Drawing Tools are Essential to Any Artist. Here are Some of the Most Common Tools.

Drawing tools can be any object can be used to put a mark on a piece of paper. Don't limit your imagination when you are considering what could be used. I once used a stick and some paint to get a really strange effect for a drawing, but lets stick to the basics here.

What you choose should depend on what kind of drawing you would like to do. I would recommend trying as many different mediums as you can - don't limit to yourself only to pencil and eraser. As you use different things you will surely find that some some that you enjoy much more than the others. Let me introduce you to some of the most common drawing tools.

Pencil: Probably the most obvious and most widely used drawing tool. Pencil drawing is my second favorite drawing tool, but because there is generally a pencil or two lying around anywhere I go, this is usually what I use to do my sketches.

Pen: I'm not talking about the pen you use to take notes on the telephone here - this is what is commonly known as pen and ink drawing. I enjoy pen and ink drawing the most, and let me tell you why. The smooth dark lines that you get from an art pen are fantastic. The pens leave a mark that is both clean and permanent. Pens also come in a variety of different thickness somewhat similar to how pencils come in different weights - the difference here being that the pens all have the same dark ink and only the size changes.

Charcoal: Charcoal drawing is one of the most popular mediums in any kind of art course that you take. Charcoal is great for gesture or life drawing sessions as you can cover a large sheet of paper in a really short amount of time. I like charcoal drawing because of the nice dark tones that you can achieve. If you haven't used charcoal before I highly recommend that you try it out, but be prepared to get a little messy! The charcoal dust will get onto your hands and also onto the floor around where you are drawing, so be prepared and don't wear your best clothes when you are sitting down for a charcoal session. Click Here to find out more about charcoal.

Sketchbook: A good sketchbook is important. I prefer a smaller sketchbook that I can put into my bag and take with me. If most of your drawing is done at home you may want to use a larger sketchbook. There is a large variety of different books that you can choose from. I recommend getting one with a hard cover to best protect your drawings inside. When selecting a sketchbook you should also feel the paper inside of the book. The paper should be a little stiff and not too thin.

Eraser: And eraser is an important compliment to your pencil or charcoal drawing tool. There are many different kinds of erasers. Different kinds of erasers will give you different results. I like the rectangular white eraser, but the pink eraser that is found on some pencils is also quite effective. I find that the knead-able gray erasers are quite useful when using charcoal. Erasers will have no effect on your pen and ink work, but if you have drawn first in pencil and then drawn your final drawing with ink an eraser can clean off the pencil work, leaving only your ink work on the page.

Corrective Fluid: If you make a mistake with a pen you can use corrective fluid to get rid of the offending lines. You may also know this drawing tool by another name - white out. It's best if you can get the corrective fluid in pen form. Trust me - it's much easier to use a pen than trying to change your mistakes with a brush.

Pencil Sharpener: Like your sketchbooks there are many different varieties of pencil sharpeners. I prefer to use a desk top sharpener when possible, but I also carry around a small hand held sharpener. because of it's small size and weight. What kind of sharpener you use is entirely up to you, but if you are not happy with your current sharpener - go out and get a new one! I find a poor pencil sharpener quite frustrating to use, as it will frequently break your lead and may also leave the exposed wood of your pencil with a rough edge.

Rulers and other geometric drawing tools: Depending on the type of drawing you want to do tools like rulers, protractors compasses and stencils. I rarely use these tools, but when you want to draw in perspective or with precise accuracy these tools will be invaluable.

Paper Stump: A paper stump is a tightly rolled piece of paper that looks like a pencil or pen and is used to blend the shading of your drawing. The paper stump can help soften the values and give a smoother change from light to dark parts of your drawing. If you are planning to do a lot of pencil drawing a paper stump is a good addition to your drawing tools.

Drawing Table: If you are serious about your drawing and have some extra space to spare in a room, you should look at investing in a good drawing table. Click here to find out more about drawing tables.