Grading and classification
Art Media
In the arts, amedium is amaterial used by an artist ordesigner tocreate a work.
Drawing: Outline of drawing and drawings
In drawing, "media" refers to both the material that is manually applied and to the base onto which it is applied.[1] The media applied can be many things but the method of application is a stick type object with a point (not a brush) that transfers particles of media to the base. The point of the stick can be as minute as it can be large. The medium applied can be graphite, fusain, pastel, and ink among other things. Bases can be paper, plaster, canvas, wood or basically anything that accepts the medium applied from the point of the stick.
Dry charcoal
Wood pile before covering it byturf or soil, and firing it (around 1890)
Charcoal is alight black residueconsisting ofcarbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents fromanimal andvegetationsubstances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating ofwood or other substances in the absence of oxygen(see pyrolysis, charand biochar). It is usually an impure form of carbon as it contains ash; however, sugarcharcoal is among the purest forms of carbonreadily available,particularly if it is not made by heating but by adehydration reaction withsulfuric acid to minimise introducing new impurities, as impurities can be removedfrom the sugar in advance. The resulting soft, brittle, lightweight, black, porous material resembles coal.
Art
Four sticks of vine charcoal and four sticks of compressed charcoal
Two charcoal pencils in paper sheaths that are unwrapped as the pencil is used, and two charcoal pencils in wooden sheaths
Charcoal is usedin art for drawing, making roughsketches inpainting and isone of the possiblemedia for makinga parsemage. It must usually be preserved by the application of afixative. Artists generally utilize charcoal in three forms:
- Vine charcoal is created by burning sticks of wood (usually willowor linden/Tilia) into soft, medium, and hard consistencies.[20]
- Powdered charcoal is often used to "tone" or cover large sections of a drawing surface. Drawing over the toned areas darkens it further, but the artist can also lighten (or completely erase) within the toned area to create lighter tones.
- Compressed charcoal charcoal powder mixed with gum binder compressed into round or square sticks. The amount of binder determines the hardness of the stick.[21] Compressed charcoal is used in charcoal pencils.
Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation.
The color effect of pastels is closer to the natural drypigments than that of any other process.[1]
The noun "pastel" gives rise to:
Pastel mediaPastel sticks or crayons consist of pure powdered pigment combined with a binder. The exact composition and characteristics of an individual pastel stick depends on the type of pastel and the type and amount of binder used. It also varies by individual manufacturer.
Dry pastels have historically used binders such as gum arabic and gum tragacanth. Methyl cellulose was introduced as a binder in the twentieth century. Often achalk or gypsum component is present. They are available in varying degrees of hardness, the softer varieties being wrapped in paper. Some pastel brands use pumice in the binder to abrade the paper and create more tooth.
Dry pastel media can be subdivided as follows:
Techniques
A pastel frottage created by rubbing pastel on paper laid over stone
On the Cliff by Theodore Robinson, 1887. A warm beige paper is used as a colored ground to enhance the pink colors. The rough textured ground provided by the paper also enhances the impressionistic style of the pastel work.
Pastel techniques can be challenging since the medium is mixed and blended directly on the working surface, and unlike paint, colors cannot be tested on a palette before applying to the surface. Pastel errors cannot be covered the way a paint error can be painted out. Experimentation with the pastel medium on a small scale in order to learn various techniques gives the user a better command over a larger composition.
Pastels have some techniques in common with painting, such as blending, masking, building up layers of color, adding accents and highlighting, and shading. Some techniques are characteristic of both pastels and sketching mediums such as charcoal and lead, for example, hatching and crosshatching, and gradation. Other techniques are particular to the pastel medium.
The color effect of pastels is closer to the natural drypigments than that of any other process.[1]
The noun "pastel" gives rise to:
- another noun, for an artwork whose medium is pastels
- a verb, meaning to produce an artwork with pastels
- an adjective, meaning pale in color
Pastel mediaPastel sticks or crayons consist of pure powdered pigment combined with a binder. The exact composition and characteristics of an individual pastel stick depends on the type of pastel and the type and amount of binder used. It also varies by individual manufacturer.
Dry pastels have historically used binders such as gum arabic and gum tragacanth. Methyl cellulose was introduced as a binder in the twentieth century. Often achalk or gypsum component is present. They are available in varying degrees of hardness, the softer varieties being wrapped in paper. Some pastel brands use pumice in the binder to abrade the paper and create more tooth.
Dry pastel media can be subdivided as follows:
- Soft pastels: This is the most widely used form of pastel. The sticks have a higher portion of pigment and less binder, resulting in brighter colors. The drawing can be readily smudged and blended, but it results in a higher proportion of dust. Finished drawings made with soft pastels require protecting, either framing under glass or spraying with a fixative to prevent smudging; Hairspray also works. White chalk may be used as a filler in producing pale and bright hues with greater luminosity.
