Let me know if you found these strategies helpful, and try this video next: 20 FAST Tricks to Transform your Drawing Skills! th-cam.com/video/Z6ZPq9Q4A0o/w-d-xo.html
The reason for the existence of Hard pencils is not to have to press hard to get a mark. It is to allow the artist to draw very lightly and loosely in a way that is super easy to erase later on after it is built up with softer pencils.
I have been binging your videos! You answer so many questions that have been floating around in my head - sometimes confirming what I already thought and sometimes giving new ideas, both of which are very helpful. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! (love your humor too - unicorn hair! 😃 )
As in earlier life I was a draughtswoman I own many h to f leads for mechanical pencils & use 2h for under drawings. Also erasers I have are ok having used putty ones years ago but, no longer owning one, also plastic ones which are clean. I realise I may have a little knowledge of differing pencil leads but, paper qualities are new to me which with watercolour papers differing could also be useful, also what disturbs their properties, surfaces. Also luckily always use a brush for erasers lead bits so that’s useful.
Thank you for all of the help on the pencil/eraser issues. I too never understood how pulling and folding a kneaded eraser (rubber) "cleaned" it. Thanks for backing up my observations. Leaving pencil lines in my work has been a problem for me in the past and present. I will remember that the color yellow is especially problematic in this regard. No more outlined sun/moon for me!
Oh, you just made my day. Wonderful answers to questions. You speak rapidly so I have to listen fast , lol, or I will miss you awesome sense of humor. I chuckled all the way through (I am American).
Thanks so much. I have had acne my whole life but it's a bit better recently, I had some micro needling done. Plus film lights are flattering. In middle age I seek only not to scare people (!)
Another great video Michele! I think I've mentioned this before, but I use Col-erase pencils to sketch! They come in a wide variety of colours and they don't smudge as easily as graphite, it also erases a lot easier. I usually use a light gray colour, it's just dark enough to see my linework. The best thing though is because it's a coloured pencil it stays put when I add washes and it never mixes and Muddies my colour's.
I'ved use those also, I use the light blue ones. You can sketch really lightly till you get the shape you want then, I never get it on one go especially when drawing figures of animals.
OMG every time i see one of your videos , i learn so much, the brush, because of the oils in your hand, the harder eraser and cutting it in pieces, cutting parts of and not puting the muck inside.. OMG.. And on and on... More tips, too much to mention, and You ARE SO FUNNY, i love your humor, thx so much, l i always think : 30 minutes, that is long and then i watch.. And time flies by... Like your video was 5 minutes, amazing!!
Thank you, michele, for all your good advice which seems to be endless. Regarding swatching, Shelley Prior, TH-cam artist, has a system that can be easily modified without any disruption which she shows on her post, "About Paints in Watercolor".
Very helpful tips and thank you for making me laugh today! Love your sense of humor, especially about the "erasers" and the hysterical laughter from us Americans.
If I'm sketching a subject I'm 'confident' in, I'll use a 4h pencil, because I tend to not have to erase as much, otherwise an HB pencil is the standard for me. Holding the pencil loosely (further away from the point) helps with not excessively marking or denting the paper. It also helps with not getting lost in details and preventing wrist pain from gripping it too hard. Before painting I also just roll the kneaded eraser over the sketch to pick up some graphite. Great video, as always 😊
Another good video! As a very beginner I learned the hard way on when not to use a watercolor pencil for an under drawing. I sketched out a landscape and merrily started throwing my washes on the page. The washes completely erased my drawing. 😅 I kringe when someone recommends to always use a watercolor pencil.
I truly enjoy your lessons. I've been trying to show a "LIKE" for this video but the page on my tablet won't accept it! I don't know why, but I did want you to know I tried. Thank you for sharing your expertise. I learn a lot from you.
Wonderful note on the watercolor pencils, thank you! I tried that recently, was unhappy with the results, and just assumed I had done it incorrectly. It just didn't dissolve as well as I had expected and I was afraid to scrub at the paper too much.
