Today, we talk about art material to add in your drawing tools as an artist or designer.
After sketching The Grand Budapest Hotel in the plane with a Twin Marker,
I wanted to practice an other great tool: The mechanical pencil with color lead.
With that, you will draw better croquis!

Mechanical Pencil 0.7mm
Mechanical Pencil 0.7mm

red-pencil-fragile-theDesignSketchbookGreater croquis with a color lead

Color leads naturally give some warm effect to your croquis.
As you know, I love drawing with ballpoint pen. However, I warmly recommend you to sketch with color leads as well.

They do great for research of new ideas or forms.

Overall, drawing with color leads gives an authentic look to your creations.
They allow you to show more sensitivity thanks to the wide pen pressure possibilities.

NOTE: Designers love using color leads as an underlay.
They are great for, drafts, croquis (in other words, “inaccurate sketches”).
You can then use a bolder pen (ballpoint pen, felt pen, marker…) to draw a more precised version on top.

Colour leads 0.7mm for mechanical pencils

Colour leads gives your drawing a lively feel. You draw with more energy!
Plenty of colours are available.
My favourite colours are the classics: Blue or Red.

the-chef-theDesignSketchbook1.jpg
Chou-Tac CHUNG | Red girl croquis with mechanical pencil

 7 TIPS TO DRAW BETTER CROQUIS WITH COLOR LEADS

  • Colour leads break easily compared to regular graphite leads. It can become frustrating.
    I recommend avoid 0.5mm and buy thicker leads from 0.7mm.
  • Preferably choose mechanical pencils that include a metallic tube to support the lead. (See picture above)
  • Buy 1 mechanical pencil for each color you plan to use often. Match the mechanical pencil color to the color lead.
  • Draw without fear of making mistakes. Do not look for perfection.
  • Start your drawing light, and bold along the way when you feel more confident.
  • Draw neat shadow using hatching.
    You don’t have to color covering the whole surface of your croquis – like you would do with regular color pencils.
  • Avoid using the rubber too much. If you start drawing light, you will still be able to iterate a lot.
See also  How to Utilize the Y-Axis in Product Design Sketching

Remember, your goal is to sketch fast and drop your ideas fast on paper.

Extra color leads:

IMG_20140927_004524

Today I passed by an art shop, I picked up the light pink and light blue colours.
I bought 1 extra mechanical pencils for each color.

That’s all for the sketching TIP of the day.
See yah!


Meanwhile, feel free to learn the benefits of creative thinking here.
It was during my flight to Singapore when I had 13 hours available, and I decided to sketch. :)

Sketching the Grand Budapest Hotel movie
Sketching the Grand Budapest Hotel movie in the plane.

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Hello! I'm Chou-Tac, a Product Designer from France.

If the sketching methods I’ve acquired aid me in my life and in my industrial design career, I believe that they can also help you reach your dream goal as a student or professional designer.

Leave a comment in the blog or send me an email at choutac@thedesignsketchbook.com : )

Chou-Tac

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  • Mark Thompson: “I m 59 South African I love drawing but have bad habits. I want to start from scratch as though…Jul 9, 17:04
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