- Pan Pastels invented in the past few years are formulated with a minimum of binder in flat compacts like women's makeup and applied with special Sofft micropore sponge tools. No liquid is involved. Pan Pastels can be used for the entire painting or in combination with soft and hard sticks.
- Hard pastels: These have a higher portion of binder and less pigment, producing a sharp drawing material that is useful for fine details. These can be used with other pastels for drawing outlines and adding accents. Hard pastels are traditionally used to create the preliminary sketching out of a composition. However, the colors are less brilliant and are available in a restricted range in contrast to soft pastels.
- Pastel pencils: These are pencils with a pastel lead. They are useful for adding fine details.
- Oil pastels: These have a soft, buttery consistency and intense colors. They are dense and fill the grain of paper and are slightly more difficult to blend than soft pastels, but do not require a fixative. They may be spread across the work surface by thinning with turpentine.
- Water-soluble pastels: These are similar to soft pastels, but contain a water-soluble component, such asglycol. This allows the colors to be thinned out to an even, semi-transparent consistency using a water wash. Water-soluble pastels are made in a restricted range of hues in strong colors. They have the advantages of enabling easy blending and mixing of the hues, given their fluidity, as well as allowing a range of color tint effects depending upon the amount of water applied with a brush to the working surface.
Techniques
A pastel frottage created by rubbing pastel on paper laid over stone
On the Cliff by Theodore Robinson, 1887. A warm beige paper is used as a colored ground to enhance the pink colors. The rough textured ground provided by the paper also enhances the impressionistic style of the pastel work.
Pastel techniques can be challenging since the medium is mixed and blended directly on the working surface, and unlike paint, colors cannot be tested on a palette before applying to the surface. Pastel errors cannot be covered the way a paint error can be painted out. Experimentation with the pastel medium on a small scale in order to learn various techniques gives the user a better command over a larger composition.
Pastels have some techniques in common with painting, such as blending, masking, building up layers of color, adding accents and highlighting, and shading. Some techniques are characteristic of both pastels and sketching mediums such as charcoal and lead, for example, hatching and crosshatching, and gradation. Other techniques are particular to the pastel medium.
Pencils
A pencil (i/ˈpɛnsəl/) is a writing implement or art medium usually constructed of a narrow, solid pigment core inside a protective casing. The case prevents the core from breaking, and also from marking the user’s hand during use.
Pencils create marks via physical abrasion, leavingbehind a trail of solid core material that adheres to a sheet of paper or other surface. They are noticeablydistinct from pens, which dispense liquid or gel ink that stain the light colour of the paper.
Most pencil cores are made of graphite mixed with a claybinder, leaving grey or black marks that can be easilyerased. Graphite pencils are used for both writing anddrawing, and the result is durable: although writing can usually be removed with an eraser, it is resistant to moisture, most chemicals, ultraviolet radiation and natural aging. Other types of pencil core are less widely used. Charcoal pencils are mainly used by artists for drawing and sketching. Coloured pencils are sometimes used by teachers or editors to correct submitted texts but are more usually regarded as art supplies, especially those with waxy core binders that tend to smear on paper instead of erasing. Grease pencils have a softer crayon-like waxy core that can leave marks on smooth surfaces such as glass or porcelain.
The most common type of pencil casing is a thin woodencylinder permanently bonded around the core. Similarpermanent casings may be constructed of other materialssuch as plastic or paper. To use the pencil, the casingmust be carved or peeled off to expose the working end ofthe core as a sharp point. Mechanical pencils have moreelaborate casings that support mobile pieces of pigmentcore, which can be extended or retracted through thecasing tip as needed.
Pencils create marks via physical abrasion, leavingbehind a trail of solid core material that adheres to a sheet of paper or other surface. They are noticeablydistinct from pens, which dispense liquid or gel ink that stain the light colour of the paper.
Most pencil cores are made of graphite mixed with a claybinder, leaving grey or black marks that can be easilyerased. Graphite pencils are used for both writing anddrawing, and the result is durable: although writing can usually be removed with an eraser, it is resistant to moisture, most chemicals, ultraviolet radiation and natural aging. Other types of pencil core are less widely used. Charcoal pencils are mainly used by artists for drawing and sketching. Coloured pencils are sometimes used by teachers or editors to correct submitted texts but are more usually regarded as art supplies, especially those with waxy core binders that tend to smear on paper instead of erasing. Grease pencils have a softer crayon-like waxy core that can leave marks on smooth surfaces such as glass or porcelain.
The most common type of pencil casing is a thin woodencylinder permanently bonded around the core. Similarpermanent casings may be constructed of other materialssuch as plastic or paper. To use the pencil, the casingmust be carved or peeled off to expose the working end ofthe core as a sharp point. Mechanical pencils have moreelaborate casings that support mobile pieces of pigmentcore, which can be extended or retracted through thecasing tip as needed.