This was a really useful video, thank you Michele. I'm painting a special picture for my husband's birthday with loads of Rowan leaves! I remembered to erase the pencil on most of them but the last lot I forgot and happily painted over them!!! The only way I could erase them was to very, very carefully rub over them with a damp eradicator brush and then dab the wet area with a clean tissue. It took ages but it worked and I just had to repaint part of some of the leaves 🤓
Oh Michelle! I just heard what you said about the kneadable erasers (Rubbers!) I think that thought ( folding the mess back into the rubber) may be why, despite having a few kneadable rubbers from kits, I've never yet tried using them! I've no idea AT ALL why the idea of just snipping the dirty bits off never occurred to me, I'm just dumb as they come! Kuh! Thanks, I must fish one out and try it. I had a big problem erasing my pencil marks from underneath masking fluid, the fluid came off easily enough, but it seemed to have 'sealed the pencil in' - it felt kind of slippery, or slick, as if the masking fluid had left a residue over the pencil lines, I had to use an electric eraser quite strongly to get the pencil faint enough. Took a very long time! I used Inktense pencils in those areas afterwards and had no problem softening the lines and blending them in with the dry watercolour around them, so the paper worked as normal. It was just weird and much more of a task than I'd expected to remove the pencil lines. (My normal Staedtler rubber wouldn't shift the pencil lines and was erasing nearby watercolour more than the pencil. Too big and bulky a rubber)
I have made the watercolor pencil mistakes you discuss in this video. I now use only graphite and a kneaded eraser like you describe but I have been making the mistake of "cleaning" it by kneading. NO MORE! I do sometimes use a Faber Castell Albrecht Durer warm grey to sketch with. It seldom fails to melt in the water and becomes invisible.
Always excellent info and advice, Michele. I have found that drawing on paper with more tooth (i.e., rough) that if one presses too much to get the pencil in the "valley" areas, it can be difficult to erase, as the surface of the paper is uneven. Applying light to moderate pencil on your painting surface is definitely a must. Also, when using transfer paper, it can be used many, many times, but one may have to adjust the pressure. This is especially true when using it on rough paper, when one would always have to exert more pressure than on CP paper. The first time I used it on rough paper I had to transfer the whole image again, as I was using the pressure I would normally used, and it hardly showed up at all on the paper. QUESTION: What type of erasure do you use on the drawing paper? I find that a harder lead does not respond well to a softer eraser. I have an Art Stroke, which bills itself as "the ultimate eraser for fine artists", and a Factis extra soft, which is NOT kneadable. They are both white, and the latter leaves very little debris and works well on cotton watercolor paper. Are those hard pink erasures used during our schooling of any value? They leave a lot of debris, but do erase hard pencil marks from drawing papers and newsprint well. My inquiring mind questions many things, and I always questioned the naming of kneadable "erasers". They are "pick ups", not true erasers. As you stated, they gather graphite, oils, etc. They pick up everything but money and men! 🤣
That's funny. Honestly I usually only draw as an initial stage of painting or other craft. If I wanted to work in dry media I might be inclined to use charcoal as it's faster.
Thanks for the video. Exactly my sentiments about the eraser. Didn’t think of cutting it up. Good idea. I sometimes use faber castell watercolor pencils. But much lighter colors and just very faint lines. 😊
That was fantastically helpful, Michele, Thank you so much! I'm not guilty of using my fingers to rid the picture of eraser rubbings BUT I blow them away and am probably at risk of getting my spit on the paper!! Oops. I'll get myself a brush sorted instead!! 😆 Mel in Devon 🍰🌻
I use a cheap makeup brush, the big fluffy ones, which you can find at a discount store. They're very soft, so they don't disturb your drawing. We have Dollar Tree here in the US, but I don't know if the UK has an equivalent.
Thank you, Michele, for all the great tips. I have found that my watercolor pencils do not erase at all well if I make a mistake and want to remove the marks. Therefore, I am afraid to use them. I had purchased the Arteza woodless watercolor pencils. I see below in a comment where someone uses Col-erase pencils which erases a lot easier. Maybe I will try them. Best regards, Nancy {P.S. I love cats. Give your big beautiful black cat a kiss from me.)
Giving my cat a kiss may result in a hospital visit but I will try and catch him in a good mood! Arteza and other pencils that don't erase well can actually be useful if you put them on top of your paints to make things like grasses, when you want to make lines, not have them become paint.
