dang, this new software seems like it has infinite possibilities! i was planning on writing about the stylus shortly after my earlier post but i kept finding different qualities and new nibs! it’s a tough one to nail! they call this stylus a “pencil” and you use it right on your desktop with the program’s “paper“!
but seriously, this stylus is amazing, you can even get a variety of different shapes, textures, smoothnesses, waxynesses, there’s so many qualities to consider! it’s like eating fine cheeses. so after eating some of these i did these weird stream of consciousness tests with some of the different varieties!
i hit a bunch of supply stores and collected various stylus nibs, but i wanted to make sure they were comparable based on some factor so i used only ones marked with the 6B and 4B distinctions. because this is already going to be retardedly in depth, i’m focusing on the 6B nibs.
so here’s some background you don’t need:
i used to always use prismacolor col-erase [usually blue] to animate. i thought they were the “animator pencils” and sure they’re great, but a friend slipped me these bob camp animation notes that had all these crazy bold lines on them and told me mr. camp will crush anything weaker than a 6B with his eyeball and that it makes a huge difference for quick sketching to use the softer grades. the colors are great for certain circumstances like signifying when there’s a partial hold, tracebacks or cleanups, something like that. but when you’re looking through a bunch of layers they don’t always hold up.
to compound that discovery i stumbled upon this interesting creature here.
so this blackwing was THE animator utensil of choice?! it was basically a 6B?! it used to be made in my neighborhood…and now it’s extinct?! MEGA BOGUS!!
They go for 30 bucks on ebay for a single one now!
that got me thinking, not every 6B is the same then IS IT?! NOPE! there are big differences! lead grades [6B vs 6B] tend to be similar but they vary company to company [so there's no solid standard for softness], and beyond that the lead itself can be smooth and waxy in one pencil and charcoally and brittle in another.
Now that i knew there was once the ultimate pencil and it had been defeated by capitalism and staples i needed to find a reasonable facsimile, so I endeavored myself in rigorous PENCIL TESTING! PUN!
here’s my incoherent musings:
i tested how they worked with different pressure, in a quick squiggle and how much they smudged. overall how they felt and “drew” too. there’s a lot of pencils here, so i’ll summarize a bit.
STAEDLER MARS LUMOGRAPH: before testing i was using mostly the stœdler mars lumograph, which actually racked up pretty high in the end! really smooth and easy to work with quick, puts down a solid line too. sometimes it feels a bit too waxy though and dulls fairly quickly. an all around good pencil, plus the proceeds for all those pencils go to some school in germany or something. you can find these everywhere. the graphite itself is a bit chubby which can be good or bad depending on what you’re doing.
GENERAL PENCIL CO. KIMBERLY: right after the tests my favorite was general’s kimberly pencil. but after numerous field tests at figure drawing and general drawing stuff this sucker doesn’t like pencil sharpeners. the lead quality is really nice though and they’re made from a sustainable cedar wood crop which is a rad aspect for them to boast. the 4B seems to sharpen a bit better than the 6.
TOMBOW MONO: the next i was skeptical of at first but i was swayed and then they were endorsed by this awesome dude simon ampel which only furthered their case. the tombow mono is a pretty slick pencil! it gets dark and draws pretty smoothly without being too waxy a real solid pick! i used the tombow mono homo-graph pencils from dick blick but apparently the mono 100 are badass and these use the exact same lead.
CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC PALOMINO: another being hailed as the potential replacement for the titan that was the blackwing is the smoothest ride in town; california republic’s palomino. i use this pencil a lot now, it’s become my general sketching pencil [though i do hop around a lot] and i’m animating with it too. it keeps it’s point and can get really dark despite claiming to be a 2B! this is definitely a pencil to check out! also comes recommended as far as modern pencils go, by this rad dude: robert ryan cory [in the comments of my paper post]
all of these are winners really it’s up to you to wrangle in what works the best for your purposes. for fast gesture and crazy doodling i use the mars a lot, sometimes the general’s [just not for figure] but the tombo and palomino are pretty well rounded and not too smudgy; good for just about anything!
another contender was the Lyra art and design pencil, but it’s dang expensive and not as good as the others so i opted against making it a finalist.
the turquoises aren’t so bad either but they have a hint of that charcoal feel that i don’t like, a bit of resistance irritates me when i’m doodling with a soft lead.
the general’s layout pencil actually boasts being used by animators on it’s website! but it’s a bit charcoally for me, definitely good at dark lines though and heck, good for layout if you’re more sure with your line than i.
that’s all i got, i have no idea if it makes sense but i’m clicking “post” before i think about it.
here’s some drawings that i did [there's a disembodied head in the upper left by mike carlo too] when i was testing these out that were more about how it felt when i was scribbling than what i was actually drawing so they won’t really help anything here at all!:
this post is a mess and i’ve had a lot of coffee.
