Pencil
My go-to pencil is a 2mm lightweight lead holder filled with a 4B graphite. I don’t sharpen the tip and like it dull and round. I reach for the pencil when I’m drawing gestures, like people in public, and outlines of areas, like cityscapes or buildings. It’s the best tool for keeping loose… no need for erasers, just put down more lines.
Pen and ink
I love the pen because it’s irrevocable. All of the character of the drawing is laid bare. I am delighted when I draw something well in pen; a graceful drawing provides the satisfaction of unexpected victory. These are some of the drawings that I think capture some of that quality.
Charcoal
Charcoal sometimes feels like a cross between drawing and painting. There’s a lot more pigment moving around in the process of a charcoal drawing. Unlike pencil and pen sketches, with charcoal I feel invited to push and remove the medium.
Digital
Drawing in Procreate on an iPad feels a bit artificial and constrained. There are tools that I love, however; being able to zoom into a portion of a drawing, making image-wide changes and adjustments, experimenting with marks and approaches… layers makes those activities easy. Drawing on the tablet feels more like work and less like drawing.
Digital
Digital
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Digital