By Nicole Tinkham
Whether you draw or are a makeup artist, you know that blending is essential. For drawing, you have many blending tool options from tortillons to stumps and many others. The right tools can make a huge difference in your artwork and when it comes to blending, you definitely have to think about your supplies of choice. Every artist is different and prefers a different tool. In this blog we’ll talk about the difference between a blending stump and tortillons and more tools to help you blend like a pro.
Blending Stumps
What they are: A solid “stick” made out of soft paper with a point at each end. These can be sharpened with sandpaper and also cleaned with a kneaded eraser which is super convenient! Since these are available in a variety of sizes, they’re great for many different projects.
Tortillons
What they are: Tightly rolled paper with a point on one end ideal for blending small areas. We recommend using it at an angle to keep that nice pointed tip in tact.
Tip: Have many of these in use at once. Once dark graphite gets on these, you won’t want to use it in a lighter area. Tortillons are inexpensive enough that you can be using several for different shades in your piece at once.
The difference
Tortillons can be a little more difficult to use since that aren’t made with the same soft paper that of blending stumps. This makes it difficult to keep a consistent tone. However, tortillons are perfect for precision! Our suggestion: Have both!
What you can achieve with BOTH options
1. Blending: Push graphite around the page to blend tones together.
2. Shading: Pick up graphite with your tool of choice (use scrap paper to scribble on and then rub your blending tool over the graphite to pick it up). Now you can apply that graphite to your drawing and layer it on depending on how dark you need it to be.
3. Light values: A clean blending tool is key for blending light values!
4. Dark values: When working on a dark area, it’s typical for tiny specs of the white paper to shine through. Using a blending tool can cover up those areas.
Other tools
Chamois: Not for detailed work but this cloth is perfect for a soft blend when using charcoal and pastels.
Makeup brush: We’ve heard from one of our artist friends that makeup brushes are excellent for blending!
Q-tip: Use for larger areas, not precise spots.
Paper towel: Fold in a triangle so you get some nice points on the ends.
Facial tissue: Wrap it around your finger to prevent the oils from your finger to get smudges on your artwork.
Cotton swab
Don’t use..
Your fingers! The oils from your finger can make the graphite impossible to erase.
If you aren’t already blending, you need to be! It can definitely transform your artwork if you do it right. Play around with it first though as it takes some practice. There’s no right or wrong answer here either. Try a few different blending tools out and see which one you like best. Every artist is different so we can’t really recommend blending stumps over tortillons or anything else.
Let us know, what’s your favorite tool to blend with and why? Please leave a comment below!
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