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Basic techniques with Pitt Graphite

The Pitt Graphite Programme provides all creative artists with an extensive range of pencils and crayons in different grades of hardness for sketching, graphic design and shading work. The “green pencil from Faber”, which was already being mentioned with approval by van Gogh and Goethe, has now become part of everyday life. The 16 different grades of hardness range from a delicate grey hue to a deep graphite black, and offer artists a wide range of possibilities. The Graphite Pure leads are ideal for creating contrasts and shading extended areas. These pencils offer unparalleled possibilities for spontaneous expression, creating different effects based on the pressure applied and grade of hardness. The pencils are sharpened in the same way as a normal lead pencil. The graphite crayons are an ideal and very economical medium for working on very large sketches and areas.

Artists' Recommendations

Very finely ground graphite and clay are the base materials for the range. The pencils used to draw precise lines and fine details (A), Graphite Pure, a thick graphite lead used to draw expressive contrasts (B), and the crayons used to shade larger areas (C) are all available in different grades of hardness, based on the proportion of the two components in the mixture.

Lines and areas

Different line widths and areas can be created by holding the crayon at various angles and using different edges.

Hatching

Hatching involves creating areas from lines. A very even effect can be produced by repeatedly superimposing lines at different angles. These areas can range in colour from delicate grey to deepest black, depending on the grade of hardness and the pressure of the stroke.

Shading

To create an area of even colour in which the individual strokes are no longer visible, hold the pencil at a very shallow angle and only press down lightly on the paper. Particularly good results can be obtained with this technique using a Graphite Pure pencil.

Brush painting

Particularly large areas can be easily shaded using graphite crayons. Painting the area with paraffin oil (salad or baby oil) and a bristle brush will enhance the intensity of the graphite layer.

Rubbing

Graphite products are ideally suited to the rubbing techniques so popular with children (the structure of an object beneath the paper comes through when it is rubbed over). The crayons in particular can be used in limitless artistic applications of this technique.