Esotropiart

Monday I was looking through our vast selection of art supplies at C2F. My sister expressed interest in getting some watercolor supplies, and I made a birthday present out of it. I have no idea whatsoever how those items will get to her in Peru. I guess it's the thought that counts, right? By the way, it's been a stupid long time since I visited my sister's web site! I am so used to looking at their blog(s) and Facebook, that I sometimes forget about the web site. Speaking of that, Kapow, now there's a link on my site!

GET ON WITH IT! It's pretty much impossible for me to look at art supplies and not find something for myself - the very reason you typically won't find me wandering the aisles. In this case, I saw something I wanted before even going out to get the stuff for my sister. As if I didn't have enough already, I bought another mechanical pencil.

Huh? Why? Well, I've been feeling very artistically uninspired lately. Anyone who frequents my poorly maintained galleries will readily agree! Crazy idea, I figured buying a new pencil might help. Well, it kinda did. I told myself that if I was to do such a thing I would have to put it to use immediately. Otherwise, it would just get filed away with my others :).

As fate would have it, I had a perfect excuse to employ my severely lacking art skills - ahem, and to buy yet another mechanical pencil. I needed a background for this week's Weekly E Special, and it just so happened that the featured product was a drawing book. Perfect! While surely everyone thought I was wasting time doodling, I was deeply focused on work-related stuff...

It may well be the worst drawing I've ever done, but at least I fulfilled my purpose and now have a pretty spiffy mechanical pencil. The theory goes that the more you pay for something, the better it is, right? Well, that's my theory anyway. At least the pencil has a cool little hardness slider, so you can indicate if the contained lead is 2B or not 2B... sorry couldn't help myself!

Here's my new pencil in all its extraterrestrial joy:

For the record, I almost always use a 0.5mm thickness lead when I draw. 0.7mm, the more standard size for mechanical pencils, is way too thick for me. I'd go thinner, but then the lead would probably constantly break - breaks enough as it is! The pen on the top has nothing to do with the pencil other than to show the other tool I used to complete the drawing shown below. It has some small pen marks to accent the dark areas. For the record, I do this kind of photography at work all the time (and clipping paths, sizing, etc). It used to be part of my full-time position - product photography for about 16,000 items we stock. My responsibilities are constantly shifting around. We now have two guys in the marketing department that do most of the product photography. I still do stuff on special occasions - still enjoy it for the most part, though it can get tedious.

What attracted me to this particular mechanical pencil was the steel grip. Though it is entirely unnecessary and possibly uncomfortable after long use (ironic), I couldn't resist. Oh, me other mechanical pencils were very jealous of the exposure and requested to be featured as well. Rightfully so, these are the guys that drew pretty much everything you see on esotropiart.com - be that ever so NOT impressive!

Oops. Found a couple more. It's amazing what turns up when you are looking for something completely different. I'm not sure I've ever used these two, but they are well worth including in my review.

Relevant Supply List
more-or-less in the same order as the photos

1. Wacom Graphire 4 stylus - used for everything I do on the computer nowadays
2. Pentel Forte Pro II A75 0.7mm mechanical pencil
3. Pentel .e-sharp 0.5mm mechanical pencil
4. Pentel Tranxition 0.7mm mechanical pencil
5. Pentel Tranxition 0.5mm mechanical pencil
6. Pentel Forte Pro II A75 0.5mm mechanical pencil
7. Papermate Pro Touch II 0.5mm mechanical pencil
8. Pentel PD155 Cool Lines 0.5mm mechanical pencil
9. Pentel PG503 Graph 500 0.3mm mechanical pencil
10. Koh-i-noor Aquarell Soft Woodless Graphite Pencil - less commonly used. I actually have the product pictured here on Amazon too and use it quite a bit - the closest thing they had

To be honest, I'm being very unfair here. I also use a host of art markers and fine liners to touch up my pencil drawings. Not one of those tools is shown here, but seriously - that would take a whole post in of itself! I totally don't want to do this, but it's kind of a useless post unless I do: comparison and review...

Mechanical Pencil Comparison & Review
ranked in the order that I like them!

