Unit 4: Portraiture Art Supplies
In addition to a computer with internet connection, printer, digital camera and scanner, you need the following supplies:
Art Materials
- HB, 2B, & 4B Pencils
(same as in Unit 1 – They come in a twin pack)
- Charcoal Pencils
– HB & 2B (for fine details) PLUS a white charcoal pencil
- Box of assorted willow charcoal sticks
including 6mm, 9mm and 14mm
- Stick of Conte White B
– Comes in a twin pack
- Gum Eraser
- Automatic or click eraser
or normal plastic eraser
and craft knife
to cut into a thin slither or chisel shape
- Putty Eraser (or kneaded eraser)
- See through Plastic Ruler
with mm divisions on it
- 1 sheet of clear acetate
or a plastic sleeve (to place over your final portrait photo and draw guide lines onto with a permanent marker
- Fine tip permanent marker
- Hand-Held Pencil Sharpener
- Cotton buds (Q-tips) or paper stumps
- Quality soft paper towel (from the Supermarket)
- Fine sandpaper 320 grit (to prepare your pencils for shading) – Buy from Hardware Store
- Medium to coarse sandpaper 80 grit (to prepare your willow charcoal) – Buy from Hardware Store
- A4 bond paper to print out course notes – Buy from a Stationery Store
- Drawing paper: There are many papers to choose from, however for the smooth shading technique you need a quality smooth, drawing paper or watercolour paper that is not too shiny or your graphite will not adhere to the surface. I suggest a
High Quality Smooth Drawing or Watercolour Paper (Hot Press – 250gsm)– Recommend the 9″ x 12″ pad so it will (nearly) fit on your scanner.
- Special Papers: Canson Mi-Teintes Drawing Papers
– suggest 25 pack of Flannel Gray (colour 122) 8.5″ x 11″.
Alternatively, if you are visiting an art supplies shop you can buy 2 large sheets and cut it into A4 sized sheets. You’ll need at least 8 A4 sized sheets for your practice work and project. - Soft, clean water colour brush
(I recommend the 3/4″ size) or a new and clean make-up brush for gently removing eraser particles
- Can of fixative
to spray your charcoal sketches afterwards
- Several sheets of Glassine (thin glossy paper to place over your charcoal artworks to prevent smudging between drawing sessions and prior to framing)
View details of the Portraiture course unit










