I went to get a fresh supply of tortillons this evening and the lady in the shop showed me the rubber stumps. I got one to try it out but I find the blending effect they give is far different to the more gently paper tortillon.

Do any of you use them and what do you think about them?

Well, this is something new to me Rose. I've only ever used paper tortillons and haven't even seen a rubber one. Are they something new or just new to me?

Are they for using with a specific medium?

You're asking me?!! To me everything is new! The lady said she used them all the time though she did not indicate how long that times has been. As far as I know they are for graphite... at least I assumed that since she showed them to me when I asked for tortillons for graphite. They do have the advantage of not becoming dirty... or rather, they can be cleaned. But I'm not particularly thrilled by their performance... rather then blend they seem to move the graphite around and make it look patchy. Having said that I can't even say that I am using the one I got correctly. I have so far only briefly experimented with it.

I could not find a pic of them on the net so I took some myself.... and BTW they come in all shapes and sizes though the lady recommended this one for general use.


[attachmentid=1276][attachmentid=1277][attachmentid=1278]

they have been around for many years

Yes, as ukartist said, they have been around for a long time. I have some that I use for oil painting (they are used to move paint around).

I don't work with pastels but its my understanding that they are used alot with pastels.

So, its my guess they can be used for a lot of different mediums. I've never used them for graphite though. You can use small stencil brushes for graphite or pastels also. I suppose you could use anything if you really thought about it. hahahha

if I remember when I used one in art class at school .. it smeared .. or I was doing it wrong .

To make your own Torchon,

Take a cocktail stick and a small piece of damp paper towel. Roll the towel around the stick without letting it protrude too far beyond the stick. The paper will shrink as it dries to form a tight covering, without the need for further adhesive.

This is a tip from the Pastel Artists Bible, it will save you buying them.

You are right about the stumps too, they are used a lot in pastel work for blending and erasing, not sure they are much good for graphite though.

RJS

Well, you learn something new every day! Thank you. I have only come across the paper tortillons and rarely use them, but in pastel work they can be good. I'll keep an eye out for the rubber one and give it a trial run.

Living on a rock in the Atlantic limits the availability of interesting new things sometimes...

aaaaaaaaaaaaw those! those you usualy use with masquing fluid too!!.. arent I annoying ith that topic? this isa great too... but I am too rough to use this...