holes and placed on
or taped to the final surface. A fine powder (such as
charcoal powder) is sprinkled (or sometimes gently
rubbed) over the image outlines causing some of the
powder to fall through the holes onto the new surface.
The original image is removed to reveal guidelines on
the new surface for creating another drawing or painting
of the image.
Powdered: A drawing medium (e.g., graphite) that
has been ground into a fine powder.
Prehistoric: The period in time before language was
used to write and record history. Prehistoric humans
drew pictures on many surfaces, including the walls of
caves.
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Prepared paper: A paper with a surface that has

been coated with a substance that seals, colors, and/
or alters its absorbency and/or tooth. The surface of
many drawing papers used during the fifteenth century
was coated with several layers of white lead and ground
bone that was tinted with a pigment and then tempered
with glue sizing.
Primary colors: There are three primary colors:
yellow, red, and blue. All other colors originate from
primary colors and no combinations of other colors can
make primary colors. Primary colors are high-intensity
and go well together to create a drawing that looks
incredibly bright. By mixing the primary colors with other
colors in various combinations, millions of different
colors can be created.
Primary focal point: The single most important
center of interest (or focus) in a drawing. For example,
in a drawing of an animal, it may be the eyes, the entire
face, or a whole section of the body that is especially
fascinating.
Proportion: The relationship in size between two or
more components of an artwork.
Pupil of an eye: The dark circular shape within
the iris that adjusts its size under different lighting
conditions.
Purple: A secondary color that is spiritual, mysterious,
and exotic, and represents royalty, nobility, and
enlightenment. Some purples made with more red than
blue fall into the category of warm colors.
Q
Quill: A pen made from a feather. The hard, hollow
straw of the feather is dipped in ink and then scratched
across a surface. Quills were a popular drawing tool
during the Renaissance and were usually made from
goose, swan, or turkey feathers.
R
Realism: A style of art in which living beings and
objects are represented in an artwork as they appear in
real life without stylization or distortion.
Realistic sculpture: A three-dimensional art form

that portrays recognizable shapes, objects, or people.
Ream: A unit of 500 sheets of paper used to calculate
a papers weight.
Rectangle: A parallelogram with four straight sides,
four right angles, and unequal adjacent sides.
Red: A primary color considered to be the warmest
and most energetic color. It is associated with love,
energy, and danger (as in a red traffic light).
Red chalk: (also called sanguine) A drawing medium
made from a combination of clay and hematite (also
known as iron). Leonardo da Vinci is thought to be
the first artist to use red chalk extensively for drawing
toward the end of the fifteenth century.
Reflected light: A faint light reflected or bounced
back on an object from nearby surfaces.
Renaissance: (from the French word for rebirth) A
period in European history from the fourteenth century
to the seventeenth century. The era is defined by
great advances in education and intellectual pursuits
and great social and political upheaval. During these
centuries, visual art developed more than at any
other time since the beginning of history. Between
1480 and 1527, during the period known as the High
Renaissance, many of historys most renowned artists
created some of the greatest masterpieces in the history
of art.
Render: The process of making or creating
something. For example, an artist can render a sketch
by drawing lines on a sheet of paper.
Resource files: (also called resources) A collection
of information (such as books, articles, photos, and
digital images) used by artists as references for writing
about and/or creating art.
Right angle: A geometric object that is formed when
two straight perpendicular lines meet at a ninety-degree
angle.
Right brain: The right hemisphere of the brain,
which controls perceptive and visual functions. The
creative and insightful right brain interprets abstract
connections between lines, shapes, and spaces in a
non-narrative context to help the artist see proportions.
Romanticism: A genre of art during the late

eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries that
celebrated nature rather than civilization.
Sepia ink: A thin, brown liquid medium used for

painting, writing, and/or creating drawings with refillable
and/or rechargeable pens.
Rough: The surface features of abrasive, lumpy,

irregular, or jagged objects.
Set of lines: A grouping of several lines used to

create shading.
Rough sketch: A quickly rendered visual notation of

an image or idea that illustrates the important elements
of a subject using very few details. Rough sketches can
capture a pose or gesture, establish values, suggest
proportions, and/or arrange the major components of a
composition.
Set of straight lines: A grouping of two or more

vertical, horizontal, or diagonal straight lines often drawn
parallel to one another.
Rule of thirds: A compositional formula that

identifies four ideal locations within a rectangular
drawing space for a focal point. The rule of thirds is
a variation of an old traditional compositional formula
known as the Golden Mean.
S
Sandpaper block: An artists tool with tear-off
sheets of fine sandpaper used to sharpen the points of
pencils.
Score: To cut slightly but not sever. Cardboard or
matboard should be scored less than halfway into its
total thickness.
Sculptor: An artist who creates sculptures. A wellknown sculptor of the Renaissance was Michelangelo
(14751564) who created the statue of David.
Sculpture: A three-dimensional artwork that is made
of a material such as wood, bronze, rock, or marble.
Secondary colors: The colors orange, green, and
purple that are created by mixing two primary colors
together.
Secondary focal point: One or more centers of
interest in a drawing composition that are significant but
not quite as important as the primary focal point.
Sepia: The popular brown colors used in various
media. The word sepia (derived from Latin and Greek
words for cuttlefish) was used in the Renaissance to
describe an artists brownish-gray pigment made from
the dried ink sacs of cuttlefish and squid.
Shading: The process of adding values to a drawing

so as to create the illusion of texture, form, and/or threedimensional space.
Shading map: (also called a value map) A plan (or
blueprint) for adding shading to a drawing. The shapes
of various values are identified and lightly outlined on
the drawing paper before the shading is added.
Shadow: A dark area on an object or living being that
receives little to no light.
Shape: A two-dimensional geometrical object that can
serve as the outline of a three-dimensional object. For
example, a circle is the shape of a sphere.
Sharpener: A tool for sharpening pencils. An ideal
sharpener for artists is hand held, made of metal, and
has two openings (for regular and oversized pencils).
Shiny: A texture that has highlights reflecting off its
surface. Shiny objects can be glossy or highly polished
such as the surface of a shiny new penny or polished
brass.
Sidebar: A section of text in a document that provides
additional information about a topic. Many instructional
art books have sidebars that provide readers with
definitions of art-related words and terms.
Single curved line: (also called a simple curved
line) A curved line that curves in only one direction either
clockwise or counterclockwise.
Sketch: (noun) A simple representation, outline, or
drawing that captures the integral aspects of a subject
quickly and efficiently. (verb) The process of rendering
a sketch.
Sketchbook: Several sheets of drawing paper that
are bound together and contained within a soft or hard
cover.
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Smooth: A texture with very few surface features.

A hand run over a smooth surface will feel little or no
unevenness or roughness.
Softcover: A flexible book cover that is usually made
of paper.
Softness: The numerical rating of B-grade media
according to their ingredients. Softer mixtures have
higher numbers.
Sphere: A perfectly round geometric object (a threedimensional circle) in which all points on the surface
are the same distance from the center point. Balls and
globes are examples of spheres.
Spiral line: A curved line that can never meet itself
to form a shape. It can continue in either a clockwise or
counterclockwise direction and simply becomes larger
(or smaller) and less (or more) curved the longer it gets.
Spray fixative: A transparent aerosol coating that is
sprayed onto an artwork to help prevent smudging.
Square: A parallelogram with four straight sides that
are the same length and four right angles.
Squirkles: Randomly drawn, overlapping curved
lines and shapes that are used to create a shading
technique called squirkling.
Squirkling: A shading technique in which randomly
drawn, overlapping curved lines and shapes (called
squirkles) create values.
Sticks: A type of drawing tool in which a medium
is compressed into a block or cylindrical sticks.
Sticks come in various sizes, which make them
highly adaptable for diverse mark-making styles and
techniques. Large sticks are great for large sketches,
and smaller sticks work well for smaller works.
Still life: An artwork that depicts representational,
inanimate objects such as fruit, flowers, or bottles.
Stippling: (also called stipple or stippled) A shading
technique in which a series of dots are arranged in
groups to create the illusion of values.
Storage portfolio: A hard-sided foldable case
in which artists store drawings and sheets of drawing
paper to protect them from damage.
Straight line: A geometrical object that provides the

shortest connection between any two points. Straight
lines can be rendered thick or thin, long or short, and
drawn in any direction. They are categorized into three
basic types: vertical (straight up and down and at a right
angle to a horizontal line), horizontal (level and at a right
angle to a vertical line), and diagonal (slanting or sloping
at an angle).
Straight-sided shape: A geometric object such
as a square, rectangle, or triangle that is created when
three or more straight lines connect to form a shape.
Stump: A pointed, solid stick of soft paper or leather
that is used for blending and shading drawings.
Style: An artists individual approach to his or her own
art. An artists style is defined by an accumulation of
her/his inherent preferences, life experiences, artistic
philosophy, personal goals, and academic background.
When an artists personal style is critiqued and/or
examined by others, the resulting label may focus more
on a particular historical period or artistic movement
than the artists true style.
Stylus: (also called leadpoint or metalpoint) A thin
metal stick used for drawing. It was most often cast
with a fine point at one end and a blunter point at the
opposite end so as to provide artists with the creative
freedom to vary the width of their lines as they worked.
A stylus leaves a thin deposit of metal on the surface of
paper producing a very fine line. Silver was very popular
with Renaissance artists because it eventually tarnished
and took on a beautiful, luminous, brown tonality.
Subject: Any object or living being that an artist
chooses to represent in an artwork.
Symmetry: An arrangement of lines, shapes, and/
or values on opposite sides of an often imaginary center
line that appear to be duplications or mirror images of
one another. Both sides are said to be symmetrical.
T
Talent: A process of self-discovery throughout which
artists acknowledge their interest and motivation to
become exceptional in a specific area.
Technical pens: Drawing tools available in both

