The Secrets to Drawing: Graphite
Lesson Description
Lesson Fourteen of The Secrets to Drawing Course focuses on mastering one of the most versatile and widely used drawing tools: graphite pencils. Graphite allows artists to create a wide range of values, textures, and effects, making it ideal for realistic and expressive drawings alike. In this lesson, students learn about the different grades and forms of graphite, understand how to use them effectively, and apply these skills to draw a simple yet detailed subject: a pear.
Introduction to Graphite as a Medium
The lesson begins by exploring the characteristics of graphite and why it has been a preferred medium for artists for centuries. Graphite is celebrated for its ability to produce both light and dark values, its smooth application on paper, and its compatibility with a variety of techniques including hatching, cross-hatching, blending, and stippling. Matt Fussell explains that understanding how graphite behaves is essential to creating realistic drawings with depth and subtlety.
Students are introduced to the versatility of graphite and how it can be used to render everything from delicate textures to bold, dramatic shadows. The lesson emphasizes the importance of controlling pressure, pencil angle, and layering to achieve desired effects.
Understanding Graphite Grades
Next, the lesson covers the grades of graphite. Graphite pencils are graded on a scale ranging from hard to soft, with each grade producing different marks and tonal ranges:
- H pencils: Hard pencils that create light, precise lines ideal for fine detail and preliminary sketches.
- B pencils: Soft pencils that produce darker, richer tones suitable for shading and creating depth.
- HB pencils: A balanced pencil that falls between hard and soft, often used for general drawing.
- Other variations: Some pencils are graded with numbers (e.g., 2B, 4B) to indicate increasing softness and darkness.
Students learn how to choose the appropriate grade depending on the area of the drawing and the effect they want to achieve. Matt demonstrates how combining different grades can create smooth value transitions, crisp edges, and rich textures.
Forms of Graphite
The lesson also examines the forms of graphite available to artists, including traditional wooden pencils, mechanical pencils, graphite sticks, and powdered graphite. Each form has unique advantages:
- Traditional wooden pencils provide control and flexibility, allowing precise line work and layering.
- Graphite sticks offer broad coverage and are useful for large areas or expressive mark-making.
Students are encouraged to experiment with these forms to discover which works best for their drawing style and for different subjects.
Drawing Exercise: Graphite Pear
With a clear understanding of graphite grades and forms, students move into the primary exercise of the lesson: drawing a pear using graphite pencils on white drawing paper. This exercise combines all the knowledge gained in previous lessons and applies it to a simple, real-world subject.
Students begin by lightly sketching the pear’s outline, using an H or HB pencil to establish accurate proportions and shape. Once the basic form is in place, shading and rendering begin using softer B pencils to create a full range of values. The lesson guides students in observing how light interacts with the pear, identifying highlights, midtones, and shadows, and applying appropriate pencil grades to capture these subtleties.
The exercise emphasizes techniques such as layering, blending, and directional shading to create the illusion of volume and texture. Students learn how to use the pencil to suggest the smooth surface of the pear, subtle variations in tone, and the weight and roundness of the fruit. Matt encourages careful observation, patience, and controlled pencil work to achieve a realistic result.
Techniques for Enhancing Graphite Drawings
In addition to basic rendering, the lesson covers tips for enhancing graphite drawings, including:
- Using blending tools such as stumps or tissue for smooth transitions.
- Preserving highlights by leaving areas of the paper untouched or lifting graphite with an eraser.
- Building contrast gradually to maintain control over the darkest and lightest areas.
- Applying texture techniques, such as hatching, cross-hatching, and random lines, to suggest surface detail.
By practicing these techniques, students gain confidence in using graphite as a versatile and expressive medium.
Mastery of Graphite Drawing
By the end of Lesson Fourteen, students have gained a thorough understanding of how to draw with graphite pencils. They know how to select the appropriate grades and forms of graphite, apply various shading and texturing techniques, and render a subject realistically. Drawing the pear serves as a practical application of these skills, demonstrating how observation, careful pencil control, and understanding of value and form combine to create a lifelike drawing. This lesson solidifies students’ technical abilities and prepares them to tackle more complex graphite drawings with confidence and precision.
Lesson Materials
Various graphite pencils, eraser, white drawing paper.
Lesson Resources
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Founder of The Virtual Instructor, artist and teacher. Matt makes learning art easy to understand and enjoyable.
