Sketching is an expressive activity that enables people to manifest their emotions and artistic imagination. It is a talent that can be honed through practice, however, employing the right instruments ...

The lowly pencil is not an elite or showy artistic medium. It doesn't have oil paint's gravitas, or plaster's endearing gauche. Instead, the pencil is accessible, plebeian and utilitarian. If put in ...

The whole point of a mechanical pencil is to have perfect sharpness forever. Yet without precise engineering and build quality, the standard slender leads are doomed to constant breakages. This ...

For the last 20 years, I’ve worked almost exclusively with digital tools for commissioned jobs. At the beginning, I would be sketching my art on paper, scanning, and then colouring with Photoshop.

Whether drawing realistic or abstract subjects, an understanding of tone, the variations of light and shade, is important. A variety of pencils are required to create a tonal study. The B range is ...