Hahaha - I tuck my shoelaces into my shoes too! I’ve never heard of anyone else doing this. I also clean my shoes before putting them away. Another great video. Thank you.
Not shading with graphite is one of the things I struggle with, because I'm a lot better at drawing human anatomy than I am *painting* it. Which is why I'm on this video right now--to get tips and how to wrap my head around it (going to make a mixed media painting where the core figure/portrait is made in watercolour).
Did you know that Faber Castell has a 14B in their Matt graphite line? (it's like black hole black!) I normally use about a 6-8 B with blue-tack (poster putty?) for a kneaded eraser. it's very soft.. I just roll it around over the lines as I'm working. I haven't used transfer paper in ages, but I found using a blue fine ballpoint pen made it easier to tell what I had already traced. Now, why wasn't this video out before I started this (*%Y# dragon? I sure missed the "as much as you need" wound up drawing in stages out of necessity! :D
Hi Michele! As always, I love this video as well! Thank you for being so detailed and for improving my watercolor skills. I have something to add to why using watercolor pencils is not such a good idea. I once used the Albrecht Dürer pencils to draw my sketch, and when I started applying water to my sketch it completely disappeared! 😳😅😅😅😅
Very helpful, especially what type of eraser to use because I have seen 2 different professional artists, one using the normal one and the other using kneaded, so I wasn't sure which was best. Maybe because one was using hot pressed paper (normal eraser) and the other cold pressed (kneaded eraser) ? The comment about the shoe laces made me laugh because I do that too! 😂 👟
Thank you for the vidéo 💐 It was helpful. I did also like the jokes about your shoe laces and the unicorn hair brush 😹 Sometimes, if i cannot erase the pencil i would creat à harsh line by letting the edges of an outline dry on top of the pencil with a opaque texture of watercolor and blend it inwards. Probably a beginner mistake but it did work.
I have found using graphite paper, there is still a bit of resist when I watercolor over it. Have you experienced this? I use GRAPHITE not standard tracing paper.
The graphite paper tends to leave a lot of stuff on the paper when it's new, although that exact thing hasn't happened to me, all pencil will resist to some extent of course.
A question I have had is whether a HB and a 2B pencil are the same hardness of lead. I have been told in the past that they are but that just sounds wrong. I have never heard you mention a 2B pencil before so that is just adding to my confusion. I do most of my sketches with a 2B pencil. If I am doing a watercolor I stop there. If I am doing a drawing, I generally reach for my trusty 6B pencil and shade accordingly. So are HB and 2B the same thing?
From what I understand, there is no industry standard, but if you have a set of fine art pencils, HB is in the middle. H stands for hard. B stands for black. Next is a B pencil, a little blacker and softer, then a 2B pencil, again, a little blacker ans softer up to about 9B, but some brands keep going further. On the other end of the spectrum, after the HB pencil is an F, a little harder and lighter, then an H, then a 2H, etc, until 9H or so. One thing to remember, there is an American standard of pencil called a Number 2 pencil that has nothing to do with this artist scale. Usually, an HB pencil and a No. 2 pencil are about the same. The American standard consists of No 1, 2, and 3, but I cant remember which way is blacker and which way is lighter, 1, or 3. The artists scale is generally according to each manufacturer and there is usually are swatches on the packaging to give you an idea of the darkness or lightness of each pencil.
HB is in the middle, so (hard black, or hard bold) therefore 2B would be slightly softer. But it's going to vary between manufacturer, plus some brands have an H (hard) or a F (fine) that also sit around the middle of the range. In reality, the gradations between pencils that sit next to each other are sometimes minimal.
Super helpful! I was thinking about this as a foolish question also, but now I see it’s not that easy to answer. I hope your cat adjusts to his new eating situation….not all for the benefit of your cat’s health, but also for your poor ankles!
