Sketching Eggs

sketch of eggs

approx. 8" x 7"

water soluble graphite on paper

Working some more with the water soluble graphite pencil, last night I decided to sketch some eggs. Well, actually it was one egg sketched from three different angles.

What better sketching subject than an egg on a beautiful spring night the week before Easter?

I really liked how the dry sketches looked, so in the end I only wet the one at the top. In fact, so far that is the only negative thing I have to say about this pencil. I enjoy the look of the dry sketches so much that it is difficult to decide if I want to finish them with the water brush or not.

(The lines emanating from the top egg aren't really there. The scanner picked up the shadows from the slightly wrinkled paper.)

Water Soluble Graphite

Last week, after surviving long enough to complete my daffodil sketch, I moved to a different spot on the patio and created this sketch of a metal chicken that likes to hang out under one of the bushes.

sketch of metal chicken - dry

watersoluble graphite on paper

approx 7" x 6"

I used a "medium wash" Derwent Watersoluble Sketching pencil for the sketch.

I've had the pencil for a while, and even though it has a permanent spot in my sketching pencil case, I have only used it once or twice before. My avoidance has nothing to do with the pencil. It is more out of habit and the comfort level I have with my typical sketching materials than anything else.

I'm not quite sure what made me grab it last week, but I'm happy I tried it out again.  I like the thicker point and the feel of the pencil on the paper. It was a perfectly nice pencil to sketch with.

And then it got better.

After scanning the sketch in its original version, I used my water brush to wet the lines. You can see the results below.

same sketch of metal chicken after wetting

watersoluble graphite on paper

approx 7" x 6"

I love how the use of the water brush turned a rather scribbly sketch into something more refined. The range of values is great. And since it takes very little water to dissolve the marks, the pencil can be used in a regular sketchbook, which is how I used it here.

I will definitely be using this pencil again! Between the Inktense pencils and now the Watersoluble Graphite pencil, it seems that Derwent products currently make up a rather large part of my sketching kit.

(The opinion expressed here is not a paid endorsement. It is an unsolicited review of my experience. Derwent has no idea who I am.)

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