refillable and pre-filled (disposable) holders that work
beautifully for creating the sharp, even lines used
for detailed drawings, drafting, graphic design, and
commercial art.
Technique: A well-known method (e.g., a specific
way to do shading) that is used to accomplish a
particular activity or task.
Text: The words used in writing.
Texture: The surface details of an object that can be
identified by sight, touch, and/or a general knowledge of
the subject.
Thumbnail: A preliminary sketch (often smaller than
the planned size of the final drawing) rendered before
an artist begins a drawing that is designed to work
through potential problems with composition, values,
perspective, and/or proportions.
Tone: (also called value) The degree of lightness or
darkness of an area in an artwork. Tone varies from the
bright white of a light source through shades of gray to
the deepest black shadows.
Tooth: The surface texture of paper. Paper with a
smooth tooth is flat with a silky texture; medium tooth is
uneven with a slightly rough texture; and coarse tooth is
bumpy with a very rough texture.
Torso: The primary structure of a human body to
which the head, arms, and legs are connected.
Traditional realist: An artist who prefers to draw
subjects as they exist in reality.
Trapezoid: A four-sided shape in which only two
sides are parallel.
Triangle: A shape with three straight sides and three
angles.
Triptych: An artwork consisting of three related
paintings or drawings.
Unity: A balanced composition in which the various

components of a subject come together to create a
sense of harmonious integration.
Upper eyelid: A fold of skin that opens and closes
automatically (blinking) to protect the eyeball.
V
Values: The various shades of gray in an artwork. A
broad range of values can be achieved by using various
grades of a medium and by varying the density of the
shading lines and the pressure used when applying the
medium to a surface.
Value scale: A range of different values that are
drawn in order from light to dark or from dark to light.
Vanishing point: (also called VP) An imaginary
point (or points) on the horizon line where perspective
lines converge.
Vertical line: A geometric object that is straight up
and down and at a right angle to a level surface.
Viewfinder frame: An adjustable, see-through
frame that allows artists to look at a subject from
various viewpoints. A viewfinder frame is invaluable
when planning a composition for any type of drawing
or painting (e.g., portraits, figures, and landscapes).
An easily constructed viewfinder frame consists of two
adjustable L-shaped pieces of heavy paper, cardboard,
or matboard that are held together with paper clips.
Vinyl eraser: A soft white eraser with a plastic-like
texture used for erasing sections of drawings.
Vision: (1) The ability to see. (2) An artists creative
aspirations.
Visual art: Artworks that can be appreciated with
the sense of sight (e.g., drawings, paintings, and
sculptures).
Visual perception: The ability to use ones
eyesight to interpret information in ones surroundings.
Underdrawing: A loosely rendered sketch or

drawing created as a guide for a final artwork.
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W
Warm colors: The colors yellow, orange, and red, as
well as mixtures of any of these three colors with white
or black or with one other. Warm colors are usually
invigorating (e.g., the colors of fire).
Weight of paper: The thickness of individual sheets
of paper. Thin paper weighs very little but is easily torn
and damaged. Thick paper is more durable than thin
because it weighs more.
White of the eye: The large visible section of an
eyeball that is light in value and color but is not really
white.
Wings of a nose: The two softly rounded (often
triangular shaped) forms extending from the sides of the
ball of the nose.
Wood-encased pencil: (also called a wooden

pencil) A drawing or writing tool with a thin cylindrical
stick of medium held inside a wooden casing.
Woodless pencil: A thick cylindrical stick of
graphite wrapped in a vinyl casing. Woodless pencils
are ideal for large graphite drawings needing wider
strokes than regular pencils can provide. When
sharpened, they can also make thin lines.
Y
Yellow: A primary color that is bright, cheery, and
powerful. It is the color of happiness, sunshine, and
many flowers (e.g., daffodils).
Traveling Back in Time with Graphite
Resource
Traveling Back in
Time with Graphite
A few fun tidbits of information about
the history of graphite
Figure 1
As a drawing medium, graphite

has survived the test of time. Many
graphite drawings created hundreds
of years ago are safely tucked away
in museums and art galleries all over
the world.
How the Lead

Pencil Got its Name
Long before the discovery of
graphite, artists made drawings with
small thin rods made from a soft
metal. Styluses made of lead (called
leadpoint) have been traced back to
ancient Rome (Figure 1).
A stylus worked by leaving a thin
deposit of metal on paper that had
been coated with a slightly rough
surface. A leadpoint would produce a
gray line.
ArtSpeak
Clay: A naturally occurring material
that becomes hardened when dried.
Drawing: (noun) The image that
results from the application of a
medium to a surface. (verb) The
process of applying a medium to a
surface to create an image.
Graphite: A soft black form of opaque
carbon found in nature that is usually
mixed with clay in the manufacture
of various types of drawing tools for
artists.
Medium: An art material, such as
clay, paint, or graphite used to make
art. Almost anything can be an art
medium, from the burnt end of a stick
to a computer software program.
Pencil: A broad category of writing
and drawing tools that have a medium
inside a holder.
Stylus: (also called leadpoint or
metalpoint) A thin metal rod or stick
used for drawing.
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Some styluses had a fine point at one end and a blunter point at the opposite end so artists
could draw both thin and thick lines.
Leadpoint is considered the ancestor of the modern graphite pencil. The term lead pencil is
often incorrectly used to describe graphite pencils that are made of graphite and clay (and
contain no lead whatsoever). Graphite pencils do, however, produce a warm-toned gray
line that looks very similar to the marks made by leadpoint.
During the Renaissance, styluses were made from lead, silver, gold, or copper. The great
masters created many beautiful intricate drawings with only a stylus. Leonardo da Vinci
(1452-1519) and Albrecht Duerer (1471-1528) are considered to be masters of silverpoint
work.
Artists also used styluses to do
underdrawings for more detailed drawings
or paintings. When you look closely at old
pen and ink drawings, you can often find
a few faint remnants of underdrawings.
Examine a graphite drawing meticulously
copied from a quill and ink drawing by
Leonardo da Vinci (Figure 2).
Figure 2
ArtSpeak
Master: A term of respect and honor
earned by accomplished artists with
exemplary skills in their specific disciplines.
Quill: A pen made from a feather. The
hard, hollow straw of the feather is dipped
in ink and then scratched across a surface.
Quills were a popular drawing tool during
the Renaissance, and were usually made
from goose, swan, or turkey feathers.
Renaissance: (from the French word for
rebirth) A period in European history from
the fourteenth century to the seventeenth
century. The era is defined by great
advances in education and intellectual
pursuits and great social and political
upheaval. During these centuries, visual
art developed more than at any other time
since the beginning of history.
Sketch: (noun) A simple representation,
outline, or drawing that captures the
integral aspects of a subject quickly
and efficiently, and often serves as a
preliminary drawing for a more detailed
drawing. (verb) The process of rendering a
sketch.
Underdrawing: A loosely rendered sketch
usually created as a guide for a final
artwork.
Visual art: Artworks that can be
appreciated with the sense of sight (e.g.,
drawings, paintings, and sculptures).
Traveling Back in Time with Graphite
Check out two close-up views of this drawing; a few faint lines of an underdrawing are
marked with arrows (Figures 3 and 4).
Figure 3
Figure 4
As an Aside
Between 1480 and 1527, during a time remembered as
the High Renaissance, many of historys most renowned
artists created some of the greatest masterpieces in
the history of art. Today, this rebirth (also referred to
as new birth) continues its growth with a resurgence
of the learning and teaching of traditional drawing
techniques in home, recreational, and academic learning
environments.
As an Aside
Leonardo (14521519) was born
in Vinci, not far from Florence,
Italy. He thus became known as
Leonardo da Vinci. Many students
of art refer to Leonardo da Vinci
simply as da Vinci, which in
essence is the same as calling you
by the name of the place where you
were born rather than your actual
name.
The Link Between

Graphite and Sheep
A large graphite deposit was discovered in
England sometime between 1500 and 1560.
Farmers are thought to be the first people who
found a practical use for graphite. They used a
lump of graphite to mark their sheep so they could
easily identify their flocks.
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A cartoon sheep proudly displays a big X

marked on her wool with graphite (Figure 5).
Figure 5
The English deposit was of particularly high

quality (very soft but solid enough to saw into
sticks). News of the discovery of graphite
soon traveled far and wide throughout the
artistic world. Unfortunately, the graphite
was used by the Crown to line the molds
of cannonballs, and artists had to resort to
smuggling out small quantities to make their
drawings.
Because graphite is so soft, artists began
wrapping it in string or sheepskin for stability.
It wasnt long, however, before hollowed out
sticks and metal holders were used to encase
chunks of graphite sharpened into a point.
These were the very first graphite pencils.
As an Aside
Graphite is a form of carbon (like coal and
diamond) and is used in everything from batteries
to brake linings. However, its earliest known use
was as an art medium to paint pottery in the fourth
millennium B.C.
Examining Graphite and Grades
Resource
Examining Graphite
and Grades
Understanding the differences between
H and B grades of graphite
Graphite, the best friend of many artists who love to

draw, comes in many different grades. When it comes
to graphite, a B grade is not better than an H!
Graphite pencils are made with a mixture of graphite
and clay. Graphite is very soft and black and makes
dark marks. Clay is hard and makes light marks. B
(black) grades of pencils have more graphite than H
(hard) grades and therefore make darker marks.
Manufacturers make up to twenty different grades of
graphite pencils. Some manufacturers have a scale
from 10H to 8B, some from 9H to 9B, and still others
from 9H to 8B! To further confuse novice artists, some
manufacturers use different naming conventions
entirely, such as H, HH, B, BB, BBB, and even F.
Trying to draw with all the available grades of pencils
can be frustrating. Besides, some grades make
almost identical marks (Figure 1).
ArtSpeak
Grade: The softness or
hardness of the mixture used
in the manufacture of drawing
mediums.
Lineweight: (also called the
weight of a line) The value
and/or width of a line.
Values: The various shades
of gray in an artwork. A
broad range of values can
be achieved by using various
grades of a medium and
by varying the density of
the shading lines and the
pressure used when applying
the medium to a surface.
Figure 1
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Figure 2
As an Aside
The HB grade is in the middle of most spectrums of
values and can be considered either the darkest H
grade or the lightest B grade.
You dont need a pencil of every grade. Artists

