Pastels and Charcoals, Continued
Conté crayon
Conté crayons are pigment compressed with a binder into stick form. Conté
crayons come in white, black, sanguine, bistre, and shades of grey.
Sanguine was a favored medium of the old masters. Bistre is often used with
washes.
Degrees of
hardness
Conté crayons are available in different degrees of hardness. The crayon
produces thin, dense, dull lines. Use them on their side for broad swatches
of pigment. They are small in diameter and length.
Drawing with
conté crayon
Conté crayon is a drawing medium. Select a crayon according to your
preference. Handle the crayon as you would a pencil. Dust is less likely to
build unless your strokes are extremely heavy. Blend large areas with
stumps or tortillons and create highlights with soft, hard, and kneaded
erasers. Although often used for preliminary sketches, conté crayon
drawings also create fine finished drawings.
Figure 1-28 shows conté crayons.
Figure 1-28.—Conté crayons.
Conté crayon
finishing
You should spray conté crayon drawings with a fixative when complete.
Continued on next page
1-45
