A question from a newbie!

In a lot of Brenda's lessons, she says "With a freshly sharpened pencil", yet the lines in the examples seem to be from pencils not sharp. Can the pencil be too sharp? Are there times when you don't sharpen to a fine point? A "freshly sharpened" pencil obviously gives a very fine line, yet when hatching they dont seem to be that fine.

Thanks

Jon

Its a bit like buying a car Jon. The moment you take it off the lot, it deteriorates.

A sharp pencil doesn't stay sharp for more than a few strokes and the thin line that the sharpened end produces broadens as you use it. Mechanical pencils do tend to not have this problem however as if you keep one edge chisel shaped you always have a sharp point on the other side of the lead and never need to sharpen. To be honest, I perhaps use a wooden pencil a couple of times a year and then usually to get the dark dark value of a 6B for eye pupils or similar. The rest of the time I use a mechanical pencil. It doesn't need sharpening and the weight of the pencil doesn't change each time you sharpen it.

I've tried to teach art my self, so I will give you my opinion. I would say do as the instructor tells you.

Sometimes the instructor may not feel the need to do what they are telling the student to do. I'm not sure this is true in this situation. But I can see why Brenda may not follow her own advice in the demonstration.

I like the mechanical pencil when I want fine consistent lines. If I want a soft line I will use an unsharpened, regular pencil. Some times I even slant it so it is wider still.

These are all such inportant things to know i always feel so dumb when I read some of these threads .. I have been drawing for years ... and I am self taught but I have no knowledge like you guys .. I wish I did .. maybe i would draw even better .

Kim,
you are drawing by feeling (I hope you understand what I mean) and you achieve wonderful things with your method! Sometimes feeling is better than knowing I think.

Jon,
I am just a beginner but I want to tell what I think and do.
I use an electric sharpener. It works best for me and makes the pencil very sharp but does not "oversharp" it because it has an automatic stop. So it's economical.
I hate non-sharp pencils but sometimes I think it is better to have a rounded pencils for shading very softly.
But maybe that is because I am a beginner and not so experienced.