Ooooopsies….. i always use my hand to brush the eraser shavings 🤣 I will look for a large brush to use instead (I am aware of the oil in our hands) but I only apply it to not touching the ends of the paintbrush bristles with my fingers (particularly new brushes) but eraser shavings I forget about I’m glad your cat did not attack your feet too much during recording 😁
😮 I am also the type of person to tuck my shoes laces into my shoes after I take them off. Hahaha! I never even thought about the fact that most people do not do this. 😂
I was browsing an art suppliers website and found they were selling kneadable erasers for $0.99 (aus) each reduced from $5.00 - couldn'te resist and bought 3, had to stop myself from buying more at this price. I doubt I will use these three in my lifetime but what a bargain
Excellent video. I learned a lot. And you always make me laugh Is "Tracedown Paper" a British-ism? Would it be called something else in America.? I'm a good sketcher, but i do draw too darkly sometimes. I like the idea of drawing it and then transferring the drawing. Thanks for these videos. I love them.
Thanks for watching, no not a Britishism, a brand name :-) We would say tracing paper or graphite or carbon paper. Tracedown is the brand name from Frisk. I don't know if other brands call it something else.
![เป็นไปได้ไหม - WanMai [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_6lZ6b3_7Vo/mqdefault.jpg)
Let me know if you found these strategies helpful, and try this video next: 20 FAST Tricks to Transform your Drawing Skills! th-cam.com/video/Z6ZPq9Q4A0o/w-d-xo.html
Wonderful I will. I’m learning how to draw on my own (so I can paint with watercolor flowers). I don’t have my watercolors out yet 😊
I found EVERYTHING that you said to be helpful. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
The reason for the existence of Hard pencils is not to have to press hard to get a mark. It is to allow the artist to draw very lightly and loosely in a way that is super easy to erase later on after it is built up with softer pencils.
Your humor is delightful! Thank you for your very clear explanations.
Oh thank you!
I have been binging your videos! You answer so many questions that have been floating around in my head - sometimes confirming what I already thought and sometimes giving new ideas, both of which are very helpful. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! (love your humor too - unicorn hair! 😃 )
You are so welcome!
Great informative video! By the way, I do so love you sense of humor...and those fingernails are EVERYTHING!!!! 😀
Thanks! They were meant to have butterflies but they wouldn't lay flat so I just said oh, stick some patterns on them, but I like them now!
Adore your humor❣️❣️❣️AND the info was grand!
I love how knowledgeable you are without talking down or condescending to anyone who is a beginner. I also thoroughly enjoy the sidebar statements.
Thank you so much!
As in earlier life I was a draughtswoman I own many h to f leads for mechanical pencils & use 2h for under drawings. Also erasers I have are ok having used putty ones years ago but, no longer owning one, also plastic ones which are clean. I realise I may have a little knowledge of differing pencil leads but, paper qualities are new to me which with watercolour papers differing could also be useful, also what disturbs their properties, surfaces. Also luckily always use a brush for erasers lead bits so that’s useful.
Must watch your next video. Thanks
So many great tips!! I've learned so much!!! Thank you for this video!
So glad!
Thank you for all of the help on the pencil/eraser issues. I too never understood how pulling and folding a kneaded eraser (rubber) "cleaned" it. Thanks for backing up my observations. Leaving pencil lines in my work has been a problem for me in the past and present. I will remember that the color yellow is especially problematic in this regard. No more outlined sun/moon for me!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks painting a underpainting first, then using pencil.
Great idea. Also type of pencil and when to use watercolor pencils. Very useful information
Thanks!
I found EVERYTHING that you said to be helpful. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Excellent video!
Thank you very much!
Badly needed and well explained art lesson.Thanks for your great efforts
Most welcome 😊
Great info seasoned with sprinkles of dry humor that add delightful flavor🌹
Oh, you just made my day. Wonderful answers to questions. You speak rapidly so I have to listen fast , lol, or I will miss you awesome sense of humor. I chuckled all the way through (I am American).
Oh thank you! I try to talks slower but I'm fighting a losing battle against my brain...
Aha! The light goes on! I never knew how to get a clean piece of eraser!
Excellent video as usual!
You are very pretty and your skin is gorgeous. Sorry to be weird but I’m 70 and speak my mind.
I agree
Thanks so much. I have had acne my whole life but it's a bit better recently, I had some micro needling done. Plus film lights are flattering. In middle age I seek only not to scare people (!)
So helpful. Thank you Michele 🙂
My pleasure!
As always Michele this is a very useful video. Thx very much. 🥰
Thanks Alicia, glad you liked it!
Great advice. I love your videos!
Thank you for the very helpful strategies, specially the ones to avoid getting the paper dirty.