can create a full range of values with only five
grades of graphite: 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B
(Figure 2).
Hard is Light
Hard (H) pencils contain too little graphite to
make very dark values. Their marks range from
light to medium. Examine the values created with
four H pencils: 6H, 4H, 2H, and HB (Figure 3).
As a rule, H grades
are hard and brittle
make light to medium marks
wear down slowly
need very little sharpening
create very thin to medium lineweights
Figure 3
Soft is Black
B pencils are soft because they contain more graphite than clay. They can make dark
marks, but by pressing gently, you can also create light and medium values.
Examining Graphite and Grades
Check out the values created with four B

pencils: HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B (Figure 4).
Generally speaking, B grades of pencils
are soft and brittle
make light, medium, and dark marks
wear down quickly
need to be sharpened frequently
can make thin to thick lineweights
Tip!
Always lay your pencils somewhere safe
so they dont fall! Graphite is quite brittle
especially the softer grades. When a pencil
falls to the floor, the graphite inside the core
breaks. Small pieces of broken graphite jam
up the inside of a sharpener, and the pencil
becomes very difficult to sharpen.
Figure 4
Tip!
Choose each of your grades of pencils from the
same manufacturer. An identical grade of pencil
from two different manufacturers can make
marks of slightly different values.
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Resource
Seeing Grades in
Drawings
Graphite drawings demonstrate the visual
qualities of H and B grades of pencils
Before beginning a drawing, you need to choose the

grades of pencils that can best give you the results you
want.
For subjects needing a light touch, you may prefer to
use mostly H grades (Figure 1). For subjects needing
a darker, bolder approach, B grades may work better
(Figure 2). And more often than not, a combination of H
and B grades is a perfect choice.
Figure 1
Figure 2
ArtSpeak
Cast shadow: A shadow on
a surface adjacent to and
caused by an object that
blocks the light.
Photorealism: A genre of
drawing and painting based
on photographs that are used
by the artist as references
to create a highly realistic
artwork with photographic
qualities.
Realism: A style of art in
which living beings and
objects are represented in
an artwork as they appear in
real life without stylization or
distortion.
Subject: Any object or living
being that an artist chooses to
represent in an artwork.
Shadow: A dark area on an
object or living being that
receives little to no light.
H grades have a range of values from light to medium

and are perfect for detailed drawings.
Seeing Grades in Drawings
A highly detailed, realistic drawing of a young man playing a violin is almost entirely created
with 6H, 4H, 3H, 2H, and HB grades of graphite (Figure 3).
This drawing is large, 16 by 20 in (40 by 50 cm), and took almost a month to complete. A
2B grade was used sparingly for a few dark accents, such as his eyes and tiny sections of
the darkest shadows.
Figure 3
The dark, thick marks created by B grades are ideal for bold, loosely rendered sketches on
small to large sheets of paper. A 9 by 6 in (23 by 15 cm) sketch of a side-on view of a young
man was rendered with 2B and 4B pencils (Figure 4).
A more detailed and smaller drawing of a peach, 4.5 by 5 in (11 by 13 cm), is also rendered
with B-grade pencils (Figure 5).
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Figure 4
Figure 5
Using a combination of hard and soft grades is great for any subject of any size from
loosely rendered sketches to highly detailed drawings.
A photorealistic drawing of a medieval dagger is rendered with a combination of H and B
grades of graphite (2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B) (Figure 6).
Figure 6
Seeing Grades in Drawings
Any subject with a range

of values from white to
black needs both H and
B grades of pencils.
Figure 7
And what could better

show you a combination
of H and B pencils than
a drawing of a zebra
(Figure 7)?
The white stripes are
shaded with 2H, HB, and
2B, and the black stripes
with HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B.
As an Aside
When you think of realism as an art
form, you may think of drawings or
paintings that look like photographs,
such as those created by Glennray
Tutor (b. 1950).
In fact, realism began many
centuries before photography, as
a desire to show a subject without
idealization. Even the dirty, ugly, or
boring aspects of the subject and
the background were included in the
final artwork.
Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) is
credited with creating one of the first
realistic (non-idealized) paintings
with A Burial at Ornans in 1849,
which depicted a crowd of villagers
standing around an empty hole in
the ground. This painting caused a
huge sensation in France as critics
felt it deliberately showed something
ugly, which they felt was not the
point of fine art.
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Resource
Picking out
Graphite Pencils
How to select the right graphite pencils
for learning how to draw
Ordinary writing pencils, like the ones used in schools, are not designed for drawing and
tend to scratch the surface of paper. Professional drawing pencils are made with a higherquality mixture of graphite and clay and make marks that glide smoothly across your
paper.
On the downside, they are usually more expensive
than pencils made for writing.
Three of the most popular types of professional
drawing pencils are (1) wood-encased, (2)
mechanical, and (3) woodless (Figure 1).
Figure 1
ArtSpeak
Mechanical pencil: A drawing
tool with an internal mechanism
that pushes a thin graphite lead
placed in a tiny tube inside the
holder upward through the tip.
Sandpaper block: An artists
tool with tear-off sheets of fine
sandpaper used to sharpen the
points of pencils.
Wood-encased pencil: (also
called a wooden pencil) A
drawing or writing tool with a
thin cylindrical stick of medium
held inside a wooden casing.
Woodless pencil: A thick
cylindrical stick of graphite
wrapped in a vinyl casing.
Picking out Graphite Pencils
Wood-encased Pencils
Professional drawing pencils are available with many
different mediumsnot just graphite (Figure 2). Your first
goal when you go shopping is to locate graphite pencils.
When you locate graphite pencils, youll find that all the
grades made by each manufacturer look much the same
(Figure 3). Thankfully, the wooden casing of a professional
drawing pencil is labeled with a number-letter code to
identify its grade (Figure 4).
Tip!
Wood-encased pencils
last much longer if you
use a sandpaper block
more often than a pencil
sharpener.
Figure 3
Figure 2
Figure 4
As an Aside
In the early seventeenth century, the
term pencil was used to identify any
writing or drawing tool that held a
piece of graphite, chalk, or charcoal.
By the end of the nineteenth
century, pencil was used to mean
a stick of graphite encased in a
cylindrical piece of wood (woodencased). Today, pencil includes
a huge selection of wood-encased
mediums as well as mechanical and
woodless types of graphite.
Caution!
When shopping
online, search
specifically for
graphite pencils so
you dont accidently
buy another medium.
When you shop at
a local store, ask a
salesperson for help.
As an Aside
Many high-quality
professional graphite
pencils are made in
Germany and sold under
the names Staedtler and
Faber-Castell.
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Mechanical Pencils
Mechanical pencils are a super alternative to
pencils that need to be sharpened (Figure 5).
They are designed to mechanically push a
thin rod of graphite (called a lead) through a
small hole in the pointed end.
The marks created by mechanical pencils
stay approximately the same size even after
hours of drawing.
Caution!
Dont buy cheap mechanical pencils (such
as the inexpensive novelty mechanical
pencils in many stores). Professional
mechanical pencils that are designed
specifically for drawing can be found only
in specialty stores.
You can buy leads of different grades (sold

in individual packages) for your mechanical
pencil. You must also choose which size of
mechanical pencil you need.
A 0.5 mm is the most popular size and works
best for drawing on small- to medium-sized
sheets of paper. A 0.7 mm is a great choice
for sketching loosely and/or drawing on a
large surface. A 0.3 mm mechanical pencil
allows you to render very detailed drawings.
A professional-quality mechanical pencil
designed specifically for drawing is
expensive; however, in the long run it tends
to be more economical than constantly
buying wood-encased pencils. Mechanical
pencils can last 10 to 15 years when well
cared for.
Figure 5
As an Aside
The word pencil comes from the Latin
word pencillus (which means little tail)
Tip!
Beginners to drawing only need five
grades of pencils: 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and
6B. You can choose wood-encased,
mechanical, woodless, or a combination of
all three types.
Soft grades wear down more quickly than
hard grades, so pick up two or more 2H
and HB grades and three or more 2B, 4B,
and 6B grades.
Caution!
Read the labels on the package of leads
to make sure that the leads are the right
size for your pencil. For example, 0.7
mm leads will not fit inside a 0.5 mm
mechanical pencil.
Picking out Graphite Pencils
Woodless Pencils
Figure 6
Obviously, woodless pencils do not have

a wooden casing! A thick rod of graphite is
surrounded by a thin (usually vinyl) casing
(Figure 6).
They last a long time and can make lines of
various lineweights. Woodless pencils are
ideal for all sizes of drawings and sketches,
especially subjects needing wider strokes
than regular pencils.
They rarely need to be sharpened in a pencil
sharpener. A few strokes on sandpaper and
the points are sharp!
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Activity
Play with Five

