Favourite sketching supplies

[markse68]

Hi there, probably wrong section but anyhow- just wondering if anyone has particular favourite sketching pencil brand/type and what type of sketch book they chose to use? 

Ive just bought this A6 pad- the paper weight is a good compromise i think- thick enough but thin enough for 50 sheets. And the orientation with rings at top seems more practical than the usual side bound type.

Softest pencil i had was 2b so i bought a new 3b but thinking even softer might be even nicer. I’ve had this really handy pencil cap with built in sharpener for ages but now it may get a bit more use it’s great for slinging in my bag.

Im looking for a leather folder/binder to keep the pad protected in transit but haven’t found anything yet- thinking of making something.

Oh and I found ebay to be the worst place for buying supplies- Jackson’s were 1/3 the price for the pad! (so i bought 3! ☺️)

Mark

 

[davhei]

I have a spiral bound A5 pad with the same paper thickness 96g/sqm. Works well I think. Nice and thick, but still lots of pages.

I use a 2H pencil for pinpoint stuff and writing and a 4B together with a drawing stump to get diffuse effects for nebulosity and the like.

A good eraser and also an eraser pen has been very useful for getting details in.

Edited October 2, 2020 by davhei

[mikeDnight]

Staedtler are a very good pencil manufacturer which I use myself Mark. I tend to use smooth paper sketch pads for my finished sketches, but medium for sketching at the eyepiece. I also use a putty rubber, various size blending stumps and my most important tool is a cotton ear bud for softening features. Generally when making a finished sketch I'll scribble some graphite onto a piece of rough paper, then using the ear bud I'll pick up the graphite on the bud and draw in the features using the ear bud rather than the pencil itself. It gives a lovely soft effect to planetary or nebulous detail.

[Pixies]

@markse68, a suitably named panecil! 

This is all very interesting. I was think of hitting the local art shop this afternoon.

[markse68]

25 minutes ago, Pixies said:

@markse68, a suitably named panecil! 

This is all very interesting. I was think of hitting the local art shop this afternoon.

haha yes it’s quite appropriate isn’t it 😂

Thanks Davhei and Mike for the valuable tips- I didn’t know eraser pencils existed - I’ve ordered one. I guess it’s like a white pencil when sketching with pencils!.

I’ll buy some cotton buds too.

Nice to be obsessing about things that cost so little 😉

Mark

[JeremyS]

1 hour ago, Pixies said:

@markse68, a suitably named panecil! 

This is all very interesting. I was think of hitting the local art shop this afternoon.

Ah, so that’s @mikeDnight’s secret then!  Nothing to do with his Tak!