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My Mysterious Carbon Farm
Ive had several emails asking about the "Carbon Farm" that I mention in my tutorials. I'm not sure where I first heard the phrase but it must have been one of my first drawing classes. I've had a "farm" on my drawing table for so long that I assumed everyone knew what it was...my apology.
It's really quite simple. Because I use blenders to also apply color to my drawings, I use a small pad of drawing paper (6x8) and build up a solid area of 6B carbon, 9B graphite. If I'm going to be using charcoal I also build up an area of 6B charcoal. I then use my blender to "harvest" or "pick up" color and apply it to my drawing.
You will notice each "plot" or "area" is color coded for ease of use and I always use a separate blender for each medium and label them in the same manner. ("Yellow" for graphite, "Green" for carbon, and "Blue" for charcoal) The color coding is important because each medium has very different characteristics and these characteristics will be reflected in the finished drawing.
If you would like to learn more about the individual characteristics of carbon, charcoal, and graphite, check out my Squidoo Lens... Drawing Techniques: using carbon, charcoal, and graphite.
It's really quite simple. Because I use blenders to also apply color to my drawings, I use a small pad of drawing paper (6x8) and build up a solid area of 6B carbon, 9B graphite. If I'm going to be using charcoal I also build up an area of 6B charcoal. I then use my blender to "harvest" or "pick up" color and apply it to my drawing.
You will notice each "plot" or "area" is color coded for ease of use and I always use a separate blender for each medium and label them in the same manner. ("Yellow" for graphite, "Green" for carbon, and "Blue" for charcoal) The color coding is important because each medium has very different characteristics and these characteristics will be reflected in the finished drawing.
If you would like to learn more about the individual characteristics of carbon, charcoal, and graphite, check out my Squidoo Lens... Drawing Techniques: using carbon, charcoal, and graphite.
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