Grades of Graphite
Use the base values of five different grades of pencils
to add shading to nine simple line drawings
Resources:
Examining Graphite and Grades (Page 21)
Seeing Grades in Drawings (Page 24)
Supplies: drawing paper, 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B
grades of pencils, and a pencil sharpener
Tip!
Before you begin shading the nine line
drawings, take a few minutes to play with each
of your five pencils to get an idea of its base
value.
Each of the nine activities in this activity

has a reference image in the upper
section and a line drawing in the lower
section.
Examine the example in Figure 1.
ArtSpeak
Line: A visually identifiable path of a point
moving in space. Straight, angle, and curved
lines can vary in width, direction, and length,
and are used in drawings to visually separate
and/or define the forms of a drawing subject.
Line drawing: An artwork created with only
lines. A line drawing aims to accurately outline
the contours of the various shapes and/or
forms of a drawing subject.
Shading: The process of adding values to a
drawing so as to create the illusion of form
and/or three-dimensional space.
Shape: A two-dimensional geometrical object
that can serve as the outline of a threedimensional object. For example, a circle is
the shape of a sphere.
Technique: A well-known method (e.g., a
specific way to do shading) that is used to
accomplish a particular activity or task.
Tooth: The surface texture of paper. Paper
with a smooth tooth is flat with a silky texture;
medium tooth is uneven with a slightly rough
texture; and coarse tooth is bumpy with a very
rough texture.
Play With Five Grades of Graphite
Figure 1
Figure 2
Your goal is to
add shading to the
outlined shapes
in the lower box
(refer to a closeup in Figure 2) to
match the values
in the upper box
(Figure 3).
Figure 3
Caution!
Do not press hard with your pencils
as this might destroy the tooth of
your paper. Let the base value of
each grade do the work for you.
The grade of pencil used to shade each of these values is marked on the shading example
in Figure 3, but is not marked on any of the reference images. There is also no need to
mark grades on your worksheet.
Dont expect to duplicate each value perfectly. This is an art not a science. Just come as
close as you can to each value.
1. Scan and print or photocopy (or draw directly on) Worksheet 1 (Page 34).
2. Examine the first reference image (on the left) in the first set of three and decide
which pencil would best duplicate each of its values.
3. Using one grade of pencil for each shape and whatever shading techniques you
currently have in your repertoire, shade in the outlined shapes in the lower box to
match the values you see in the upper box.
4. Use the same process to add shading to the second and third line drawings in
this set of three.
5. Continue using the same process to add shading to the other two sets of three
line drawings (for a grand total of nine drawings).
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Worksheet 1
Sketchbooks and Drawing Papers
Resource
Sketchbooks and
Drawing Papers
Choosing the right size, quality, and
weight of drawing paper
Picking out paper on which to

draw can be daunting for even
experienced artists. Your choices
include different types, weights,
colors, textures, and sizes.
Some papers are great for quick
sketches but not for detailed
drawings, and some may look good
at first but will become yellow and
brittle over time.
You need to have a good idea of
what kind of paper you want before
shopping so you dont become
overwhelmed by the selection.
Art supply stores sell individual
sheets of papers that are designed
specifically for drawing and
sketchbooks that have many sheets
of drawing paper in a book format.
However, the size, quality, and
weight of the paper are much more
important than whether you purchase
individual sheets or a sketchbook
(Figure 1).
ArtSpeak
Drawing paper: An acid-free paper that is designed
specifically for artists and is available in various
types, weights, colors, textures, and sizes.
Hardcover: A durable type of book cover that is
made from a thick and unbendable material.
Hot pressed: A type of paper that is pressed
through hot cylinders during its manufacture. Many
smooth watercolor papers are hot pressed.
Portfolio: A hard-sided case in which artists
transport and store paintings, drawings, sheets of
drawing paper, and/or their portfolio of work.
Portfolio of work: A body of work (i.e., examples
of drawings, paintings, designs, etc.) created by
an artist for self-promotion and/or to supplement
applications for career advancement opportunities,
such as educational upgrades or gallery exhibitions.
Sketchbook: Several sheets of drawing paper that
are bound together and contained within a soft or
hard cover.
Softcover: A flexible book cover that is usually
made of paper.
Storage portfolio: A hard-sided foldable case in
which artists store drawings and sheets of drawing
paper to protect them from damage.
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Figure 1
ArtSpeak
Newsprint: An inexpensive paper that is
not acid-free, generally used for printing
newspapers.
Texture: The surface detail of an object
that can be identified by sight, touch,
and/or a general knowledge of the
subject.
Weight of paper: The thickness of a
sheet of paper.
As an Aside
Sketchbooks Versus
Individual Sheets
Sketchbooks are available in softcover and
hardcover. Softcover sketchbooks have to be
carefully stored on a flat surface because the
paper can be easily wrinkled and damaged.
Portfolios come in many different

sizes and types, ranging from simple,
inexpensive cardboard to high-quality
expensive leather.
Figure 2
A hardcover sketchbook is much more durable

than a softcover one, and better protects the
paper inside (Figure 2). As an extra perk, the
hard cover provides a solid surface on which
to work when youre away from your desk or
table.
Caution!
Newsprint can be used for rough, preliminary
sketches, but is not recommended for drawing
because it is very thin, tears easily, and eventually
yellows due to its acidic content.
Sketchbooks and Drawing Papers
Individual sheets of drawing paper are available in oodles of different types, weights, colors,
and textures. They need to be kept on a flat surface such as a large shelf or stored inside a
large drawer, storage portfolio, or hard-sided portfolio (Figure 3).
Figure 3
Deciding on a Paper
Size
Choose sketchbooks and drawing
papers in sizes that are easy to
transport when you travel. However,
stay away from paper under 9 by 12 in
(23 by 30 cm) or your drawing options
become too limited.
Figure 4
Most sketchbooks that are larger

than 16 by 20 in (41 by 51 cm) are
softcover and bend easily. When you
make large drawings, you need to
place a big sketchbook on a large,
hard surface to keep it rigid while you
draw.
Another option is to tear out only
one sheet at a time. A large sheet of
drawing paper can be attached to a
drawing board with a clamp (Figure 4).
Individual sheets of paper come
in many sizes. Some types are
inexpensive and others can be
quite costly. You may find it more
economical to purchase a large sheet
that can be cut down into smaller
sheets as you need them.
Weighing in on Paper
Thin paper weighs very little but
is easily torn and damaged. Thick
paper weighs more but is often quite
expensive. Choosing the right paper
means finding the right weight at the
right price.
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Printer paper that you use for your computer

has a 20 lb (75 g/m) weight. Even though the
cost is low, its too thin (and too smooth) for
drawing.
Heavy drawing paper, such as hot pressed,
watercolor paper made by Arches, has a
140 lb (300 g/m) weight, and it is perfect
for drawing masterpieces but is much too
expensive for everyday use.
Caution!
Dont be fooled by cheap imitations of
good-quality drawing paper. Just because
the cover of a sketchbook says its suitable
for drawing doesnt mean its acid-free.
Before you buy a sketchbook, always look
for a label that says the paper is acid-free.
A good compromise is a professional quality,

acid-free paper with at least a 50 lb (260 g/
m) weight.
The weight of the paper in a sketchbook is
usually marked on the packaging or front
cover.
Once youve tried a few different weights,
youll find that you can simply feel a sheet of
drawing paper to make sure its thick enough.
Tip!
Before you buy drawing paper, check out
art supply stores and also stationery and
department stores in your community to
find out what is available.
As an Aside
Drawing Papers during the Renaissance
Shopping for drawing papers is no doubt a challenge. However, can you imagine having to make your
own paper? During the Renaissance, every piece of paper was made by hand. This time-consuming
process included the following seven basic steps:
Materials such as plants, vegetable matter, and/or rags were chopped up into fine fibers.
Water was then added to create a soupy mix.
The mix was scooped up with a screen and placed into a wooden mold.
The mold was shaken until most of the water had drained through the screen leaving a flattened layer
of fibers.
Flattened sheets of fibers were stacked into a pile with a layer of woolen cloth or felt in between each.
Most of the remaining moisture was squeezed out by pressing down very hard on the stack.
The sheets of paper were then hung to dry.
When completely dry, the paper was usually coated with a substance (such as a gelatin mixture) to make
it suitable for drawing.
Make a Storage Portfolio
Activity
Make a Storage
Portfolio
Make a portfolio folder for the storage and
preservation of drawing papers and twodimensional artworks
Supplies: acid-free cardboard or matboard; roll of wide tape; strong, sharp utility knife; and a straight
edge or long ruler
Your portfolio can be as big or as small as you want,

but it should be a little larger than your drawings and
paper. You can make a portfolio with either one large
sheet of board or two small sheets.
Here are two suggestions for portfolio sizes.
1. To make a portfolio that is 20 by 16 in (51 by 41
cm):
one sheet at least 32 by 20 in (82 by 51 cm) to
be folded in half
two sheets at least 20 by 16 in (51 by 41 cm)
each
2. To make a portfolio that is 30 by 20 in (76 by 51
cm):
one sheet at least 40 by 30 in (102 by 76 cm) to
be folded in half
two sheets at least 30 by 20 in (76 by 51 cm)
each
ArtSpeak
Acid-free: An archival quality,
long-lasting paper product
that has had the acid removed
from the pulp in the papermaking process.
Duct tape: (also called duck
tape) A well-known strong,
flexible, sticky tape used for a
vast range of professional and
creative applications.
Score: To cut slightly but not
sever. Cardboard or matboard
should be scored less than
halfway into its total thickness.
Storage portfolio: A hardsided foldable case in which
artists store drawings and
sheets of drawing paper to
protect them from damage.
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ArtSpeak
Tips!
Acid-free matboard can be found in a
wide selection of colors at many framing
and art supply stores.

organic material such as wood. As with graphite,
charcoal comes in various grades.
Duct tape is great for this project

because it is strong and comes in lots of
fun colors.
Collage: An artwork created by gluing a specific

selection of objects (such as photographs, ribbons,
and/or colored papers) to paper, board, or canvas.
Storage portfolios can be stacked on top

of one another on a flat surface such as a
large shelf.
Spray fixative: A transparent aerosol coating

that is sprayed onto an artwork to help prevent
smudging.
Option 1: Using One Large Sheet of Board

1. Place your large sheet of board, colored side facing up, on a level surface.
The side facing up will be the outside of the portfolio.
2. Measure the longer sides of the board and mark the halfway points (Figures
1 and 2).
Figure 1: If your board is 32 by 20 in (82 by 51 cm) the center points are at 16 in
(41 cm).
Figure 2: If your board is 40 by 30 in (102 by 76 cm) the center points are at 20 in
(51 cm).
Figure 1
Figure 2
3. Use a straight edge

or long ruler to
draw a straight line
between the points.
This line indicates
where you will score
the board, and will
be the bottom of the
finished portfolio.
4. Fold wide tape over
the edges of all four
sides of the board.
Figure 3
This will add strength

to your portfolio
(Figure 3).
5. With your knife and a
straight edge, score along
the straight line of the
colored side of the board.
This will require some
concentration because youll
need to score through the
taped section as well as the
board.
Be careful not to cut the board
too deeply or youll have two
pieces instead of one!
Figure 4
If you accidentally end up with

two pieces, simply skip ahead
to Option 2 and follow the
instructions for working with
two pieces.
6. Turn over the board so
you are now looking at the
inside (non-colored side)
(Figure 4).
7. Gently fold the large sheet
of board inward along
the scored line until the
portfolio is closed.
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8. Open the portfolio and tape over the

inside center seam.
Figure 5
To make this seam super strong, use

two strips of tape.
9. Close the portfolio and fold two strips
of tape along the scored seam at the
bottom (Figure 5).
10. Decorate one or both sides of your
portfolio.
Be creative! Consider a collage, design,
drawing, or painting. When your artwork
is finished, you can add a neat border
around it with wide tape.
Decorating your portfolio is completely
optional; you may prefer to use it as is.
Tip!
Option 2: Using Two