Many pencilsacross the world, and almost all in Europe, are graded on the European system using a continuum from "H" (for hardness) to "B" (for blackness), as well as "F", a letter arbitrarily chosen to indicate midway between HB and H. (It is a persistent myth that "F" stands for "Fine"; grade F pencils are no more fine or easily sharpened than any other grade). The standard writing pencil is graded HB. According to Petroski, this system might have been developed in the early 20th century by Brookman, an English pencil maker. It used "B" for black and "H" for hard; a pencil's grade was described by a sequence or successive Hs or Bs such as BB and BBB for successively softer leads, and HH and HHH for successively harder ones.
As of 2009, a set of pencils ranging from a very hard, light-marking pencil to a very soft, black-marking pencil usually ranges from hardest to softest as follows:
9H8H7H6H5H4H3H2HHFHBB2B3B4B5B6B7B8B9BHardest→Medium→SoftestKoh-i-noor offers twenty grades from 10H to 8B for its 1500 series; Mitsubishi Pencil offers twenty-two grades from 10H to 10B for its Hi-uni range; Derwent produces twenty grades from 9H to 9B for its graphic pencils and Staedtler produces nineteen from 9H to 8B for its Mars Lumograph pencils.
The main market for such wide range of grades are artists who are interested in creating a full range of tones from light grey to black. Engineers prefer harder pencils which allow for a greater control in the shape of the lead. This is reflected in the way pencils are packaged and marketed. For example, for its Graphic pencils Derwent offers three packages of 12 pencils each: Technical (with hard grades from 9H to B), Sketching (with soft grades H to 9B), and Designer (with medium grades 4H to 6B).
Pencils graded using this system are used to measure the hardness and resistance of varnishes and paints. The resistance of a coating (also known as its pencil hardness) is determined as the grade of the hardest pencil that does not mark the coating when pressed firmly against it at a 45 degree angle.
Conté/Thoreau
ToneUSWorld#1B#2HB#21⁄2 *F#3H#42H* Also seen as 2-4/8, 2.5, 2-5/10Another method uses numbers to designate the grade of a pencil. It was originally created by Conté and adopted in the US by John Thoreau, father of Henry Thoreau, in the 19th century.
Although Conté/Thoreau's system is widely accepted, not all manufacturers follow it; for example, Faber-Castell uses a different equivalence table in its Grip 2001 pencils: 1 = 2B, 2 = B, 21⁄2 = HB, 3 = H, 4 = 2H.
The various graphite pencil grades are achieved by altering the proportion of graphite to clay: the more claythe harder the pencil. Two pencils of the samegrade but different manufacturers will not necessarilymake a mark of identical tone nor have the samehardness.
As of 2009, a set of pencils ranging from a very hard, light-marking pencil to a very soft, black-marking pencil usually ranges from hardest to softest as follows:
9H8H7H6H5H4H3H2HHFHBB2B3B4B5B6B7B8B9BHardest→Medium→SoftestKoh-i-noor offers twenty grades from 10H to 8B for its 1500 series; Mitsubishi Pencil offers twenty-two grades from 10H to 10B for its Hi-uni range; Derwent produces twenty grades from 9H to 9B for its graphic pencils and Staedtler produces nineteen from 9H to 8B for its Mars Lumograph pencils.
The main market for such wide range of grades are artists who are interested in creating a full range of tones from light grey to black. Engineers prefer harder pencils which allow for a greater control in the shape of the lead. This is reflected in the way pencils are packaged and marketed. For example, for its Graphic pencils Derwent offers three packages of 12 pencils each: Technical (with hard grades from 9H to B), Sketching (with soft grades H to 9B), and Designer (with medium grades 4H to 6B).
Pencils graded using this system are used to measure the hardness and resistance of varnishes and paints. The resistance of a coating (also known as its pencil hardness) is determined as the grade of the hardest pencil that does not mark the coating when pressed firmly against it at a 45 degree angle.
Conté/Thoreau
ToneUSWorld#1B#2HB#21⁄2 *F#3H#42H* Also seen as 2-4/8, 2.5, 2-5/10Another method uses numbers to designate the grade of a pencil. It was originally created by Conté and adopted in the US by John Thoreau, father of Henry Thoreau, in the 19th century.
Although Conté/Thoreau's system is widely accepted, not all manufacturers follow it; for example, Faber-Castell uses a different equivalence table in its Grip 2001 pencils: 1 = 2B, 2 = B, 21⁄2 = HB, 3 = H, 4 = 2H.
The various graphite pencil grades are achieved by altering the proportion of graphite to clay: the more claythe harder the pencil. Two pencils of the samegrade but different manufacturers will not necessarilymake a mark of identical tone nor have the samehardness.