Pencils for drawing, sketching and writing
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Pencils
Tokubetsu Box IROJITEN
Exclusive pencil case with 24 IROJITEN colored pencils, plus 9 sheets of colored drawing paper.
€45.00
Pencils
Exclusive pencil case with 24 IROJITEN colored pencils, plus 9 sheets of colored drawing paper.
€45.00
The classic pencil consists of the wooden body and the pencil lead. The lead is made from a mixture of graphite, clay and impregnating agents such as wax and grease. After the mixture is mixed together and pressed into thin strands, the pencil lead must be hardened in an oven at around 900°C. During this process, the clay solidifies and gives the pencil its shape. This makes the clay solid and gives the pencil lead its hardness. The graphite content determines the blackness of the pencil. A good pencil is characterized by its even graphite abrasion. The wood also plays a decisive role in the quality of the pencil. Cedar wood is used for our MONO 100 series, which can be sharpened easily and evenly. Wood is a natural product. The growth, color, structure and grain of each tree are unique. Therefore, wood-related deviations may occur between individual pencils. These do not represent a lack of quality.
In addition to the wooden pencil, however, there are also a number of mechanical pencils that are not encased in wood but have a refillable metal casing.
The composition of colored pencils is similar, except that instead of graphite they contain various color pigments and additional mineral fillers such as talcum or kaolin.
Contrary to what many may think, our modern-day pencils do not contain lead. In the 17th century, lead ore was mined in Borrowdale, England, and processed into pencils. It was not until over 200 years later that researchers discovered that this was not lead ore, but a new substance, which they subsequently called graphite. As the name "pencil" had become an integral part of everyday language, it was not corrected but continued to be used.
Different degrees of hardness are produced depending on the ratio of clay to graphite. More clay gives the lead greater strength and more graphite results in darker abrasion. The MONO 100 line ranges from 9H (hard/hard) in various grades to HB (hardblack/hard black), F (firm) and 6B (black/black). As there is no fixed definition for the different degrees of hardness, an HB pencil can differ from one manufacturer to another.
A different ratio between clay and graphite results in different degrees of hardness
When pre-drawing for watercolor artwork, it is important not to put too much graphite in the rough fibres of the watercolor paper, otherwise they will be difficult to remove. However, the pencil must not be too hard either, so as not to scratch grooves into the delicate paper.
Hatching for copying templates.
This requires as much graphite as possible, so a soft pencil is an advantage. You can find out exactly how to do this in the tutorial:
A pencil with a high graphite content is well suited for practicing pressure variation. This will protect your brush pen tip during your first attempts.
The mechanical pencil is a further development of the classic wooden pencil. The latter requires a sharpener from time to time to reduce the thickness of the lead. A mechanical pencil, on the other hand, has the advantage of having a consistent lead thickness and therefore a consistent line width. This makes it particularly suitable for precise sketches that you make on the go. The mechanical pencil is also refillable.
There are many different terms for colored wooden pencils - crayons, colored pencils or colored pencils. IROJITEN are high-quality artists' colored pencils. Due to their composition, the special luminosity of the colors is retained. The IROJITEN color spectrum is divided into three different sets, each consisting of three color spectrums.