Graphite and Colored Pencils add drama and… a little extra work! The extra work makes a big difference. It adds dimension… by moving the individual marks together, darker in some areas creating shadows and lighter in others creating highlights.
To make this work easier, blending tools were developed, including:
… paper/cotton
- Tortillon — hollow; rolled paper; pointed at one end
- Stump — solid; tightly-wrapped paper; pointed at both ends
- Cotton swab — least-expensive seems to work best
… brushes/erasers
- Stencil brush — short bristles seem to work best
- Kneaded eraser — Faber-Castell
- Eraser — Tombow Mono for Colored Pencil
- Eraser pencil — Faber-Castell (white eraser #1058 or 1058B)
… blenders/solvents
- Blender pencil/brush — adds base (wax, oil, or water)
- Blending Pen — Pergamano (no base included)
- Solvent — Gamsol (apply sparingly with brush or blending pen)