Glad you like them!
Another great video Michele! I think I've mentioned this before, but I use Col-erase pencils to sketch! They come in a wide variety of colours and they don't smudge as easily as graphite, it also erases a lot easier. I usually use a light gray colour, it's just dark enough to see my linework. The best thing though is because it's a coloured pencil it stays put when I add washes and it never mixes and Muddies my colour's.
I'ved use those also, I use the light blue ones. You can sketch really lightly till you get the shape you want then, I never get it on one go especially when drawing figures of animals.
I haven't tried them yet!
OMG every time i see one of your videos , i learn so much, the brush, because of the oils in your hand, the harder eraser and cutting it in pieces, cutting parts of and not puting the muck inside.. OMG.. And on and on... More tips, too much to mention, and You ARE SO FUNNY, i love your humor, thx so much, l i always think : 30 minutes, that is long and then i watch.. And time flies by... Like your video was 5 minutes, amazing!!
Thank you so much 😀
Very helpful. Thank you!
Yes, yes, yes, super helpful. Thank-you very-much for this video.
You're very welcome!
Thank you, michele, for all your good advice which seems to be endless. Regarding swatching, Shelley Prior, TH-cam artist, has a system that can be easily modified without any disruption which she shows on her post, "About Paints in Watercolor".
Great tips - Thank you!
Very helpful! And thank you for the tip about the shoelaces!
You are mpst welcome!
I missed that tip- what was the tip about shoelaces
@@karenmcelroy9571 not a tip, just a joke about my obsessive neatness 🙂 You didn't miss a thing!
Very helpful tips and thank you for making me laugh today! Love your sense of humor, especially about the "erasers" and the hysterical laughter from us Americans.
My pleasure :-)
Thanks Michelle. This is great information. I must say that I truly enjoy your sense of humor as well!!
So glad!
If I'm sketching a subject I'm 'confident' in, I'll use a 4h pencil, because I tend to not have to erase as much, otherwise an HB pencil is the standard for me.
Holding the pencil loosely (further away from the point) helps with not excessively marking or denting the paper. It also helps with not getting lost in details and preventing wrist pain from gripping it too hard.
Before painting I also just roll the kneaded eraser over the sketch to pick up some graphite.
Great video, as always 😊
Thanks for sharing Amy!
Another good video! As a very beginner I learned the hard way on when not to use a watercolor pencil for an under drawing. I sketched out a landscape and merrily started throwing my washes on the page. The washes completely erased my drawing. 😅 I kringe when someone recommends to always use a watercolor pencil.
I've had that happen too! So annoying!
Apply your watercolor pencil sketch after your washes are dry.
Glad you liked it Kathy, I did the same once with acrylics, drew then painted over the drawing and thought 'ah, yeah'
I guess I'm in good company then. 😅
Perfect timing, I needed this!
So glad!
great tips! thanks for sharing
Excellent tips, Michelle! Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
This video answered so many questions. Thank you.😊
No problem!
Michele, one of your best! You are such an accomplished teacher, and it’s great to learn these techniques. Thank you!❤
Thank you so much!
You are a clear teacher with a great sense of humor😊 Thank you for sharing your expertise.
You are so welcome!
Superb, thank you!
I truly enjoy your lessons. I've been trying to show a "LIKE" for this video but the page on my tablet won't accept it! I don't know why, but I did want you to know I tried. Thank you for sharing your expertise. I learn a lot from you.
Ah technology, I shall pretend I recieved the like since you definitely liked!
This has been a most helpful video. Thank you so much ❤
You are welcome!
Really interesting thank you.
Very helpful as always with 99% of your videos.
Very helpful ‼️
Glad you think so!
Always learn something new on your videos, along with bonus belly laughs from your humour! Thank you.
Aw thanks!
Great advice! Thank you so much. ann. The photo is my husband!
All problems I have run across. This was very helpful!
Glad it helped!
Great lesson Michelle thank you so much for the humour as well. .I learn so much from you.
Learnt new tips again. Thanks.
Glad to hear it!
Love your videos, Michelle. One day I’m going to give it a go! 😅
Lol, best not to rush into things ;-)
@@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber 😂
Excellent video . . . as always. And LOVE your frog ring. :)
I consider it lucky, although it was very cheap!
