Use your paper towel to smooth the graphite over the paper. If you are
using powdered graphite, smooth it in very lightly. Make sure that you
obtain an even tone over the whole surface. It is important that you cover
the whole page. Do not leave any of the white surface visible.
Tone Your Paper.
Make sure you have an even, flat surface on which to lay your paper. In
this preparation, do not use a smooth piece of paper. It is better to use a
paper with some texture, or some tooth.
You need the following materials: a razor knife, a 4B or higher-B-number
pencil or a graphite stick, and a paper towel. As in the example, you will
sharpen your pencil or graphite stick over your paper. Remove the shav-
ings of wood, but leave the shavings of graphite on the paper. Doing so
serves two purposes: You obtain graphite to make the tone on the paper,
and you sharpen your pencil to a nice, long point. Alternatively, you can
buy graphite powder in a jar (shown in the photo above) and simply
shake some onto the paper. The powder is more expensive than a
graphite stick or pencil and can make a very dark tone, so use it sparingly.
Apply the Tone
Toning your paper is one of the many
available methods of drawing. In this
section, you will learn how to prepare
the surface of your paper to begin the
drawing methods that will be intro-
duced in Chapter 5. Descriptions of all
of the materials mentioned in this sec-
tion can be found in Chapter 2.