Thank you for this interesting course, what’s the name or mark of the pincel eraser?
Hi Chantal, I call it an “Erasil”, but it’s more commonly referred to as simply an “eraser pencil”.
Thank you, I discovered another fantastic eraser to make details: The Tombow mono Zero. It comes from Japan, but we can bye it on-line. Do you know it?
SO COOL DUDE
Unable to down load this e book also using i pad . Tried two different browsers
Hi Zakariya,
This link is also working properly.
Ok thanks managed to download
I really liked it except I don’t have all that graphite But its a great video!
Hi Benjamin, You definitely do not need all of that graphite!
Great video. Looking for all the different tools now, probably will be somewhat pricey. Do you use one of those electric erasers for making white whiskers? I’ve seen others use one and it looks interesting but wondered what your experience with it might be.
Hi Mindy, I have used an electric eraser before, but you have to be careful. They can tear and damage the paper easily. I don’t make it a habit of using one these days. I prefer using an eraser pencil, that can be sharpened like a pencil, but won’t tear the paper as easily.
I’ll never describe a pencil as ‘lead’ again. 🙂
Where can I find the pencil holder with the graphite refills? Looked in local arts and craft store but only had pastel pencil.
Melba, I just saw your comment here about pencil holder. I guess you are looking for either “clutch” pencils or mechanical pencils. Clutch pencils hold graphite refills 2mm in diameter. Mechanical pencils hold refills of 0.05mm or 0.07mm. I use both but mostly the clutch as they are closer in size to a wooden pencils. I got mine at Dick Blick (they are online too). I got some of the mechanical pencils on Amazon but any office stores would have them. You can find refills in different softness. Hope that helped.
I have some woodless graphite pencils, what is the difference between those and the wooden ones please.
Hi Sylvia,
Quality will vary between brands. The brand is really the most important factor. Woodless graphite pencils or sticks are simply the graphite material without the wooden encasement.
Thank you Matt. I am looking forward to improving with your instruction.
I think I’d like to start using lead holders because of the convenience of carrying them around instead of a tin or box of regular wooden graphite pencils. I also wonder if they would be easier to use for shading than having to use an exacto-type knife to whittle the lead away from the wood to get the wider lines to cover larger areas needing shading. Do you use lead holders and, if so, do you have favorite brands? I’m retired on pensions and don’t want to waste money by buying totally in the dark. Thank you in advance.
Hi Marc,
I’d love to make a suggestion, but I don’t use the lead holders. Perhaps someone else coming across this comment can help you out.
I’ve got some Eagle Turquoise lead holders that I’ve had since high school (1975), and they’re still going strong. I recently bought some replacement leads, and saw that Turquoise was now under the Prismacolor label, so I’m not sure if they still sell lead holders or not.
I recently bought an Alvin Tech-Matic Deluxe MF6. It’s a fine lead holder, but considerably heavier than the Turquoise ones due to its all-metal construction. This bothered me at first, but now I hardly notice.
On a related subject, I was looking at the F pencil’s placement in the hardness scale. I have a box of 2mm leads left over from my drafting days in addition to my HB ones.
Can F and HB leads be used interchangeably, or are there enough differences to treat them uniquely?
hi
i am having trouble download the ebook can you please help?
Hi Julie,
What issue are you having? You can email us directly or use the contact form to share the details of the issue that you are having.
I can’t view this video and I just signed up with my credit card and have downloaded vlc as suggested. ???
Hi Gigi,
Please check and make sure that you’re not on a shared network that has blocked streaming video from certain websites. If you are seeing a black screen, you should contact your network administrator and make sure Vimeo is not blocked.
I am unable to download this ebook. Is there something you can suggest?
Really enjoying the entire series, learning a lot! Clear, easy to understand and review instructions with Ebooks. I have a quick question, what is the name of the rather hefty blending stump that looks like a pencil? Would like to know where can I purchase it?
Thank you,
Denise
Hi Denise,
It’s just a larger blending stump. If you can’t find one at your local art store, you can order one from amazon by searching for “large blending stump”.
Hi Matt,
I’m trying to draw a mandarin with graphite. It always ends up looking like a small, round apple. How do you get the dimpled effect on the mandarin skin? Do you have any videos you could refer me to whereby you have drawn a mandarin with graphite? Thanks.
I am up to to this but it doesn’t work?