04-10-2025, 01:49 PM
The Pearl and Natural/Matte is supposedly for sketching, the 602 for note taking, holds a point better, so for me better if you want very sharp linework. Just marketing, you can use a lump of burnt wood to draw with. They are just high quality pencils in general.
Paper is a wide ranging topic to get into. Totally depends on what you prefer. Ofc if you want your work to not degrade the minimal label you want is acid free. Most artist focused papers will be anyway. For me, basically the smoother the paper the more sharp and smooth detail you can achieve: bristol paper /board for example. Totally depends on preference. Moleskines for example take graphite beautifully and they are more on the smooth side. I use Fabriano paper of various types that are good, Stonehenge and Canson also. I've also drawn on paper from rolls I stretched myself, and gessoed wood or Acm panels with nice results and easier to frame than loose sheets. Totally up to you to try and figure out what you like according to budget over time. Find artists you like and see what they use to get their results can be a way to narrow down.
Eventually the question of how to take good quality digital scans/photos of your work will rear, and then you can revisit what I've said and do some research then. In general, I think a good quality camera is better than a run of the mill document scanner still, these days.The main issue you will find is dealing with the glare from graphite, which is what using a polarised light and a polarised camera lens filter removes.
Paper is a wide ranging topic to get into. Totally depends on what you prefer. Ofc if you want your work to not degrade the minimal label you want is acid free. Most artist focused papers will be anyway. For me, basically the smoother the paper the more sharp and smooth detail you can achieve: bristol paper /board for example. Totally depends on preference. Moleskines for example take graphite beautifully and they are more on the smooth side. I use Fabriano paper of various types that are good, Stonehenge and Canson also. I've also drawn on paper from rolls I stretched myself, and gessoed wood or Acm panels with nice results and easier to frame than loose sheets. Totally up to you to try and figure out what you like according to budget over time. Find artists you like and see what they use to get their results can be a way to narrow down.
Eventually the question of how to take good quality digital scans/photos of your work will rear, and then you can revisit what I've said and do some research then. In general, I think a good quality camera is better than a run of the mill document scanner still, these days.The main issue you will find is dealing with the glare from graphite, which is what using a polarised light and a polarised camera lens filter removes.