BASIC DRAWING / OFFICE EQUIPMENT

When drawing, sketching or attempting basic 
graphics work the equipment shown below is 
very useful and sometimes essential:


Drawing Pencils are a basic requirement of
 any graphics course. You need a number 
ranging from 2B to 2H. These letters refer 
to the hardness of the pencil lead. When 
sketching a soft lead such as 2B is can be
 used to produce quick drawings and 
shading. On the other hand , when drawing 
precisely a 2H or even a harder pencil such 
as a 4H is ideal. This type of pencil keeps its
 sharp edge for longer and produces very fine 
lines.

A refillable pencil is very useful especially  if you are constructing a drawing that  needs a constant thickness of line. The  refills are available in a range of thicknesses  and either hard or soft leads.Disadvantages  are that the refillable pencils are relatively  expensive and so are the refills. Also, the leads  tend to break more easily. Ink fountain pens can be used for producing  ‘fancy’ styles of writing. Often the pens can  be bought with a variety of ‘nibs’ as a set.  These can be used to draw / write in  a vast range of styles. This type of writing  is called ‘Calligraphy’. Ink pens are rarely  used now as word processing software can  be used to produce accurate styles of writing  in a range of fonts. A protractor is used to measure angles.  A typical protractor is a semi-circular piece  of plastic with 180 degrees printed around  its curve. This piece of equipment is not only  used in graphics for constructing accurate  drawings but is also used in subjects like  Mathematics. A compass is an absolute essential piece of  equipment. It is well worth buying a good  set which includes at least two compasses  allowing the drawing of small and large circles.  The drawing opposite is a ‘bow’ compass,  this is used for drawing small circles very  accurately. Cheap compasses tend to slip  on the paper and break quite easily. A good,  quality compass set will last a life time. A fine pen (colour - normally black) is used to  draw permanent, accurate lines. Fine pens are  available with various thicknesses of 'tips'.  They are especially useful for printing and  placing notes alongside designs and sketches.  They are also used for producing the final  outline of a design. Fine pens are relatively  cheap and come in a range of colours. T-Squares are use to draw horizontal lines.  They are especially useful when constructing  accurate orthographic drawings or architectural  drawings. A T-Square is normally used with  a drawing board, set squares and clips. It must  be pushed firmly against the edge of the drawing  board when it is being used. Set Squares are used to draw accurate angles.  The most common are 45 and 60/30 degrees.  When using set squares they should always  used along with a T-Square. The Set-square rest  on the straight edge of the T-Square and this  ensures when the angle is drawn that it is  accurate. Board clips are used to hold the drawing paper  in position. They simply clip on to the board  holding the paper firmly against the drawing  board. A ruler is possibly one of the most important  pieces of drawing equipment. Rulers should  only to used to measure distances with lines  being drawn with T-Squares and Set Squares.  However, most people use rulers to draw  straight lines. But it must be remembered  that the edge of a ruler is not guaranteed to  have a perfectly straight edge unlike  a good T-Square or Set Square. Circle templates are very useful. They are  plastic with a number of accurate circles  cut out. They are used to draw circles of set  diameters/sizes and are particularly  useful if the circle is small. Small circles  are difficult to draw using a traditional  compass because the compass can easily  slip on the paper. With a template,the circle  diameter is selected and a sharp pencil is used  to draw round the cutout circle.Ellipse templates  are similar to circle templates and these are  useful for drawing ellipse / oval shapes accurately. A craft knife is used to cut out card shapes  It is important that a steel ruler is used as  the sharp blade of the craft knife is less likely  to slip. a cutting mat should be placed below  the card being cut. Also, if a plastic ruler is  used the knife can easily cut into its straight  edge, damaging it. Great care must be taken  when using a craft knife as they are very sharp,  if they slip they can cut hands and fingers very  badly. A scissors is used for general cutting and  shaping of paper and card. Generally,  scissors very safe, unlike craft knives that  can slip causing ‘nasty’ accidents. However,  they must still be used with care. Pencil sharpeners are essential for sharpening  pencils. Accurate drawings cannot be produced  unless they are sharp. However, when shading  a blunt pencil is sometimes useful. A craft knife can also be used to sharpen pencils.  Normal pencil sharpeners tend to shorten the  lead as the sharpener is turned. This means  that the pencil needs sharpening often. On the  other hand when using a craft knife, the lead can  be left quite long. Also, a small piece of glass  paper can be used to give a precise edge to  the lead. A ‘chisel’ shaped point is ideal for  drawing accurate lines. A Flexi-curve is used to draw curves. It can be  formed into almost any curve as it is flexible.  Flex-curves are useful as they are simply shaped  to form the desired curve. However, a flex-curve  is delicate and if forced into a tight curve it will  break. French Curves are purchased in sets of three  or four. They are used to draw curves by  finding the section of curve that matches the  desired shape on the profile of the curve. Some French Curves also have either circles  or ellipses of various sizes cut out. These can  be used in the same way as circle or ellipse  templates. A Parallel Rule is used to draw parallel lines.  It is basically two rulers held together by two  linkages. The linkages provide the parallel  motion. The rulers have scales either metric,  imperial or both. An Adjustable Square is a set square which can  be adjusted to almost any angle. When  adjusted a small screw is hand tightened,  locking the set square in position. This means  that there is no need to have both 45 and 30/60  degree set squares.They are much more  expensive than normal set squares. A compass cutter is extremely useful if you are  attempting to cut circles in card or paper.  using scissors often produces poor results  but a compass cutter usually cuts accurately.  The compass cutter can be adjusted to cut circles  of varying sizes. The cutting point is a craft knife  blade. care should still be taken when using this  type of cutter.