Drawing like a pro - 5, getting ready to draw

Hi friends!

Let's get to know our tools and supports before we start drawing.

Paper

I will start with the support that we will use: paper.
There are many different types of drawing paper to choose from for your artwork or sketch. You can choose Kraft paper, Bond paper, hot press, cold press, rough surface paper, etc. The variety is huge.
Different types of drawing paper are manufactured in various weights, expressed in lbs (pounds) or gsm (grams per square meter).
Drawing papers usually have a weight of about 80 g/m².
Thicker paper is usually more resistant to erasing.
As a general rule, the heavier the paper (greater weight in gsm/lb), the thicker the paper.

Regardless of the thickness of the paper or whether it is fine or coarse grained, we must not forget that it is a delicate material, so we can damage it very easily and this damage is irreversible.
The paper can be damaged with the pencil or with the eraser, which can cause undesirable stains or shine that are very difficult to hide in our drawing, so it is very important to know how to avoid damaging our support.

Graphite Pencils

First of all, always try to buy good quality pencils, because poor quality pencils have impurities (very small pebbles or harder bits of graphite) that will make it difficult for us to draw a good line or that could damage our drawing paper.
The hardness of graphite can vary (depending on the brand) from 9H to 14B, with 9H being the hardest and 14B the softest.
Normally for artistic drawing or sketches, the most used is in the range of H, HB, 3B, but that depends on your needs.

Strokes with pencils of different hardnesses on medium grain paper.

Strokes with pencils of different hardnesses on coarse-grained paper.

Sharpening your pencils to draw

With a knife try to get a long point, and sharp (as shown in the image).

On sandpaper, you can sharpen the tip of the pencil when necessary.

You should try to keep always a tip like this in your pencils.

Holding the pencil to draw

Knowing how to hold the pencil to draw is important so that we can draw easily, freely and without damaging the paper.
The most effective way to hold the pencil is as shown in the image, almost horizontal, parallel to the paper, with your hand relaxed and without pressing the pencil tip on the paper.
Holding the pencil in this way helps keep the tip always sharp.

You hold the pencil this way (as in the image) to write.
This is not the best way to hold the pencil for drawing (see image below) because it inadvertently applies pressure and leaves grooves that crush the grain of the paper. In addition, in this way, your hand loses the mobility necessary to draw with ease. And, if you need to erase, the damage made to the paper will be hard to hide.
On the other hand, this way you won't be able to keep your pencil point sharp for long.

Do exercises with these tips and try different pencils on different papers so you will appreciate the differences.
Prepare your pencils as I indicated, and do doodles and lines, you will not waste time.
In the next post, I will show you some exercises and we will talk about muscle memory.

I have started this series of posts dedicated to drawing, with the aim of sharing with you techniques, "secrets", tricks, tips, and curiosities, to teach you how to draw whatever you want, using the technique you want.
The road is long but full of beautiful things if you want to learn what I have learned from other artists and draftsmen.
After the introductory stage, I will start with the practice where I will show you interesting techniques to draw anything you want.

Here are the links to the previous related posts.
https://steemit.com/hive-185836/@jorgevandeperre/drawing-like-a-pro-1-the-craft-of-drawing
https://steemit.com/hive-185836/@jorgevandeperre/drawing-like-a-pro-2-tools-and-materials-part-1
https://steemit.com/hive-185836/@jorgevandeperre/drawing-like-a-pro-3-tools-and-materials-part-2
https://steemit.com/hive-185836/@jorgevandeperre/drawing-like-a-pro-4-tools-and-materials-part-3-final

Have a nice day!

100% SP (manual transfer to SP)