Wonderful note on the watercolor pencils, thank you! I tried that recently, was unhappy with the results, and just assumed I had done it incorrectly. It just didn't dissolve as well as I had expected and I was afraid to scrub at the paper too much.
It's all about what suits you I think :-)
Excellent video
Thank you very much!
Lov e your knowledge Michele thankyou (from australia)
Thanks for watching!
Very well explained ❤
Thanks a lot 😊
This was a really useful video, thank you Michele. I'm painting a special picture for my husband's birthday with loads of Rowan leaves! I remembered to erase the pencil on most of them but the last lot I forgot and happily painted over them!!! The only way I could erase them was to very, very carefully rub over them with a damp eradicator brush and then dab the wet area with a clean tissue. It took ages but it worked and I just had to repaint part of some of the leaves 🤓
Sounds like a labour of love!
Fantastic information! 😺
Thanks for watching!
All your videos are so helpful. Thank you so much for sharing your skills with us.
Glad you like them!
Great info!
Glad you think so!
Great information thank you
Very welcome
Thank you Michelle, I love your videos!
I use a red pen on my drawing when using graphite paper so I can easily tell what I have drawn.
Great tip!
Thank you, this is so helpful. I have been ruining my watercolor paper erasing so much, ridicules when i can just transfer my drawing.
Thank you :)
Wonderful!
Oh Michelle! I just heard what you said about the kneadable erasers (Rubbers!) I think that thought ( folding the mess back into the rubber) may be why, despite having a few kneadable rubbers from kits, I've never yet tried using them! I've no idea AT ALL why the idea of just snipping the dirty bits off never occurred to me, I'm just dumb as they come! Kuh! Thanks, I must fish one out and try it.
I had a big problem erasing my pencil marks from underneath masking fluid, the fluid came off easily enough, but it seemed to have 'sealed the pencil in' - it felt kind of slippery, or slick, as if the masking fluid had left a residue over the pencil lines, I had to use an electric eraser quite strongly to get the pencil faint enough. Took a very long time! I used Inktense pencils in those areas afterwards and had no problem softening the lines and blending them in with the dry watercolour around them, so the paper worked as normal.
It was just weird and much more of a task than I'd expected to remove the pencil lines. (My normal Staedtler rubber wouldn't shift the pencil lines and was erasing nearby watercolour more than the pencil. Too big and bulky a rubber)
Ah, well all fluids, pencils and papers will work differently so always test first is the answer, although I don't always remember to do it!
I have made the watercolor pencil mistakes you discuss in this video. I now use only graphite and a kneaded eraser like you describe but I have been making the mistake of "cleaning" it by kneading. NO MORE! I do sometimes use a Faber Castell Albrecht Durer warm grey to sketch with. It seldom fails to melt in the water and becomes invisible.
Thanks for sharing, it's a good brand!
Great video as always...❤
Thank you 🤗
Always excellent info and advice, Michele. I have found that drawing on paper with more tooth (i.e., rough) that if one presses too much to get the pencil in the "valley" areas, it can be difficult to erase, as the surface of the paper is uneven. Applying light to moderate pencil on your painting surface is definitely a must. Also, when using transfer paper, it can be used many, many times, but one may have to adjust the pressure. This is especially true when using it on rough paper, when one would always have to exert more pressure than on CP paper. The first time I used it on rough paper I had to transfer the whole image again, as I was using the pressure I would normally used, and it hardly showed up at all on the paper.
QUESTION: What type of erasure do you use on the drawing paper? I find that a harder lead does not respond well to a softer eraser. I have an Art Stroke, which bills itself as "the ultimate eraser for fine artists", and a Factis extra soft, which is NOT kneadable. They are both white, and the latter leaves very little debris and works well on cotton watercolor paper. Are those hard pink erasures used during our schooling of any value? They leave a lot of debris, but do erase hard pencil marks from drawing papers and newsprint well. My inquiring mind questions many things, and I always questioned the naming of kneadable "erasers". They are "pick ups", not true erasers. As you stated, they gather graphite, oils, etc. They pick up everything but money and men! 🤣
😂
That's funny. Honestly I usually only draw as an initial stage of painting or other craft. If I wanted to work in dry media I might be inclined to use charcoal as it's faster.