– holy canolies! cartoon brew saw some sense in this and linked, totally rad, thanks guys! there’s a bit more discussion there too: http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tools/pencil-testing.html
whoa that blink tag worked?! i know what i’m using more of…
You are an insane man, but I’m glad someone’s out there doing the dirty work. No Mirado Black Warriors?
actually i did pick up one of those! but it was more of a true 2HB than the palomino was so i left it out, going more for softer leads. but i had to pick it up because the name was sweet!
Oh yeah, you’re right. I used to swear by those for clean up ever since I saw Alex Woo using them at NYU.
But those Blackwings look super rad. Too bad they don’t make them anymore.
oh nice! yeah dude, a lot of people i’ve talked to use heavier/softer leads, do yourself a favor and google the blackwing too seems like it was a big hit across the board back in the day! they stopped making them in 98 so sometimes they pop up still. the factory was right here in greenpoint way back when too.
the last annoying process post i did about paper this guy from spongebob robert ryan corey weighed in, his stuff’s awesome! http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertryancory/3661251193/ he was into the palomino too.
i probably don’t draw as much as i should which is the great equalizer anyway but finding sweet materials is pretty fun too.
Smo, you’re a nerd in such a different way from me.
I don’t get it. Where are the stylus nibs?
each stylus has it’s own unique nib, some even come with different textured grades ranging in softness from about 6H-8B or so!
[...] Smolenski was looking for a good 6B pencil to animate with (in 2010 no less—what a masochist!) so he tested a bunch of pencils to find the best one (I’ve always been partial to Tombows myself). Much of it comes down to [...]
Faber-Castell Polychromos, Black. Smooth as silk, the line responds nicely to different pressures but is still very dark without having to press too hard. Best part is they don’t really erase, which forces you throw your bad drawings away and start over, rather than erasing and reworking a drawing to death.
wow! thanks for weighing in mike, i love your work!
i’ll definitely check them out. i was just sort of grabbing whatever i could find at the art stores and was a bit indifferent to faber-castell since i’d just learned of the blackwing’s demise at the time, but i started this investigation months ago and am ready to let bygones be bygones and give them another chance! ha!
Woohoo! The Palomino has been my choice for a couple of years now since I hear of it on some blog, which I forget at the moment. It really is a top-notch pencil. Love ‘em!
Generals are a mixed bag because the wood can vary from batch to batch – that’s what happens when you use natural wood. And the leads are off center sometimes, too…
I use n electric sharpener and it just devoured one of em.
Where the heck have I been. It took me 12 days to notice your review posted to our Palomino Riders fan page on Facebook. Thanks for the praise, look out for some new Palomino items comming out later in 2010 and “keep on sketchin”. Ride the Palomino!!!
Oh yeah. Our Palomino leads do run a bit softer than others at the same graphite grade name. If your worried about wear rate on the 2B you can step back to the B or HB.
not worried in the least! the palomino 2B is perfect for what i do! plus it totally held its own when comparing it to other brands’ 4 and 6 b’s and with less smudge, definitely my favorite pencil! thanks so much!!!!
In his response Miked references Faber-Castell’s black Polychromos pencil. Polychromos are colored pencils, so the black Polychromos may contain black pigment. Not sure, but it may not be a normal graphite pencil like the ones you test here.
Woodchuck of California Republic and Palomino fame holds the rights to the Blackwing name. It is rumored and wildly hoped that he intends to make a modern Blackwing.
innnnteresting! well he’s definitely off to a great start, with the palominos! i’m hooked as is, and pretty excited to see what they come out with this year! having never used an old blackwing i don’t have that frame of reference but i might break down and get one just to do a pencil shootout with the palomino.
What about ebony pencils, have you found any of those that worked better for you?
Very thorough and informative comparative test of so many graphite pencils brands. Curious if you have had the chance of trying a Mitsubishi Hi-Uni yet which would be at the same level or above a Tombow Mono 100.
i don’t even know you, but your 6B comparison totally sets my heart a flutter. you made my day x
well shucks!
The growing popularity of the Palomino has artists and writers excited for the future of California Cedar Products…we also may have a surprise before the end of the year
. Visit our new site that will be launched in a couple of days at pencils.com and get all of your art and/or school supplies. You can get updates about the company through Facebook (The Pencil Page) and Twitter (pencilscom). Please e-mail me if you have any questions at jcentanni@pencils.com…..GO PENCILS!
It really is a bummer that the Blackwing is extinct for the time being, isn’t it?
THE BLACKWING IS BACK!!!
i’ve been meaning to do a writeup but i’ve been busy:
http://www.pencils.com/palomino-blackwing-12-pk
I’ve been drawing with the Palimino Blackwing, and I’ve become very fond of it. It’s darker than the 602 (I still have one I bought years ago which I use mostly for comparisons to current pencils) and the eraser I think is much better than the 602′s, so I can carry one pencil and a Palomino/KUM two-stage sharpener and using Rhodia sketchbooks (which have superb paper by Clairefontaine) I can erase to my heart’s content until I finally get the drawing I’m after, or closer to it than I could without erasing. I envy the artists who, like Shakespeare when he wrote, never have to redo a line. I’m also a fan of the Palomino 2B, B, and HB pencils, all of which have their endearing qualities.