To prevent your pencil drawings from smudging, create a barrier between the graphite and anything that might come in contact with it like hands or other pieces of paper. This barrier can be made with fixatives, wax paper, frames, or page protectors.

14th Century

Kneaded Eraser: Best Erasers for Canvas. will become your best friend. You won’t want to use a kneaded eraser for the majority of your erasing. For the large bulk of your pencil lines, you’ll want to use either a Staedtler Mars or an electric eraser.

To preserve your little treasure’s artwork, a fine mist of hairspray over the child’s drawing will “fix” the medium. It works best for unstable mediums such as chalk, pencil, and pastels which can easily smudge.

The only way to fully protect and preserve your drawing is to frame it behind glass. Fixative can be used to build workable layers of pastel in the drawing process but not as a final coat. Pencil doesn’t need a fixative. Graphite will not fade.

Graphite has a maximum lightfast rating that prevents it from fading when exposed to light overtime. With a maximum lightfast rating, pencil drawings are expected to last for more than 100 years. That said, it’s important to protect pencil drawings from other harms, such as smudging.

The reason Rokhsar and so many others still have a mark is that a pencil stabbing leaves graphite particles in the dermis layer of the skin. That’s the layer just below the outer epidermis layer. “That’s akin to ink from a tattoo,” said Rokhsar. Basically, it’s an unintentional stick and poke tattoo.

Charcoal is not as prone to sun fading as other mediums; however, it is best to hang your finished work away from direct sunlight. Proper care of your charcoal drawing is important for lasting results. Whether you spray or not, proper storage or framing will ensure your drawing will last for many generations to come.

Best pencils for drawing and sketching

• Palomino Blackwing pencils. Palmonio’s range more than lives up to the Blackwing brand name.
• Caran D’ache Graphite Line. The Bugatti Veyron of pencils.
• Lyra Rembrandt Art Design.
• Derwent Graphic Medium pencils.
• Cretacolor charcoal powder.

If you’re in the market for some new art software, check out our guide to the best digital art software around.

• Wacom Cintiq touch.
• Wacom Intuos Pro Paper Edition.
• Clip Studio Paint EX.
• ImagineFX magazine subscription.
• Wacom MobileStudio Pro.
• iPad Pro & Apple Pencil.
• Clip Studio Paint EX for iOS.
• Procreate.

Pen is more permanent and gets you out of the habit of erasing constantly. It forces you to really think about what you’re trying to draw and be more confident about your lines. Consequentially, it also speeds up the time it takes for you to draw because you spend less time fixing or fretting over mistakes.

By 5 or 6 years of age, children’s finger muscles are more developed and strong enough to grip a pencil correctly, using only three-fingers—their thumb, index, and middle finger. You may notice that your child switches back and forth between using a five-finger and three-finger grip as they practice writing.

It is really important for your toddler to move through all the developmental stages of holding a pencil. Usually, given normal play and development opportunities (lots of preparatory skills like cutting etc), by the time your child is 5-6 years old, he/she will have the correct pencil grip needed for handwriting.

Grasp. Ideally left-handers should hold the pen or pencil 2-3cm from the point to enable them to see round their fingers and avoid “hooking” with the writing hand or adopting and awkward neck posture when writing.