Art Question

[theatreboi11]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 12:08am

I recently discovered a love for drawing. Right now I am crawing with a regular number two pencil and blending with my finger. My question is: is there something I can do to my drawings once I am finished to keep it from smudging once I am done with it?

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 12:21am

Yes, just buy a can of fixative at any art supply store. BTW, you can buy drawing pencils which range from soft lead numbered as 1b,2b,etc. or hard lead, 1h, 2h, etc. and you can get felt stumps for blending. They will give you more leeway as far as a sharper and more specific area to blend rather than rely on your finger which will limit you in controlling the shading. Good luck, and please feel free to pm me at any time. I taught art for 25 years.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 12:23am

I actually prefer my finger for smudging to a smudge stick. I actually have a weir phenomenon where I sweat a bit from my right index finger, which is my smudging finger...I suppose this developed because of my excessive smudging, but it sure is useful.

And be sure to spray the fixative in a well ventilated area to avoid headaches.

Akiva

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 12:27am

Fingers work fine for some blending but if you're working in small areas such as portraits, nature (stems, twigs, etc.) or any smaller area, the finger is no good. You need the sharp point for those situations.

[theatreboi11]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 12:30am

Thank you guys for your help! I have been painting for a few years now and decided to start drawing recently and am getting the hang of it. It is hard to be self taught, but I feel more accomplished once I finish a drawing or a painting.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 12:43am

Do you trace with ink after you're done?

[theatreboi11]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 2:10am

No because I like the rough line look. It helps to hide the flaws. I am sure once I get better this won't be the case.

[Mythus]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 2:21am

I agree with Jane2, get things you can smudge with. You probably won't want this now, but once you start perfecting your drawing, you might want to pick up one of those eraser pencils. I love how I have one and I don't even know what it's really called. It's a pencil, and instead of lead it has eraser inside, and where the regular eraser would go, there's a brush (to brush away that eraser-y stuff that'll get all over the paper). It's good for cleaning up lines and fixing mistakes that are in a tiny spot and stuff.

I love my little eraser pencil, hee. Except someone broke it during seventh grade - just snapped it clean in half when I turned away for ten seconds. *insert angry face here* It's glued together now.
Updated On: 4/30/06 at 02:21 AM

[cturtle]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 8:51am

hairspray makes a fine fixative also and is much cheaper. (like you buy in a can at the drug store ... not the musical.)

[jessica0414]

Posted: 4/30/06 at 11:04am

I'd also say to get a set of drawing pencils. If you have money for good ones, go for it, but if you want some semi-decent ones at a really good price, WalMart sells a graphite drawing set that I use and love. It's got about 9 pencils ranging from hard to soft, an eraser, and a sharpener, and it was only about $6.