_Drawing Board
I originally started out by using a wooden drawing board and separate T-square. I now use a Blundell Harling A2 (650mm x 470mm) lightweight drawing board that has a transparent straight edge parallel motion bar with a simple cross-wire spring adjusted pulley system on the rear. The backing sheet I draw on is generally graph paper that has been very carefully, to avoid air bubbles and ridges, covered in a sticky backed transparent covering film. This not only protects the graph paper below but the plastic surface can be cleaned of pencil dust and ink by giving it a wipe over with some White Spirit on a piece of tissue. Or in my case, toilet paper. Down each side of the drawing board are 30mm wide strips of folded over graph paper that are there primarily to raise the underside of the straight edge from the drawing surface.
I originally started out by using a wooden drawing board and separate T-square. I now use a Blundell Harling A2 (650mm x 470mm) lightweight drawing board that has a transparent straight edge parallel motion bar with a simple cross-wire spring adjusted pulley system on the rear. The backing sheet I draw on is generally graph paper that has been very carefully, to avoid air bubbles and ridges, covered in a sticky backed transparent covering film. This not only protects the graph paper below but the plastic surface can be cleaned of pencil dust and ink by giving it a wipe over with some White Spirit on a piece of tissue. Or in my case, toilet paper. Down each side of the drawing board are 30mm wide strips of folded over graph paper that are there primarily to raise the underside of the straight edge from the drawing surface.
_Chair
To go with the drawing board, I use what are commonly known as Kneeling or Posture chairs. Rather than sit on a normal chair and lean from the waist towards the drawing board, on the kneeling chair, the whole body is at about the same angle as the drawing board and this helps reduces back strain. A lot more comfortable to sit in than they look.
To go with the drawing board, I use what are commonly known as Kneeling or Posture chairs. Rather than sit on a normal chair and lean from the waist towards the drawing board, on the kneeling chair, the whole body is at about the same angle as the drawing board and this helps reduces back strain. A lot more comfortable to sit in than they look.
_Masking Tape
I frequently have to secure several bits of paper on top of each other and to the drawing board and I need to be able to separate the parts again afterwards without tearing or damaging anything. For this I use Masking Tape which is made of thin easy-to-tear paper that has a sticky side that is low tack and leaves no residue or damages the paper it’s stuck to. There is a product on the market known as Drafting Tape that has very low adhesive properties but Masking Tape is a cheaper alternative and works just as well. I keep mine in a Sellotape dispenser as it’s a lot easier to tear off strips as needed.
I frequently have to secure several bits of paper on top of each other and to the drawing board and I need to be able to separate the parts again afterwards without tearing or damaging anything. For this I use Masking Tape which is made of thin easy-to-tear paper that has a sticky side that is low tack and leaves no residue or damages the paper it’s stuck to. There is a product on the market known as Drafting Tape that has very low adhesive properties but Masking Tape is a cheaper alternative and works just as well. I keep mine in a Sellotape dispenser as it’s a lot easier to tear off strips as needed.
_Tracing paper
My primary drawing surface is Tracing Paper. This is a translucent medium that when placed over a drawing or picture the subject matter below is easily visible through it and the image copied onto the tracing paper. I use A4, A3 or sometimes A2 size pads of tracing paper usually in two weights of either 60gms which is a thin lightweight paper I use for preliminary artwork or 90gsm which is a heavier and thicker paper I use for finished artwork. Lighter or heavier weights are available, usually by mail order, but the two above are readily available in any high street office/graphic/art shop supplier.
My primary drawing surface is Tracing Paper. This is a translucent medium that when placed over a drawing or picture the subject matter below is easily visible through it and the image copied onto the tracing paper. I use A4, A3 or sometimes A2 size pads of tracing paper usually in two weights of either 60gms which is a thin lightweight paper I use for preliminary artwork or 90gsm which is a heavier and thicker paper I use for finished artwork. Lighter or heavier weights are available, usually by mail order, but the two above are readily available in any high street office/graphic/art shop supplier.
_Gloves
Paper of any kind is very susceptible to moisture of any sort and once wrinkled is of no use as a drawing surface. As my hands are basically in constant contact with the tracing paper as I draw, I use cut down gloves to reduce the risk of sweat transferring to the drawing surface. These are not purpose bough items. They are nothing more than cotton gloves bought from my local chemist shop with the tips of the fingers cut off. I leave the little fingers of each glove intact as they make the most contact with the paper.
Paper of any kind is very susceptible to moisture of any sort and once wrinkled is of no use as a drawing surface. As my hands are basically in constant contact with the tracing paper as I draw, I use cut down gloves to reduce the risk of sweat transferring to the drawing surface. These are not purpose bough items. They are nothing more than cotton gloves bought from my local chemist shop with the tips of the fingers cut off. I leave the little fingers of each glove intact as they make the most contact with the paper.
