3 paper:shading AJ variants

Since last night's Picarto stream was primarily focused graphite pencil shading I wanted to different not only different shading techniques but also how the paper you work on can effect the lines you draw. To demonstrate this I used 3 different papers and techniques.

    1. Strathmore 2ply (roughly 140lb) Kid finish Bristol Board. This is one of my preferred paper surfaces for my colored pencil/mixed media work Brony Thank you Fund. Dr. Lyra Strange or Marble Glory Final . However I am not fond of it as a surface for graphite pencil. Commission: Rolling along It's tooth which is nice for colored pencil and marker pen is doesn't produce a pencil line in my usual technique that I am fond of. Too rough and pebbly for my liking.

    For this drawing I mostly used the General Sketch Wash graphite pencil. Then I blend it using water applied with a Winsor Newton Specter Gold #4 round watercolor brush. Image size is 4.5" x 6.5".

    2. Springhill Digital Index 110lb. This is a new paper that I have been experimenting with Kicking Back or Black and Tan studies. It is very smooth almost hot press finish paper that allows for very clean consistent lines and is very easy to erase if you have a light hand. Also it allows for very even smooth light to mid-tone shading. However it is harder to get even dark areas of shading with it.

    This drawing was done with 0.5mm HB and 2B mechanical pencil and some Faber Castell 9000 4B pencil for good measure. The pencil shading was blended using cotton swabs and a Size 2 cotton blending stump. Image size is 4.5" x 6.5".

    3. Springhill Digitial Vellum 80lb. This has been my preferred go to drawing paper for the last couple of years Luna's Full Moon for work up to 11" x 17" Dinner For Three in size. It allows for quick, aggressive shading, and yet with practice one can get very even light and mid-tone shading as well. However it can be a trick to erase at times, and it also has a tendency to require more clean up in Photoshop after scanning. The paper's tooth seems to get picked up by my Epson scanner very easily.

    This drawing was done with my normal mixture of HB and 2B mechanical pencil lead using my preferred method of quick, but carefully spaced lines Swing Time to achieve the desired look. Image size is 4.5" x 6.5".

    Since folks founds this useful and informative I will be doing other streams in the future exploring in more detail other aspects of drawing.

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