The more I make art, the less supplies I need. Do you feel the same? I used to hoard supplies, because I loved experimenting with everything, trying out different brands, exploring everything I could get my hands on. As I’ve matured in my art practice, I feel that less is more, and I don’t have that urge to buy every new product in the market.
Having said that, I can never have enough pencils. That’s a staple, right? So today I’d like to share three interesting types of pencils I just recently discovered and loved.
One With Public Relations – Palomino Blackwing Pencil
This is like the Moleskine of pencils, if you know what I mean. It’s a beautifully designed pencil, whose lead is manufactured in Japan, it’s dark and soft and smooth, and many artists and ordinary people (ha!) I know swear by it, saying they can never go back to using regular pencils. You can purchase it here.
One That Is Invisible – Non-Photo Blue Pencil
The special light-blue color of this pencil will become invisible when you photocopy or scan anything drawn or marked with it. This means you could sketch with this pencil and then color your sketches, and skip that annoying part of erasing the pencil marks. In the past, people used this pencil to mark or comment on texts and illustrations, and that was very convenient, because you could continue working on the same piece, and the marks would not appear on the final version.
How does it work – you use the non-photo blue pencil to draw, and then color your drawing, or go over the final lines. The next step would be to photocopy or scan your work, so that in your final version all the sketching and other stages marked with non-photo blue will disappear. I can think of so many cool things to do with this pencil! Here’s a cool little video about it. And here’s a link to purchase it.
And One That’s Not An Actual Pencil – Liquid Pencil
This is a pencil-less pencil! It’s feel and look are identical to those of a pencil, but you could use a brush or a fountain pen to work with it! It’s much easier to cover larger spaces with it, and you could dilute it in water to get some more shades. Just like a regular pencil, liquid pencil is eraseable and you can smudge and create value using it, just like you would with a regular pencil. This is a great video of how to use it, and this is a link if you would like to buy it.
Do you love pencils as much as I do? Have you ever tried working with any one of the above? I’d love to hear about your experience!