Drawing Basics
Getting Started
Lines
Shapes
How Perspective Works
Intuitive Perspective
Values
Bonus Content
Here’s our final lesson on materials. I’ll show you all the ways I sharpen all the pencils that I use. Come back again tomorrow, cause I’ll give you guys a walk-through of your first drawing project, Simplifying from Observation.
Newest
Angiev
4mo
Wow, very informative the first lessons I've learned a lot. Now I know what supplies are crap and what I might want to order and I've been drawing and painting for years. I'm so glad I bought this course.
@markimus
5mo
Hello everyone! Does anyone have a long point electric pencil sharpener they recommend? The one Stan linked in the "Get your tools and start playing" video is no longer available, and I am curious what has worked for people =)
Cariad Eccleston
8mo
Not gonna lie: you got me for a *second* with the Wacom stylus! 😅
James Sunderland
1yr
Does this look about right?
Josh Fiddler
10mo
They look lovely. In my experience, you're going to have some harder edges where the graphite more rapidly changes angle from the drawing edge to the edge of the pencil shaft itself. If you look at what Stan has, there is a much softer, longer transition from the drawing tip to the shaft to avoid this.
That said, you may want to have a hard edge like that but that's a question of edge control you may develop later.
EDIT: I added a screen cap from the video from 8:54
Jacob Ibáñez
1yr
I already feel like a pro by sharpening charcoal pencils and getting my fingertips dirty
He Li
1yr
Got my gears set up, ready to take my first project.
Kimberly Lee-Lewis Adams
1yr
Beautiful! Nothing like new gear and freshly sharpened pencils. :)
Crystal Beder
1yr
Excellent subtle art creation, as Proko makes a Batman symbol, on the sandpaper, while sharpening the woodless graphite pencil…
•
1yr
WOW, indeed! This went by totally unnoticed to me. Nice catch, @Crystal Beder!
Charles
1yr
To be honest... learning about the mechanical pencil was so awesome. Got my amazon list ready for drawing. Really loved this video!
Sepia Officinalis
1yr
Wow, when I saw the title I thought : I'm going to skip that so fast... but then it turns out it's full of super good tips. Not to be missed!
@somebodythatexists
2yr
Anyone else got jumpscared by the holy sound-effect? I was wearing headphones and it was kinda loud. Made me jump on my seat.
Andrea Anaya
2yr
You could also use a small container to throw out sharps (like the razor blade). I use a small plastic container that used to contain bouillon cubes. You could tape up the blade, and then put it in a container to be extra safe. Toss the container when it is full.
Andrea Anaya
2yr
Seems obvious, but I did not know I could just tear off the sandpaper off of those small paddles.
@honey666
2yr
I use Razor blades to sharpen my pencils, every month I lose one or two razorblades so I open a new one. Its been like two years and I still can't find them not even one.
Claudia Finelle
2yr
I keep finding my erasers melt the paint off of drawing pencils. It happened with all brands of erasers, the last offenders were prismacolors magic rub erasers . Anyone have good tips on how to clean them efficiently?
Kristelle
2yr
Two questions:
1) how do I empty the staedtler sharpener once it gets full?
2) is the hole on the bottom for storing the extra white bits?
scott ford
2yr
Mine the top unscrews and you can empty it
Laurent Van Acker
2yr
Hey Kristelle,
I think your questions are answered but this is a visual answer:
Brad
2yr
I'm pretty sure the bottom hole just forms a post to attach the metal sharpener to. I went and got my spare felt's thinking your idea with a little tape was genius, but felts are just to large meaning they would be impossible to get back out.
onigi *pronunce [on-ie-gee]*
2yr
Here are my HB, B, 3B 7B and charcoal pencil I sharpened with a knife.
The tips look rough and unstable. Maybe I cut too much parts of the wood?
Sharpening pencils is hard but sometimes I feel it's like meditating.
onigi *pronunce [on-ie-gee]*
2yr
I mean, HB, B, 3B, 7B graphite pencils and one charcoal✏.
Marvel A
2yr
Using my trusty old Panasonic Sharpener to keep my pencils sharp
Theresa
2yr
Will the Staedtler lead pointer work with all brands of 2mm clutch pencils?
Theresa
2yr
Too bad every brand doesn’t produce a lead pointer. I have found just one of my four pens work with the Staedtler lead pointer so I just have to work around by sharpening all the leads in my Prismacolor clutch and then transferring them to the other brands. This explains why the lead kept breaking when I tried sharpening them. I need a soft grip which is why I didn’t buy Staedtler in the first place. The Baile from Japan are light with a soft grip. Nice for long sessions of shading.
Dana
2yr
Not necessarily but it will probably work with most. I have 3 lead holders that size. The lead pointer works with 2 out of the 3 of them. The 2 it works with are the ones that look like the staedtler holder. The one it doesn't work with is a crappy cheap plastic one. It's a bit too big and rounded to fit down in the main hole. If it looks like a technical clutch pencil it'll probably work.
@tgk1729
2yr
Thank you for the video Stan. Can we use a sanding sponge block for sharpening the pencils, instead of sandpaper?
Zak
2yr
I like to use a 1/8" thick sponge sanding sheet from gator. I cut it down to about 1"x2", and can easily go into my pencil bag in a snack sized ziploc. Cut to this size, you can get about 6 of them out of a full sheet. Plus they can be rinsed out in the sink and used indefinitely. I buy the fine grit sheets.
Dan Walden
2yr
I use a sponge. It's nice for creating smooth curves on the profile, but it won't knock down the corner as fast.
Micah Glinter
2yr
love sharpening!
Use Code BLACK20 to Save 20%
Lesson by Michael Hampton
Give a gift
Give a gift card for art students to use on anything in the Proko store.
Or gift this course:
About instructor
Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