1. Wacom Graphire 4 stylus: Wasn't it obvious from the beginning? It's a somewhat sad reality that a properly used graphics tablet stylus is by far the most versatile tool in the artist's arsenal. Any sort of natural medium can be accurately simulated on the computer due to the pen's pressure sensitivity and ability to sense tilt, multiple buttons, and so on. Sometimes I get sick of the fact that this tool is so vastly superior, and I go clench my pencil and paper in defiance. For quick sketches, there's still nothing better than the tactile feel of pencil on paper, I have to admit. It's called instant gratification. Seriously though, can anything beat the undo ability? Make a seriously pathetic mistake, just press CTRL+Z and start over!
2. Papermate Pro Touch II 0.5mm: The perfect thickness for gripping. Lightweight and top-heavy so that the weight is toward the drawing surface. Cool spinning lead hardness indicator. Unusually awesome twist-to-reveal built-in eraser. Not cool enough for me to use, cuz I don't use built-in erasers. Deep plunging lead cavity that is not likely to fall apart. Classy, though completely unnecessary multi-tiered point - could be tapered like most others.
3. Pentel PG503 Graph 500 0.3mm: It is truly a toss up between this pencil and the Papermate Pro Touch II above. They are very similar in several aspects. Lighter weight fully rotatable metal grip with lead weight indicator. Multi-tiered point. Extremely retro 6-sided body tube, reminiscent of a classic yellow #2 pencil! Primary benefit being a 0.3mm lead, my only pencil at this size. I'll probably have to special order refills (totally worth it). Offers slightly less comfort and tactile feel than the Papermate.
4. Pentel Forte Pro II A75 0.5mm: Practically perfect in every way. Great thickness with extra comfort rubber grip. Metal pocket clip covers the ugly transition between the body and the "clicker/eraser". Standard stock built-in eraser. Plastic cap is way too loose and fell off immediately, eternally lost. I started liking the look of it without the fathead cap though. Brand lettering is almost entirely worn off, a testament to my approval and use.
5. Pentel Forte Pro II A75 0.7mm: The same as the 0.5mm version above. I wouldn't mind "accidentally" losing the eraser cap for this one too. I think it looks better without it.
6. Pentel Tranxition 0.7mm: A little fatter around the grip than I like, though not unusably so. The unique feature of these pens is the retractable lead loading mechanism that hides inside the plastic body. The release button is located in the pocket clip. This mechanism was admittedly enough to get me to buy the pencil, but it serves no practical purpose, forcing a second click to get the lead in position for use. Simple built-in eraser with plastic cap that surprisingly doesn't launch off (not yet) when the mechanism is quickly retracted. Too much plastic in my opinion - doesn't have a feeling of holding something substantial. Potentially takes away from the feeling of weight and resistance when drawing.
7. Pentel Tranxition 0.5mm: The same as the 0.7mm version above.
8. Koh-i-noor Aquarell Soft Woodless Graphite Pencil: I've always liked these drawing implements. They are very versatile. Simply put, they are one huge, uninterrupted cylinder of graphite - unlike standard pencils that are surrounded by wood. The outside has a thick laminated coating, so there's no messy black fingers. The added weight of the composition makes for a brilliant substantial feel. Perhaps a drawback is having to sharpen them. This is generally a plus, as it allows for great variance of shade, from sharp to broad strokes. If I must use some sort of "natural media" pencils, I choose these over standard graphite pencils any day (if I remember I have them). Though highly unlikely, it is possible to snap them in two. There can be inconsistencies in the lead that cause for unexpected light and dark lines (rare).
9. Pentel PD155 Cool Lines: Well said. It has "cool lines" screen-printed on the side. Skippy swirly shapes. Otherwise, the pencil is cheap plastic, including the pocket clip. The grip is easily its primary plus, as it feels fairly good in between the fingers. It has a hideous side-clicking lead mechanism. I never liked the side-clicking variety. In fact, I can't stand them. It may seem more natural to click from the position, but since it's only on one side of the pencil, it has to be rotated until found. Besides, I'm used to the classic top click and can't be untrained to like this type.
10. Pentel .e-sharp 0.5mm: Kinda ugly translucent plastic body. Composed entirely of brittle plastic, including the pocket clip. It's too long in general, with an odd grip. Not at all an attractive pencil, yet perfectly as functional as the others. A cheap alternative.

It Definitely Spelled Less Time With Wiggy Marole

Q & A

• Question: Why does this drawing look so entirely stupid?
• Answer: The Papermate Pro Touch II came stocked with HB lead. This type of lead produces lines that are not very dark, and tends to dig more into the paper. I prefer something softer and darker, like 2B or so.
• Answer: I'm not that good of an artist, and I spent very little time on this.