Smaller Sheets of Board
1. Fold wide tape over one long edge
and both short edges of each board.
2. Place the boards
beside one another
with the inside (noncolored side) facing
upward.
You may want to use a spray fixative

to protect artworks rendered with soft
mediums (such as charcoal) before you
add them to your portfolio. But no matter
what the medium, always place a sheet of
inexpensive acid-free paper between each
artwork.
Figure 6
The edges that are not

taped should be close
together. This is the
inside of your portfolio
(Figure 6).
3. Push the sides
without tape together.
Make sure both sides
are flat and the edges
are tight and level with
one another.
4. Tape over the inside

center seam (Figure 7).
Figure 7
To make the seam super

strong, use two strips of
tape.
5. Close the portfolio and
fold two strips of tape
along the seam at the
bottom (Figure 8).
6. Decorate one or both
sides of your portfolio.
Be creative! Consider a
collage, design, drawing,
or painting. When your
artwork is finished, you
can add a neat border
around it with wide tape.
Figure 8
Decorating your portfolio

is completely optional; you
may prefer to use it as is.
Caution!
Use a separate portfolio for artworks of different
mediums to prevent cross contamination of
media particles. For instance, charcoal drawings
and graphite drawings should never be stored
together. And remember to always store
portfolios flat to lessen the likelihood of particles
of medium spreading to other drawings.
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Resource
Check Up on the
Tooth of Papers
How a papers tooth affects the appearance
of graphite drawings
A papers tooth has a major influence on the look of a finished drawing. Paper with a
smooth tooth will produce a drawing that looks very different than paper with a rough tooth.
Paper with a smooth tooth is flat and silky to the touch. Paper with a medium tooth has
a slightly uneven texture, and paper with a rough tooth is noticeably bumpy with lots of
craters and peaks.
If you were to cover each of these three types of
paper with a lightly rendered layer of 6B graphite,
heres what they would look like in a very closeup view of their edges (Figure 1).
Figure 1
ArtSpeak
Tooth: The surface texture of paper.
As an Aside
The Arches paper mill (established
in France in 1492) produces a
100% cotton, acid-free, hot pressed
watercolor paper with a 140 lb (300
g/m) weight that has a surface that
works beautifully for all drawing
subjects and most mediums.
Check Up on the Tooth of Papers
The Surface of a
Smooth Tooth
Figure 2
The surface of smooth tooth paper is relatively flat

(Figure 2). It does have a slight texture, however,
with very tiny craters and peaks that are quite
close together (Figure 3).
Artists who draw highly detailed subjects often
choose papers with a smooth tooth.
Vellum paper (also called
paper vellum) is an example
of paper with a very
fine tooth that is perfect
for highly detailed and
technical drawings needing
crisp, extraordinarily fine
lineweights.
Figure 3
Figure 4
Vellum paper was used for an intricate

rendering of a tiny section of a phone
(Figure 4). An even closer view shows the
tiny details that were needed to successfully
create this drawing (Figure 5).
Figure 5
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46
A graphite drawing of Bill the cat was

rendered on professional-quality, 100%
cotton, smooth watercolor paper (Figure 6).
Figure 6
The cotton keeps the shading lines very

soft (rather than well-defined), which is an
ideal quality for delicate portraits of animals
or people, and the paper is smooth enough
for intricate detail work (Figure 7).
Figure 7
Caution!
Stay away from papers with
a glossy surface! Smooth
drawing paper is wonderful,
but glossy paper is just
plain awful. Glossy paper is
toothless and therefore too
smooth for graphite to stick to
its surface.
As an Aside
Vellum (from the Old French word veel, meaning calf) is a
translucent and smooth drawing and writing surface made from
any animal skin (not only calves). It is extremely durablethere
are examples of vellum manuscripts that are over 1,000 years
old.
Today, vellum is still used on banjos, but because the
manufacturing process is expensive, it is rarely used for printing
or drawing purposes. With that said, vellum was extremely
popular before canvas came into wide use in the 1500s.
Today, imitation vellum made from cotton (known as paper
vellum) is available in most art and drafting supply stores.
Big Smile for a

Medium Tooth
When you look closely at
the surface of medium tooth
paper you can see tiny
bumps (Figure 8). If you
touch its surface you can
feel a slightly uneven texture
(Figure 9).
Many sketchbooks have paper with a medium

tooth. This texture is a fantastic choice for
beginners, as these papers work beautifully for
creating a full range of values and are ideal for
most drawing subjects.
Figure 8
Sketchbook paper with a medium tooth is perfect

for capturing the texture of an owls feathers
(Figure 10).
This drawing is
detailed (Figure
11), of course, but
it doesnt have the
extremely fine detail
that would be better
suited to smooth
tooth paper.
Figure 10
Figure 9
Figure 11
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48
Textures on a Rough Tooth
Figure 12
The more tooth a paper has, the rougher it feels

(Figure 12). Rough tooth paper is terrible for
rendering tiny detailed drawings, but great for
sketching on large sheets of paper.
Fun patterns and textures often appear when the
peaks of the paper grab the graphite and some
craters show through as white (Figure 13).
Figure 13
Caution!
The bumpy, jagged textures of tree trunks in dappled

sunlight are captured on watercolor paper with a
rough tooth (Figure 14).
Pencils and erasers can

destroy the tooth of paper.
Never press hard on your
pencils when you draw and
only use professional-quality
erasers for erasing. If your
shading begins to look shiny,
the tooth has been flattened
or damaged beyond repair
additional shading will no
longer adhere to the papers
surface.
Figure 14
A close-up
view (Figure
15) shows
how rough
paper can
help render
the texture
of a tree
trunk.
Figure 15
Tip!
Before you begin to draw be sure youve
chosen paper with the right tooth for your
drawing goals.
You may find that you prefer one type of
tooth for all your drawings, or you may
prefer to continuously experiment with a
variety of different papers.
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50
Resource
Tools for Sharpening
and Erasing
The best sharpeners and erasers

for artists who draw
Pencil sharpeners and erasers are must-have tools. All

artists sharpen their pencils and everyone makes mistakes.
ArtSpeak
Tools for Sharpening

Pencil sharpeners and sandpaper (blocks or sheets) are a
must for keeping your mediums in shape. Lots of different
stores carry sharpenersespecially if they carry school
supplies. The best sharpeners have two openings: a small
one for regular graphite pencils and a large one for oversized
pencils (such as hard grades of charcoal).
Figure 1
Some types
of sharpeners
can last for
several years,
especially
those for
which you
can purchase
replacement
blades
(Figure 1).
Kneaded eraser: A
versatile, soft, pliable
type of eraser used
to erase parts of a
drawing or to gently pat
a drawing medium to
make a lighter value or
line.
Shading: (noun)
The various values
within a drawing that
make subjects appear
textured and/or threedimensional. (verb)
The process of adding
values to a drawing so
as to create the illusion
of texture, form, and/
or three-dimensional
space.
Vinyl eraser: A soft
white eraser with a
plastic-like texture used
for erasing sections of
drawings.
Tools for Sharpening and Erasing
Tip!
If you decide to buy a battery-operated
sharpener, make sure you keep a good supply
of extra batteries handy.
Sandpaper preserves the wooden

sections of your pencils that could
otherwise be quickly eaten up by your
sharpener. Sandpaper sharpens just the
exposed sections of a medium instead
of both the wood and the medium
together. A sandpaper block has sheets
of fine sandpaper attached to a wooden
base (Figure 2).
Figure 2
Caution!
Stay away from toy sharpeners which may
have dull or uneven blades. Instead, choose a
simple, sturdy, hand-held (preferably all-metal)
pencil sharpener.
Tip!
You can make your own sandpaper block by
using a fine grade of sandpaper (between 100
and 180 grit). Check out a building supplies
store or a department store with a hardware
department. Cut sheets of sandpaper into long
narrow pieces, and use a heavy duty stapler to
hold them together at one end.
You hold the handle on the wooden part

as you sharpen your pencil point. When
the top sheet of sandpaper becomes
worn and dirty, you simply tear it off,
throw it away, and use the next sheet.
Sandpaper blocks are more difficult
to find than sharpeners; art supply
stores are your best bet. They are not
expensive, so pick up more than one.
Tools for Erasing
ArtSpeak
Blending: The process of gently rubbing
shading with a blending tool (such as a facial
tissue or paper towel) to evenly distribute the
drawing medium over specific sections of the
surface of the paper.
Two types of art erasers are very gentle

to the surface of your papervinyl and
kneaded.
Vinyl erasers have many practical uses,
such as erasing small or large sections
of drawings and pulling out (erasing)
light sections from a layer of graphite or
charcoal. To erase tiny details or draw
thin lines, you can use the sharp edge of
a regular block vinyl eraser.
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52
Examine three popular types of

vinyl erasers: (1) regular blocks,
(2) an eraser wheel, and (3) pencil
erasers with refills (Figure 3).
Figure 3
Kneaded erasers begin as simple

boring blocks, but are ready to
be molded and stretched into
the shapes you need them to be
(Figure 4).
A great benefit of kneaded erasers
is that they dont leave annoying
eraser crumbs on your paper. They
can also easily be molded to a point
or wedge for erasing small sections
of a drawing or for erasing fine
lines on a surface covered with a
drawing medium such as graphite
or charcoal. You can also pat a
drawing with a kneaded eraser to
lighten lines or values.
Figure 4
Caution!
The wrong eraser can ruin your drawings by staining
or putting holes in your drawing paper! Dont use
erasers that are colored (especially the pink ones) or
hard, such as those on the ends of some pencils.
Tip!
To clean a kneaded eraser, you simply stretch
and reshape it (called kneading) several times.
(The eraser will gradually take on the colors of the
medium it erases.)
Erasers as Drawing Tools