Thanks for the video. Exactly my sentiments about the eraser. Didn’t think of cutting it up. Good idea. I sometimes use faber castell watercolor pencils. But much lighter colors and just very faint lines. 😊
You are very welcome!
Appreciated!
Thanks!
That was fantastically helpful, Michele, Thank you so much! I'm not guilty of using my fingers to rid the picture of eraser rubbings BUT I blow them away and am probably at risk of getting my spit on the paper!! Oops. I'll get myself a brush sorted instead!! 😆
Mel in Devon 🍰🌻
Well done Mel, it's a nuisance if they get in the carpet too!
I use a cheap makeup brush, the big fluffy ones, which you can find at a discount store. They're very soft, so they don't disturb your drawing. We have Dollar Tree here in the US, but I don't know if the UK has an equivalent.
I like to use a colored pencil when I’m doing my transfers so I can keep track of where I’ve marked.
Great tip!
Me too!
Thank you, Michele, for all the great tips. I have found that my watercolor pencils do not erase at all well if I make a mistake and want to remove the marks. Therefore, I am afraid to use them. I had purchased the Arteza woodless watercolor pencils. I see below in a comment where someone uses Col-erase pencils which erases a lot easier. Maybe I will try them. Best regards, Nancy {P.S. I love cats. Give your big beautiful black cat a kiss from me.)
Giving my cat a kiss may result in a hospital visit but I will try and catch him in a good mood! Arteza and other pencils that don't erase well can actually be useful if you put them on top of your paints to make things like grasses, when you want to make lines, not have them become paint.
A very useful video, Michele. Your videos are always packed with information. Loved to see Gimlet too. Have you done a video on drawing a cat’s head?
I did a very old two parter on drawing faces and I think I covered it briefly in the second one, try the drawing playlist. I may re-visit though...
Michelle I find when using the bearable rubber I press down instead of rubbing
Yes I have seen some people do this, I am probably too impatient!
Hahaha - I tuck my shoelaces into my shoes too! I’ve never heard of anyone else doing this. I also clean my shoes before putting them away.
Another great video. Thank you.
Love it!!
Not shading with graphite is one of the things I struggle with, because I'm a lot better at drawing human anatomy than I am *painting* it. Which is why I'm on this video right now--to get tips and how to wrap my head around it (going to make a mixed media painting where the core figure/portrait is made in watercolour).
Really useful,THANK YOU, I’ll definitely get a unicorn hair brush!😂❤
Unicorn hair lololol
Great ideas. Thanks!
Glad you liked it!!
Did you know that Faber Castell has a 14B in their Matt graphite line? (it's like black hole black!) I normally use about a 6-8 B with blue-tack (poster putty?) for a kneaded eraser. it's very soft.. I just roll it around over the lines as I'm working. I haven't used transfer paper in ages, but I found using a blue fine ballpoint pen made it easier to tell what I had already traced. Now, why wasn't this video out before I started this (*%Y# dragon? I sure missed the "as much as you need" wound up drawing in stages out of necessity! :D
I didn't know that, the Matt ones are on my list of stuff to try though!
Hi Michele! As always, I love this video as well! Thank you for being so detailed and for improving my watercolor skills. I have something to add to why using watercolor pencils is not such a good idea. I once used the Albrecht Dürer pencils to draw my sketch, and when I started applying water to my sketch it completely disappeared! 😳😅😅😅😅
Oh, it worked a little too well then!! x
Very helpful, especially what type of eraser to use because I have seen 2 different professional artists, one using the normal one and the other using kneaded, so I wasn't sure which was best. Maybe because one was using hot pressed paper (normal eraser) and the other cold pressed (kneaded eraser) ?
The comment about the shoe laces made me laugh because I do that too! 😂 👟
Team neat!
Hi Michelle have you used neadable erasers to remove difficult graphite drawing and smudging?
Sometimes a firmer eraser is needed for very mucky paper.
Thank you for the vidéo 💐 It was helpful. I did also like the jokes about your shoe laces and the unicorn hair brush 😹
Sometimes, if i cannot erase the pencil i would creat à harsh line by letting the edges of an outline dry on top of the pencil with a opaque texture of watercolor and blend it inwards. Probably a beginner mistake but it did work.
