Playing With Pens & Pencils

Description

Look around your drawing table and you’re likely to see one of those fantastic, inexpensive and most readily available of all writing tools: the pencil! From the standard #2 graphite model to all manner of colored tools, pencils lend themselves beautifully to classic monoline letterforms, but they are also wonderfully adaptable to all sorts of fun and creative letters. After practicing a basic monoline form of our own, we will play and learn to create tens, hundreds, even thousands of our own lettering variations. 

Supplies

 PENCILS

1. Most of our exercises can be done with a regular old #2 graphite pencil. If you want variety, grab one or two different softness levels, or some colored pencils.

2. PENS

1. If there is time, we can adapt some of our exercises to pen.
2. Fine tip markers, such as Pigma Micron, technical pens, PITT markers, etc. I suggest a small variety of colors and sizes (don’t go crazy), but at least something in black.
3. Paint/posca markers, gel pens, ballpoint pens, other interesting pens. Whatever you have on hand and want to experiment or play with.

1. PAPER
1. A pad of “paper for pens” (preferably 14×17) for lettering exercises. My favorite is Borden and Riley #234 Paris Paper for Pens.
2. OR a small pile of copier paper
3. Some miscellaneous scraps of your favorite art paper, such as watercolor papers, printmaking papers; consider one dark sheet (black or other dark color). I find smoother (i.e. hot press) papers work better than rough ones…

Questions? Call 818-804-1681 or email rsaslow@mac.com

Robbie Saslow

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