A drawing of a sphere highlights the benefits of having both sharp (pencils) and soft
(erasers) drawing tools (Figure 5).
First, the paper was covered with a gently blended layer of powdered charcoal. Then, the
light values were pulled out by dabbing (or blotting) the paper with a kneaded eraser, and
the brightest whites were erased with the sharp edge of a vinyl eraser.
Tools for Sharpening and Erasing
Finally, a charcoal pencil was sharpened to a point to create the crisp outline and dark
shadows needed to complete the drawing.
Figure 5
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54
Resource
Checking Out
Charcoal
Discover the versatility of charcoal by examining
the marks it makes in various applications
Charcoal is fun to work with and is

ideal for drawing simple or complex
subjects, including people, scenery,
and objects.
ArtSpeak
organic material such as wood. Charcoal comes in
various grades and is available in pencils, powder,
and sticks.
For example, a realistic winter scene

(Figure 1) was created using only
charcoal (pencils, powder, and sticks)
and erasers.
Figure 1
Checking Out Charcoal
ArtSpeak
Caution!
Charcoal pencil: A thin cylindrical stick of compressed

charcoal powder inside a wooden casing.
Charcoal and graphite do not play (or

work) well together. As an experiment,
you might try to combine charcoal
and graphite in a drawingthen
youll find out for yourself! When you
plan a drawing, use either charcoal
or graphite mediums but never both
together.
Charcoal powder: A powdered form of charcoal that

works well for shading large areas of a drawing or
preparing a base for drawing with erasers.
Charcoal sticks: A type of charcoal that is made by
compressing powdered charcoal and a binding agent
into cylindrical or rectangular sticks.
Figure 2
Charcoal Pencils
Charcoal pencils (Figure 2) are usually a little
larger than graphite pencils. They are a lot
messier than graphite, but, thanks to the wooden
holder, not as messy as charcoal sticks or
powder.
Charcoal pencils are fantastic for
medium to large sketches on large
sheets of paper. A variety of very black
marks can be created with charcoal
(Figure 3), which is much softer than
graphite. As with graphite, charcoal
also comes in different grades.
Figure 3
Hard grades of charcoal can be

carefully sharpened in a pencil
sharpener with an oversized opening.
If you want thin lines, you need to
keep the point sharpened with a
sandpaper block.
Soft grades of charcoal simply crumble
and break when you try to sharpen
them in a pencil sharpener.
A heavy-duty utility knife works best
for carefully cutting away some of the
wood so you can sharpen the exposed
charcoal with a sandpaper block.
Caution!
Utility knives are as sharp as razors! One small
slip of the knife can cause permanent damage
to your hand or fingers. If you dont want to draw
blood (pun intended), be very careful!
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56
Figure 4
Challenge!
Examine a drawing of a violin player rendered with
charcoal pencils (Figure 4) and see how many
different types of lines and shapes you can find.
Charcoal Sticks and Powder

Charcoal sticks (Figure 5) are not considered
pencils, but they are well worth having in your
art box. They are very messy but lots of fun.
Figure 5
The marks made by

sticks (Figure 6) are
great for rendering
any subject, especially
those in medium to
large sketches and
drawings.
The sharp corners and
edges of sticks can
be used to draw thin
lines, and the sides can
make broad strokes.
Figure 6
You can buy various types of

drawing powder in art supply
stores.
Drawing powder can also
be made from charcoal or
graphite sticks (Figure 7).
For instance, you can rub a
charcoal or graphite stick on
sandpaper to make powdered
charcoal or graphite.
Checking Out Charcoal
Once you have your powder, simply dip

your finger into the powder and draw!
Figure 7
If messy isnt your thing, you may prefer to

wrap your finger in a piece of paper towel
first, or use a soft brush to apply charcoal to
the surface of your paper.
You can use charcoal pencils,
sticks, or powder to create a
base for drawing with erasers.
Figure 8
The various marks in Figure

8 were created by applying
charcoal to a papers surface
and erasing a few sections.
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58
Activity
Play with Kneaded

and Vinyl Erasers
Experiment with two different types
of erasers as drawing tools
Resource: Checking Out Charcoal

(Page 54)
Supplies: heavy white drawing paper
or smooth watercolor paper, charcoal
(stick, powder, or pencil), kneaded
eraser, vinyl eraser, and paper towels
The technique of taking

away values (rather than
adding them) is a fun twist
on traditional drawing.
Most artists are familiar with
drawing dark values on a
light surface.
However, as you will soon
see, you can also draw light
values on a dark surface.
1. Use charcoal to shade
in a section of a sheet
of drawing paper
(Figure 1).
ArtSpeak
Blending: The process of gently rubbing a section of shading
with a blending tool (e.g., paper towel) to evenly distribute the
medium over the papers surface.
Blending tool: Anything that is used by an artist to blend a
medium.
Tip!
Vinyl and kneaded erasers are quite different as drawing tools.
The sharp edge of a vinyl eraser works well for drawing
light areas and fine details. If the edge of your vinyl eraser
gets too dull to draw properly, use a very sharp blade or
knife to cut off a new piece about an inch long or cut a thin
slice off the end of the eraser.
A kneaded eraser is great for lightening large areas. You
can either pat or gently rub the surface of your paper. To
draw fine detail, simply mould the tip of the eraser to a
point or wedge. To clean your kneaded eraser, stretch and
reshape (or knead) it several times until it comes clean.
Play with Kneaded and Vinyl Erasers
Figure 1
Caution!
Dont apply too much pressure with
either the charcoal or the blending
tool or youll grind the charcoal into
the paper so much that it wont
erase (thereby defeating the whole
purpose of this exercise).
If you are using a pencil (as

used for the shading in Figure
1), shade with the side of the
pencil point instead of the tip.
Its faster and you end up with
a smoother surface.
Figure 2
2. Use a piece of paper towel

to very gently blend the
whole surface until you
have a relatively solid tone
(Figure 2).
3. Use your erasers to pull light values from the dark drawing surface (Figure 3).
Feel free to experiment with the erasers and remember to have fun!
Figure 3
This technique
of taking away
values with an
eraser is used
for shading
many textures
in realistic
drawings, and
it is particularly
helpful for
rendering hair
and fur.
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60
Resource
Setting up a
Creative Space
A few ideas and tips for putting together
an at-home art studio
Finding a suitable studio space in which to

create your art means learning a little about
drawing surfaces and lighting. Your special
place should be as relaxing, peaceful, and
free of distractions as possible.
ArtSpeak
Drafting desk: (or drafting table) An
adjustable worktable with a slanted top.
Choosing a Comfortable
Chair and Drawing Surface
First of all, find a comfortable chair and a
sloped surface on which to draw (Figure 1).
Drawing board: An unbendable, portable,

smooth surface used to support an artists
sketchbook or drawing paper.
Figure 1
An adjustable sloped table or drafting desk

is a fantastic choice. Another option is to
prop up a drawing board (Figure 2) at an
angle on a regular desk or table.
Inexpensive drawing boards in various
sizes can be found at almost any art store.
Art supply stores also carry large clips and
special tapes for affixing paper to a drawing
board. Masking tapes designed for painting
also work fairly well.
Setting up a Creative Space
Figure 2
As an Aside
A drawing board is easy to make (if youre handy
with a saw). Simply cut a piece of thin plywood,
Plexiglas, or other sturdy product to a size slightly
larger than your favorite drawing paper. All surfaces
and edges need to be sanded until they are very
smooth. If you wish, you can paint your drawing
board. A medium shade of gray is the best choice
because it offsets white drawing paper without
creating a visual distraction as you draw.
Figure 3
In Figure 3, a cartoon artist is

sketching on paper that is attached
to a homemade drawing board with
a clip. Take note that the artist has
propped up the drawing board at
an angle (rather than horizontal or
vertical).
The cartoon artist is using a binder
clip. Another type of clip used
by artists is called a bulldog clip
(Figure 4).
Figure 4
Tip!
Experiment with your tape on a small piece of
drawing paper to find out if it can be safely removed.
For example, masking tape is not a good choice for
thin paper (it may rip the paper). Also, dont leave
any type of tape on your drawing paper for more
than a few hours. Tape sometimes bonds with even
high-quality paper and can tear off its surface when
removed.
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62
Choosing the Right Light for Drawing

Good lighting is important. Having the right light will prevent your eyes from becoming tired
or strained. A natural light source from a window is the best choice in the daytime, but keep
a good lamp handy for evenings and overcast days. (Arent you glad you dont have to
draw by candlelight like the great masters of the Renaissance?)
A flexible-neck study lamp is designed to focus light directly on your drawing surface.
Choose an energy-efficient light bulb, such as an LED (which closely mimics natural
daylight).
In Figure 5, a cartoon artist uses a flexible-neck lamp attached to his drafting desk to shed
light on his drawing.
Figure 5
Caution!
Dont create large drawings on
a level surface (such as a table,
counter, or the floor). When you
draw on a level surface, the top
of your paper is farther away
from you than the bottom. As a
result, you can end up with all
sorts of problems trying to draw
accurate proportions.
If you are drawing a figure,
for example, the head may
end up too big for the body.
Unfortunately, you usually find
this out the hard wayafter
your drawing is complete.
A sloped desk or drawing board
can help keep your proportions
in check.
Putting Together a Portable Studio
Resource
Putting Together
a Portable Studio
Practical supplies to bring along when you
take your love of drawing outside
Figure 1
Learning to draw is learning to see!

