I can't have invented this technique, but I haven't seen it mentioned here anywhere.

I was playing with a home made tortillion recently when the idea came upon me to use it
to apply graphite to my drawing. I grabbed scrap of paper and using my generic #2 wooden pencil
I laid down a dark patch of graphite. Then I used the tortillion to pick up graphite from this
palette and smudge it around on my drawing.

Comments?

Darus,

I have never heard of a technical name for this...I use my tortillion to "paint' with graphite quite frequently. This is how a friend of mine describes applying the graphite with a tortillion...so this is how I describe it!

Laura

Darus, its simply another form of shading. People use tortillons, fingers, tissues, brushes, chamois cloth, anything goes as long as it gets pigment onto paper and has the desired effect for you!

You can use a soft graphite pencil to create a blob on a piece of paper and use the graphite from that to apply to your paper or you can buy powdered graphite to achieve the same effect. You can also do the same with powdered charcoal. You can also make your own powdered graphite or charcoal by gently scraping either over fine sandpaper til you have enough to work with. Just don't sneeze!

What does "tortillion" mean ? (blame my English)... Darus, draw me a tortillion, please !
In my native language, "tort" means the birthday cake, so if you can smudge some graphite with a "tortillion", you'll get many more colours and also a great taste ! Now, that's a new technique !

Comments ?

FAtcat

Fatcat, a tortillon is a tightly rolled stick of paper, rather like a pencil that can be used to smudge graphite or charcoal. They are inexpensive and can be be found in most art supply stores. You can also make your own.

i love tortillon's

Tortillion....not to be confused with torts...or...Tortillas....hehehehehehe

Sorry, couldn't help myself!
Laura

Tortillion give me head aches!
Tortillas give me heart burns!!

Ok.



My home made tortillion only has one usable end.
The pictures I've seen of the commercially made ones appeared that you can use both ends.

I can't imagine paying money for a rolled up piece of paper.

I just grabbed a page from my page-a-day calendar on my desk and rolled and twisted it into a tight cone
and applied some tape to hold it together. Then I snipped the tip off with a sharp scissors so that it was the
size I wanted.

the place that i buy em are only like 50 cents each, also i would think they would be easier to sharpen compared to a homemade one but i wouldnt know

Thanks Darus, is clear to me now . Me too I cannot imagine such "device" to be sold in shops, regardless how cheap.

I can see not wanting to pay money for items that have little use, but if you use a tortillon and it works for you, I think its like any other hobby or profession - you pay for the tools to help you achieve what you want.

The manufactured tortillons are very tightly rolled and last me a very long time so I think they are worth the price, which isn't a lot. Yes I can make homemade ones but they don't have the versatility or last like commercial brands.

Its rather like the difference between student grade and professional grade materials. One is great for practcing with, the other best for when you have some experience under your belt and know how the tool performs.