Glad it was helpful!
Enjoyed video found it interesting and informative..mikelle art mom ✍🎨👩🎨🇺🇸🇨🇦
Thank you! Cheers!
Thank you! I take my kneaded eraser and roll it into a snake, then I roll it over my pencil lines to make them really light.
I have found using graphite paper, there is still a bit of resist when I watercolor over it. Have you experienced this? I use GRAPHITE not standard tracing paper.
The graphite paper tends to leave a lot of stuff on the paper when it's new, although that exact thing hasn't happened to me, all pencil will resist to some extent of course.
A question I have had is whether a HB and a 2B pencil are the same hardness of lead. I have been told in the past that they are but that just sounds wrong. I have never heard you mention a 2B pencil before so that is just adding to my confusion. I do most of my sketches with a 2B pencil. If I am doing a watercolor I stop there. If I am doing a drawing, I generally reach for my trusty 6B pencil and shade accordingly. So are HB and 2B the same thing?
From what I understand, there is no industry standard, but if you have a set of fine art pencils, HB is in the middle. H stands for hard. B stands for black. Next is a B pencil, a little blacker and softer, then a 2B pencil, again, a little blacker ans softer up to about 9B, but some brands keep going further. On the other end of the spectrum, after the HB pencil is an F, a little harder and lighter, then an H, then a 2H, etc, until 9H or so. One thing to remember, there is an American standard of pencil called a Number 2 pencil that has nothing to do with this artist scale. Usually, an HB pencil and a No. 2 pencil are about the same. The American standard consists of No 1, 2, and 3, but I cant remember which way is blacker and which way is lighter, 1, or 3. The artists scale is generally according to each manufacturer and there is usually are swatches on the packaging to give you an idea of the darkness or lightness of each pencil.
HB is in the middle, so (hard black, or hard bold) therefore 2B would be slightly softer. But it's going to vary between manufacturer, plus some brands have an H (hard) or a F (fine) that also sit around the middle of the range. In reality, the gradations between pencils that sit next to each other are sometimes minimal.
Super helpful! I was thinking about this as a foolish question also, but now I see it’s not that easy to answer. I hope your cat adjusts to his new eating situation….not all for the benefit of your cat’s health, but also for your poor ankles!
Ooooopsies….. i always use my hand to brush the eraser shavings 🤣
I will look for a large brush to use instead (I am aware of the oil in our hands) but I only apply it to not touching the ends of the paintbrush bristles with my fingers (particularly new brushes) but eraser shavings I forget about
I’m glad your cat did not attack your feet too much during recording 😁
The cat is an ankle biter!
@@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber 😄😄😄
"Unicorn hair"😊
😮 I am also the type of person to tuck my shoes laces into my shoes after I take them off. Hahaha! I never even thought about the fact that most people do not do this. 😂
I was browsing an art suppliers website and found they were selling kneadable erasers for $0.99 (aus) each reduced from $5.00 - couldn'te resist and bought 3, had to stop myself from buying more at this price. I doubt I will use these three in my lifetime but what a bargain
It is, I am sure you will use them!
Excellent video. I learned a lot. And you always make me laugh Is "Tracedown Paper" a British-ism? Would it be called something else in America.? I'm a good sketcher, but i do draw too darkly sometimes. I like the idea of drawing it and then transferring the drawing. Thanks for these videos. I love them.
Thanks for watching, no not a Britishism, a brand name :-) We would say tracing paper or graphite or carbon paper. Tracedown is the brand name from Frisk. I don't know if other brands call it something else.
unicorn hair hahahaha
It's very rare...
@@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber Especially fan-tailed unicorns.
Fun video! Please feed your poor starving cat. 😉
Lol :-)
The idea of calling your cat big boned made me laugh. Thank you for the entertainment while you educate.
Eraser can't be seen with the naked eye😂
I'm short sighted mind you...
A lovely video, but why the concern about sniggering by Americans?
Not everything on my channel is serious ;-)
lol - rubber vs eraser - as a Canadian I know all about the need to keep Americans happy 🥴
We appreciate it. 😂
ha ha :-)
Rubbers
🤣