#19 My drawing tools...

NOVEMBER CHALLENGE 🖤

Bonjour my little demon, ready to collect gem #19?

Whether you just joined or have been here from the beginning, thank you so much for reading.

TODAY’S GEM
 

Yesterday, I shared a few thoughts about art blocks and how to overcome them. One common reflex many of us have when frustration hits is to buy new art supplies... but honestly? I think it’s a mistake.

To create impactful portraits, the only thing you need to invest in is your skills. I truly believe that working with minimal tools is the best way to stay focused.

At its core, you only need three things to draw:

Pencils (graphite, charcoal, Prismacolor… whatever you prefer).
Paper.
An eraser.

That’s all you need. If you have these tools, you can learn to draw stunning stylized portraits. And we could leave it at that. That said, I’d like to share some insights about these materials based on my experience.

1. Choose the right paper!
If there’s one thing worth investing in, it’s paper. The surface you choose determines how much you can push your drawing.

• Skip thin papers like printer paper—they tear easily and can’t handle multiple layers.
• Avoid overly textured papers like cold-pressed watercolor paper—it’s difficult to get fine details.

These are my go-to picks:

• Moleskine Sketchbook Art Collection:
  ✅ Versatile
  ✅ 165 gsm paper that withstands heavy erasing.
  ✅ Lies completely flat for practical sketching.
• Bristol Paper (I use CANSON):
  ✅ The most durable paper I’ve ever tried.
  ✅ Archival quality, perfect for professional use.
  ✅ Ideal for linework, hatching, and stylized portraits.

• ARCHES Hot-Pressed Watercolor Paper:
  While cold-pressed watercolor paper isn’t great for graphite portraits, this hot-pressed version offers a slight texture. It grips graphite well, allowing for deeper shadows, softer transitions, and reduced graphite shine.

2. My love for graphite
I stick with graphite—it’s my first love, and I prefer its finish over charcoal.

Graphite comes in many forms: mechanical pencils, sticks, powder… but for 95% of my portraits, I rely on good old-fashioned graphite pencils.

Here are my go-to tools:

• Faber-Castell graphite pencils (2H to 9B).
• Pentel Graph Gear 1000 (0.5mm mechanical pencil): Perfect for fine details like eyelashes.

3. Erasers are game-changers
For two years, I used nothing but a regular eraser—and honestly, it works!

Over time, how I use this tool has evolved the most in my practice. As a control freak, I started using erasers for just about everything. Now, they’re just as essential to me as pencils.

Each one has a job to do, and here’s my lineup:

• Classic eraser: The reliable one. If you’re just starting out, this is all you need. Simple, effective, and always there when you need it.
• Kneaded eraser: My go-to for softening lines. I use it constantly between the sketch and linework phases. It’s perfect for gently lifting graphite without erasing everything.
• Eraser pencil: This one feels like a pencil but erases with precision. I use it to carve out details or clean up edges—it’s like drawing, but in reverse.
• Mechanical eraser: My newest tool, and yes, a bit fancy. It’s perfect for intense, tiny corrections. If you need to erase a single point with absolute precision, this one’s a game-changer.

4. Other essentials
Here are some other essentials you might want to try to improve your practice:

• Paper stumps: I use them in every drawing—my favorites are from Faber-Castell.
• A soft synthetic brush: Perfect for sweeping away eraser dust without smudging your work.
• Fixative spray: I use SENNELIER Pencil and Charcoal Fixative to stabilize graphite once my drawing is finished.
   

What portrait topic would you like me to cover next?

Bisous,

Léa