Doing sketches from life trains your
brain to see as an artist!
When you draw from life, a very
thorough visual examination of
your drawing subject imprints its
image into your mind. You can
then capture what you see in your
sketchbookoften with only a few
simple lines.
Sometimes one curved line is all
you need to record the curve of a
section of land. For example, a few
simple lines can capture a scene
with land and trees beside a lake
(Figure 1).
Figure 2
Some artists prefer to complete

their sketches on location
including shading and lots of
details (Figure 2).
And if the weather turns bad, a
couple of quick photos can provide
enough visual information to finish
your drawing at home.
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Tip!
You should keep a few drawing materials
packed and ready to travel. When you feel
like drawing outdoors, you can just grab
your portable studio and go.
As an Aside
To make your outside drawing experiences more
enjoyable, you may want to bring along additional
things:
a viewfinder frame
a portfolio case (if you are using sheets of
drawing paper)
So what exactly do artists bring

along on outdoor drawing
excursions?
Naturally, a surface on which to draw
is at the top of the list. A drawing board
is a great choice.
A hardcover sketchbook also works
well because the cover serves as a
drawing surface. You also need a
pencil case filled with smaller items,
such as various grades of pencils,
erasers, sandpaper blocks, and a
pencil sharpener.
Something in which to carry your
art materials is also a must-have. A
backpack or fabric bag with handles
is great. Select something that is
comfortable to carry and large enough
to hold everything you want to bring
with you.
wipes or paper towels for clean-up (especially

if you use charcoal)
a camera to take photos of inspirational
scenes and objects
snacks and a beverage
sunscreen and bug spray
an iPod or other music player to inspire you as
you work
Tip!
A couple of large plastic bags are very easy to
pack. A garbage bag makes an ideal surface on
which to sitespecially if the ground is damp.
They can also protect your drawings or portfolio
from rain, and in case of a sudden downpour, you
can even wear a garbage bag as a raincoat!
Good Posture First!
Resource
Good Posture
First!
How to sit properly and comfortably
when you draw
You can quickly advance your current drawing skills simply

by sitting correctly (and eating your vegetables). Feeling
comfortable is important when you draw for long periods and
that means eating well, drinking enough water, and sitting so
that your arms and back dont get stiff.
An adjustable chair can prevent your muscles from becoming
strained and sore, and youll soon find that something as
simple as your posture can make you a more productive artist.
ArtSpeak
Drafting desk: (also
called a drafting
table) An adjustable
worktable with a
slanted top.
How NOT to Sit

Many people
learning to draw
do not sit up
straight.
Figure 1
They hunch, they

lean over, or they
twist their bodies
into all sorts of
strange positions
that place their
backs out of
proper alignment
(Figure 1).
65
66
You may find yourself concentrating on drawing so much that you dont even notice how
uncomfortable you are. Unfortunately, your resulting drawings will let you know!
How to Sit While Drawing

Your chair and working surface need to fit your height and body type. Drafting tables and
most office chairs are adjustable for height. You can also position your chair closer or
farther away from your table to find the best position for you.
Take some time to arrange your table and chair so that you can sit up straight with your feet
flat on the floor or on a footstool. You are in the right position when you can
distribute your body weight evenly on both hips
bend your knees at a right angle
see your drawing clearly without bending your lower back
rest your lower arm comfortably on the table
Figure 2
In Figure 2, a cartoon artist

shows you how to sit properly at
a drafting desk.
With a comfortable workspace
and good posture, you are ready
to begin to draw.
Protecting Your Wrist and Hand
Resource
Protecting Your
Wrist and Hand
How to properly hold drawing mediums to
prevent discomfort and injury
Many aspiring artists simply jump into drawing without taking time to discover the natural
foundation of their abilities. Understanding how your body wants to move as it draws can
make a huge difference in how your drawings turn out. The way you hold your pencil
contributes greatly to your level of comfort and your drawing abilities.
Lines that end up shaky rather than smooth are the nemesis of many new artists. The
difficulty comes from trying to draw as you writeby keeping the hand tense and moving
only the fingers and wrist. Drawing and writing do not, in fact, use all of the same muscles,
and new artists soon discover that moving only the fingers and wrist can cause discomfort.
After a while, this discomfort may lead to complications such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Artists are prime candidates for this painful and sometimes disabling injury. Repeatedly
moving the tendons inside the carpal tunnel of your wrist causes them to become swollen
and put pressure on the nerves.
Here are a few simple things to keep in mind when you draw:
Always sit properly on a good quality ergonomic chair and work on a sloped surface.
Before you begin to draw, relax your whole arm from your shoulder down to your fingers
by shaking and wiggling.
Remember that drawing is not the same as writing. Do not move your wrist when you
draw.
As you draw, softly rest your little finger and (whenever possible) your elbow on your
drawing table and gently slide them along using your hand, arm, and shoulder.
Take breaks and check to make sure your body is loose and relaxed.
67
68
Deciding how to hold a medium depends on

the size of the drawing paper
the position of the drawing surface (flat,
vertical, or angled)
the type of medium
There are many combinations of mediums
and drawing surfaces, too many to list
here. Following are a sampling of some
of the most common combinations and
the methods to help keep your experience
natural and stress free.
As An Aside
I underwent surgery for carpal tunnel
syndrome 25 years ago. I didnt want the
problem to return and possibly end my
career, so I took a good look at my drawing
techniques and soon discovered a natural
drawing posture for drawing.
To my surprise, not only did I manage to
eliminate much of the pain in my wrist, but
my drawing skills improved as well.
Figure 1
Small Sketches on
Flat and Slanted
Surfaces
The traditional method for
holding a pencil is ideal for
creating small drawings as
long as you remember to keep
your hand tilted slightly back
to keep the carpal tunnel open
(Figure 1).
Figure 2
If you absolutely have to move

your fingers and wrist (to draw
tiny details, for example), take
a break every few minutes to
relax your hand and wrist.
Medium Sketches
on Vertical
Surfaces
A vertical surface (such as
an easel or wall) demands
a unique hand posture to
minimize the stress on the
hand and wrist (Figure 2).
Protecting Your Wrist and Hand
Remember to keep your wrist still

and let your arm, shoulder, and
upper body help move your pencil.
Tip!
Large Sketches on
Any Surface
To create large sketches on flat,
sloped, or vertical surfaces, hold
you medium so you can easily
move your arm, shoulder, and upper
body (Figure 3). Big, bold, smoothly
flowing lines gain momentum from
having range of movement in your
arm. You can comfortably hold any
type of medium in this wayfrom a
big chunk of charcoal to a pencil.
Experiment with additional ways to hold your

drawing mediums, but remember to keep your hand
relaxed and your wrist bent back slightly to keep the
carpal tunnel open. And use your arm more than
your fingersdrawing is more like conducting an
orchestra than writing a shopping list!
Figure 3
Tip!
You need to keep your hand relaxed
even when you adjust your hold to
accommodate larger mediums such as a
large stick of charcoal.
69
70
Resource
Examining Diagonal
Lines of Masters
Compare drawings to identify the natural hand
movements of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo
Figure 1
You can tell a lot about artists by

closely examining their art.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
and Michelangelo (1475-1564) left
behind hundreds of sketches that
provide information about their
natural hand movements while
drawing diagonal lines.
When you study Leonardo da
Vincis drawings, you find yourself
in awe of his hatching lines, which
were mostly drawn at the same
angle.
Check out the hatching lines on
a graphite drawing copied from
Leonardos ink drawing of an old
man (Figure 1).
Leonardos natural hand movement
resulted in straight lines angled
from the upper left to the lower
right (and vice versa). This hand
movement is natural for many lefthanded artists.
Examining Diagonal Lines of Masters
Tip!
As an Aside
The acquisition of knowledge is always of use to the

intellect, because it may thus drive out useless things
and retain the good.
For nothing can be loved or hated unless it is first known.
(Leonardo da Vinci)
The beginnings of many of

Leonardos hatching lines are darker
than their ends, indicating that he
continuously dipped his quill into
ink. When drawing with a quill, lines
become lighter (and often thinner)
as the ink begins to run out.
Figure 2
Examine the
hatching lines in a
graphite drawing
based on a red
chalk drawing
by Michelangelo
(Figure 2).
Right-handed artists
often draw diagonal
lines from the upper
right to the lower left
(and vice versa).
Close-up views of
Leonardos and
Michelangelos
drawings better
contrast their
hatching lines
(Figures 3 and 4).
71
72
Figure 3
Figure 4
Examining Diagonal Lines of Masters
Students of art often copy

drawings by great masters to get
a realistic sense of their methods
and techniques.
Generally speaking, right-handed
artists find it easier to duplicate
Michelangelos diagonal lines;
conversely, left-handed artists
find Leonardos methods more
natural.
This being said, your own natural
hand movement does not limit
your ability to draw diagonal lines
in any direction your want.
You can simply rotate your
drawing paper to use your natural
hand movement to draw slanted
diagonal lines in directions that
may otherwise feel unnatural to
you!
Right-handed artists can rotate
their drawing paper sideways in
a clockwise direction to duplicate
Leonardos hatching lines.
Left-handed artists can copy
Michelangelos hatching lines
by rotating their drawing paper
sideways in a counterclockwise
direction.
Tip!
Let whoever may have attained to so much as to
have the power of drawing know that he holds a great
treasure.
(Michelangelo)
Challenge!
Take time to research drawings by other Masters of
the Renaissance. Based on the diagonal lines in their
drawings, determine which artists may have been rightor left-handed.
As an Aside
Moving your hand may seem like the most natural thing
in the world, but aspiring artists eager to begin drawing
may find themselves in uncomfortable positions that will
limit the enjoyment of their art. Discover and use your
natural hand movementnot only for comfort but also to
enhance your ability to draw.
73
74
Activity
Find Your Natural

Hand Movements
Discover your natural hand movements for
drawing straight and curved lines
Resource: Examining Diagonal Lines of Masters (Page 70)

