Drawing techniques, materials and supports
This block asks whether you understand your materials well enough to choose them deliberately and control them under time pressure. The call for the exam states the permitted media and supplies the paper; markers judge whether the technique chosen actually delivers the tonal and linear range the motif requires.
Dry media
- Graphite: graded 9H to 9B. H grades hold a fine edge with little deposit; B grades deposit fast. HB for construction, 2B–6B for darks. Soft graphite skids on rough paper and cannot reach a deep black.
- Charcoal: vine charcoal for layout and easy erasure, compressed charcoal for density, charcoal pencil for detail. A kneaded eraser lifts lights; a tortillon or cloth softens.
- Conté, sanguine and pastel build well on toned paper, where the sheet supplies the middle value; white chalk gives highlights.
Wet media
- Ink and wash: dilute, layer light to dark, reserve paper white. Watercolour is transparent and unforgiving of over-mixing; gouache is opaque and can re-lighten.
- Watch paper weight in g/m²: thin sheets cockle under wet washes.
Supports and finishing
- Surface tooth matters: hot-pressed is smooth and suits fine line; cold-pressed and rough hold charcoal and break pencil line.
- Fixative in thin coats at roughly 30–40 cm, ventilated, once the drawing is finished. Too close, and droplets bloom the surface.
Worked example
Three-hour charcoal still life. Vine charcoal construction; mass the shadow with the side of the stick and wipe to a mid-tone; re-state structure over the tone; push darks with compressed charcoal; keep highlights as untouched paper; lift reflected lights with the kneaded eraser; sharpen edges only at contact points; fix in two light passes. The reasoning is general-to-specific: corrections stay cheap until the drawing is committed.
Traps that cost marks
- Blending until every edge is soft, losing contact and structure.
- Soft graphite on rough paper, producing scumble where line was needed.
- Flooding the sheet with wash and losing the reserve of white.
- Spraying fixative too close and blooming the darks.
- Trying an unfamiliar medium for the first time in the exam room.