_Pencils
I prefer to draw using a propelling or mechanical, rather than conventional wooden, pencil. These hold a very fine stick of sub-millimeter sized lead that is propelled forward through a ratchet system out of the tip of the pencil body. There are several lead sizes available, which are bought separately, and I use a 0.5mm lead as again these are readily available in any stationery store. Other sizes are generally obtained through mail order. I use two propelling pencils, one with a hard ‘H’ lead in it and one with the softer ‘HB’ lead. The ‘HB’ is used for most drawing as it’s easier to erase, but the ‘H’ being a hard lead is used for detailed/ intricate art work as it holds a point better and won’t smudge as readily as the ‘HB’. At the top of each pencil is a strip of masking tape with either ‘H’ or ‘HB’ scribbled on it so I readily know which lead is which.
Although not necessary because of the very small size of the lead, I tend to use a sanding block to bring the tip of the lead to a point. The sanding block is just a sheet of very fine sanding paper cut into strips and stapled to a cardboard backing. The lead is held almost flat against the sandpaper and moved very gently backwards and forwards and at the same time rotating the pencil between the fingers until a point is achieved. While drawing, I also rotate the pencil in my fingers to maintain that point.
I prefer to draw using a propelling or mechanical, rather than conventional wooden, pencil. These hold a very fine stick of sub-millimeter sized lead that is propelled forward through a ratchet system out of the tip of the pencil body. There are several lead sizes available, which are bought separately, and I use a 0.5mm lead as again these are readily available in any stationery store. Other sizes are generally obtained through mail order. I use two propelling pencils, one with a hard ‘H’ lead in it and one with the softer ‘HB’ lead. The ‘HB’ is used for most drawing as it’s easier to erase, but the ‘H’ being a hard lead is used for detailed/ intricate art work as it holds a point better and won’t smudge as readily as the ‘HB’. At the top of each pencil is a strip of masking tape with either ‘H’ or ‘HB’ scribbled on it so I readily know which lead is which.
Although not necessary because of the very small size of the lead, I tend to use a sanding block to bring the tip of the lead to a point. The sanding block is just a sheet of very fine sanding paper cut into strips and stapled to a cardboard backing. The lead is held almost flat against the sandpaper and moved very gently backwards and forwards and at the same time rotating the pencil between the fingers until a point is achieved. While drawing, I also rotate the pencil in my fingers to maintain that point.
_French Curves
A French curve is a template used to draw smooth lines of almost any desired curvature. Originally made of wood, today they are plastic and can be bought in sets of three known as a Burmaster set. The large one is used mostly for drawing parabolas, the middle size for hyperbolas and the smallest for ellipses. I just lay them on top of a curve and move them around until they match the image below and then draw the curved line.
As these sit flat on the drawing surface, there is a tendency for ink to seep underneath the edge of the curve and to smudge when moved. To overcome this, I fold up small pieces of masking tape and tape them around the underside of the curve as close to the edge as possible. This lifts the underside off the paper by about a millimeter, to stop the smudging, and also makes it easier to hold and manoeuvre.
Although I have one but don’t use it, there is also available a flexible curve known as a Flat Spine. Originally used in ship building, these were long flexible strips of wood that were pinned or weighted down at various locations along its length to draw long complex curves. Today they are small plastic coated flexible strips but are a bit cumbersome to use for my type of art work.
A French curve is a template used to draw smooth lines of almost any desired curvature. Originally made of wood, today they are plastic and can be bought in sets of three known as a Burmaster set. The large one is used mostly for drawing parabolas, the middle size for hyperbolas and the smallest for ellipses. I just lay them on top of a curve and move them around until they match the image below and then draw the curved line.
As these sit flat on the drawing surface, there is a tendency for ink to seep underneath the edge of the curve and to smudge when moved. To overcome this, I fold up small pieces of masking tape and tape them around the underside of the curve as close to the edge as possible. This lifts the underside off the paper by about a millimeter, to stop the smudging, and also makes it easier to hold and manoeuvre.
Although I have one but don’t use it, there is also available a flexible curve known as a Flat Spine. Originally used in ship building, these were long flexible strips of wood that were pinned or weighted down at various locations along its length to draw long complex curves. Today they are small plastic coated flexible strips but are a bit cumbersome to use for my type of art work.
_Circle/Ellipse Templates
These are usually made out of robust coloured plastic with a variety of circles or oval shapes formed in them.
These are usually made out of robust coloured plastic with a variety of circles or oval shapes formed in them.