Supplies: drawing paper, 2B pencil, and a pencil sharpener
For Drawing
Straight Lines
1. Draw several sets of straight
lines in your sketchbook
Draw each set of parallel lines
in a different direction thereby
continuously changing the slant
of your lines (refer to Figure 1 for
ideas).
Pay attention to how you feel as
you draw the lines. Some directions
will feel awkward, but there will be
at least one motion that feels very
comfortable.
This is your natural hand
movement, and you should try to
use it for future drawings whenever
possible.
Caution!
Do not rotate your
paper for these
activities. Your goal
is to simply discover
your natural hand
movements.
Tip!
Straight lines can
be drawn in any
direction. However,
the individual lines
in these sets need
to be parallel to one
another.
As an Aside
There are three basic types of straight lines:
vertical (straight up and down and at a right angle
to a horizontal line); horizontal (level and at a right
angle to a vertical line); and diagonal (slanting or
sloping at an angle).
Find Your Natural Hand Movements
Figure 1
2. Mark the set (or

sets) that you
found the most
natural to draw.
3. Draw a few
more sets of
straight lines
to confirm
and become
comfortable
with your
natural hand
movement.
Figure 2
For Drawing Curved Lines

1. Use your index finger to follow the outline
of the first circle in a clockwise motion
(Figure 2).
2. Now use the same finger to follow
the outline of the second circle in a
counterclockwise motion (Figure 3).
Whichever feels most comfortable is your
natural hand movement for drawing circular
shapes and curved lines.
Figure 3
For most right-handed people this movement is

clockwise. Conversely, left-handed individuals
are more likely to begin drawing curved lines in
a counterclockwise direction. And some people
find both movements equally natural.
3. To confirm your natural movement, run
your finger along each line in Figure 4.
If your instinct is to begin at A, your natural
hand movement is probably clockwise. If you
prefer to begin with B then your natural hand
movement is likely counterclockwise.
75
76
Figure 4
As an Aside
It makes absolutely no difference what your natural
hand movements turn out to be. Whats important is to
know which movements are natural to you.
Knowing whether you naturally incline toward
clockwise or counterclockwise movements will improve
your drawing abilities by telling you which way to rotate
your paper when you draw curved lines and circular
shapes.
4. Draw a few curved lines to confirm and

become comfortable with your natural
hand movement for drawing curved lines.
Refer to Figure 5 for ideas.
Figure 5
How to Rotate Your Paper as you Draw
Resource
How to Rotate Your

Paper as you Draw
Improve your drawing skills by rotating your
paper to use your natural hand movement
Professional artists have many tricks

and techniques to help them draw
more accurately and stay relaxed and
comfortable while they draw. One trick is to
rotate their drawing paper so their natural
hand movement can be maintained.
The process for continuously rotating your
paper as you draw is easy. The problem for
most aspiring artists is remembering to do
so. However, once you see how well your
drawings end up, youll be hooked.
Tip!
Before you sit down to draw, remember to
adjust your chair and table so that you can
easily move your hand, arm, shoulder, and
upper body.
Figure 1
A blob is the subject of this demonstration

(Figure 1).
The illustrations are based on a natural
right-hand movement from the upper
right downward to the lower left. The
paper can be rotated counterclockwise to
accommodate this movement.
However, with slight rotational adjustments,
the process works equally well for all
natural hand movements. For example,
you may find it easier to rotate your paper
clockwise instead of counterclockwise.
77
78
The word TOP is written on each illustration so you dont get lost. Newly added sections of
the outline are shown darker than the rest, so you can easily identify each.
The first part of the shape is outlined (Figure 2). The paper is rotated with the word TOP on
the left, to draw the second part of the shape (Figure 3).
Figure 2
Figure 3
With another rotation, the third part of the shape is rendered (Figure 4). The end of the line
meets the beginning to create a circular shape (Figure 5). And the shape is finishedwith
only 4 steps and one complete rotation (Figure 6).
Figure 4
Figure 5
How to Rotate Your Paper as you Draw
And just for fun, the shape is slightly rotated again, outlined with a softer pencil, and given a
spiffy face (Figure 7)!
Figure 6
As an Aside
The process of rotating your paper is easier
to do than read about! Just experiment with
the process until you figure out what works
best for you!
Figure 7
Tip!
Dont expect to be able to rotate your paper for
all drawing settings (for example, when you are
sketching from life, creating large drawings, or
drawing on a vertical surface).
79
80
Activity
Sketch a
Self-Portrait
Document your current drawing
skills by sketching yourself
Supplies: paper, erasers, a 2B pencil, and a mirror
1. Gather your supplies and set yourself

up in front of a mirror (or bring a small
mirror to the place where you draw).
You need to be able to clearly see your
reflection in the mirror.
Figure 1
ArtSpeak
Portrait: An artwork depicting a likeness
to the face (and sometimes the body) of a
person or animal (Figure 1).
Sketch: A simple representation, outline,
or drawing that captures the integral
aspects of a subject quickly and efficiently.
(Verb) The process of rendering a sketch.
2. Sketch a portrait of yourself as realistically

as possible.
Plan to spend no more than 15 to 20 minutes.
Use whatever skills you currently have in your
repertoire. This sketch is meant to record
your current drawing skills so you can later
document your progress. So, dont worry if it
isnt perfectjust do your best!
When youre finished: sign your name, write
todays date on the back of your sketch, and
put it away in a safe place.
81
Index
A
acid-free, 1, 35-36, 39, 44

Arches paper, 44
photorealism, 11, 24
portfolio, 11, 35-36, 39-43
portfolio of work, 11, 35
portrait, 11, 46, 80
B
blending, 2, 51, 58-59
blending tool, 2, 51, 58-59
C
carpal tunnel syndrome, 67-68
cast shadow, 3, 24
charcoal, 3, 40, 52-53, 54-57, 58-59
pencil, 3, 53, 55
powder, 3, 56-57
sticks, 3, 56
clay, 3, 17-18, 21, 28
collage, 3, 40, 42-43
Q
quill, 12, 18, 71
R
realism, 12, 24, 27
Renaissance, 12, 18-19, 38, 70-73
drafting desk, 5, 60, 62, 65-66

drawing board, 5, 37, 60-62, 64
drawing paper, 5, 35, 37-38, 46
duct tape, 5, 39-40
sandpaper block, 13, 28, 51, 55

shading, 13, 32-34, 50
shadow, 13, 24, 53
shape, 13, 32-34, 56
sketch, 13, 18, 48, 63, 68-69, 80
sketchbook, 13, 35-38, 47, 64
spray fixative, 14, 40, 42
storage portfolio, 14, 35, 37, 39-43
stylus, 14, 17-18
grade, 7, 21-23, 24-27, 29

graphite, 7, 17-34, 43, 55
technique, 15, 32, 58-59

texture, 15, 44-49
tooth of paper, 15, 32, 44-49
H
hot-pressed, 7, 35, 38, 44
K
kneaded eraser, 8, 50, 52, 58-59
L
Leonardo da Vinci, 18-19, 70-73
line drawing, 9, 32-34
lineweight, 9, 21-23
M
master, 9, 18, 70-73
Masters of the Renaissance, 70-73
mechanical pencil, 9, 28, 30
Michelangelo, 70-73
U
underdrawing, 15, 18-19
V
values, 15, 21-27, 58-59
vellum, 45-46
vinyl eraser, 15, 50-52, 58-59
visual art, 15, 18
W
weight of paper, 16, 37
wood-encased pencil, 16, 28-29
woodless pencil, 16, 28, 31
N
newsprint, 10, 36

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Introduction to Drawing

drawspace module 1.1

Publisher: Drawspace Publishing, Halifax, NS, Canada

About Drawspace Curriculum ..............................................................................................................................IV

Glossary Of Art Terms ........................................................................................1

Traveling Back in Time with Graphite .............................................................17

How the Lead Pencil Got its Name ..................................................................................................................17

Examining Graphite and Grades ......................................................................21

Hard is Light ..........................................................................................................................................................22

Seeing Grades in Drawings ..............................................................................24

Picking out Graphite Pencils ............................................................................28

Wood-encased Pencils .........................................................................................................................................29

*Play With Five Grades of Graphite ..................................................................32

Sketchbooks Versus Individual Sheets ..............................................................................................................36

*Make a Storage Portfolio ................................................................................39

Check Up on the Tooth of Papers ....................................................................44

The Surface of a Smooth Tooth ...........................................................................................................................45

Tools for Sharpening and Erasing ...................................................................50

Tools for Sharpening ............................................................................................................................................50

Checking Out Charcoal ....................................................................................54

Charcoal Pencils ...................................................................................................................................................55

*Play with Kneaded and Vinyl Erasers .............................................................58

Setting up a Creative Space .............................................................................60

Choosing a Comfortable Chair and Drawing Surface ......................................................................................60

Good Posture First! ..........................................................................................65

How NOT to Sit ......................................................................................................................................................65

Protecting Your Wrist and Hand .......................................................................67

Small Sketches on Flat and Slanted Surfaces ...................................................................................................68

Examining Diagonal Lines of Masters ..............................................................70

*Find Your Natural Hand Movements ...............................................................74

Supplies: drawing paper, 2B pencil, and a pencil sharpener

How to Rotate Your Paper as you Draw ...........................................................77

*Sketch a Self-Portrait ......................................................................................80

Supplies: paper, erasers, a 2B pencil, and a mirror

Now everyone can draw!

About Drawspace Curriculum

Sizing up the Sidebars

ArtSpeak: (Figure 1) Definitions of

As an Aside: (Figure 2) Tidbits of

Caution!: (Figure 3) Better safe than

Tip!: (Figure 4) A tip can be more than

Visual Challenge: (Figure 5) Enhance

Action Challenge: (Figure 6) Gather

How to Use this Book

Glossary of Art Terms

Acrylic paints: Water-based, fast-drying artists

Angle line: The line created when two straight

Base of a nose: (also called the septum) The part

Background: (also called distant space) The

Blending stump: (also called a tortillon, stump,

Balance: A stable arrangement of subjects and

Blending tool: Anything that is used by an artist to

Ball of a nose: The large, central, rounded form of

Blind contour drawing: A slightly unconventional

Avant-garde: The creation and application of new,

Glossary of Art Terms

Blue: A primary color that represents tranquility,

Charcoal: A drawing medium made from a burnt

Bulls eye: The center section of a drawing space.

Charcoal sticks: A type of charcoal that is made by

Burnishing: The process of applying one or

Chiaroscuro: A drawing and painting technique that

Circle: A geometric shape in which all the points of its

Color: The visual qualities of objects based on