Signs of Fall

This little guy is rendered using Derwent Graphitint pencils. These are graphite pencils with a hint of color. They have a pretty smooth laydown like graphite and they are nicely blendable. The 24 colors are all earth tones and are pretty subtle. I used about 5 different pencils in this piece, all various shades of brown plus black. These pencils can be used dry like regular graphite pencils, but they are also water soluble. In this piece, the squirrel is done using traditional graphite pencil techniques. The leaves were dampened after they were colored. The water brightens the color of the pencils a bit. For the background, I made a powder of two of the pencils (in two separate containers) by grinding them in a fine mesh tea strainer. Then I applied the powder with a stiff brush.