Kevin Hayler · Follow
7 min read · Jun 19, 2020
Believe it or not, this is one of the most common questions I’m asked. Problems occur mainly because we get into lazy habits, but there are many ways to prevent your drawings from smudging, such as:
- Spray your drawings with a fixative to seal the surface.
- Place a clean sheet of paper or cellophane beneath your hand as you draw.
- Rest your drawing hand on a rod (mahlstick),
- Use tracing paper dividers, mounts, and plastic sleeves to separate your drawings.
- Frame them.
But above all — KEEP YOUR HANDS CLEAN!
We will cover all the methods, the best erasers, and explore the use of fixative sprays. There is far more to it than you may think.
N.B.This shortened post first appeared at wildlifeartstore.com
Let’s crack on.
The only surefire way to prevent your drawing from smudging is to not touch the surface of the paper in the first place.
Don’t fool yourself that if you’re very careful and all will be well. Sometimes the smudging is so subtle that you don’t notice it’s happening.
To check for damage, take an eraser and rub the paper where your hand has been resting. You’ll see the results immediately. Even the mildest grey will dull the ‘life’ out of the paper.
The classic way to guard against smudging a drawing is to place a piece of CLEAN paper under your hand whilst you draw.
Use plain smooth paper, photocopy paper will do, or tracing paper. Avoid creased or heavily textured paper, they don’t work.
Paper guards only work if you are careful enough to keep the paper dead still. If all you do is rub the paper over the surface, instead of your hand, you won’t achieve very much.
Get into the habit of holding the paper guard in place with your free hand at all times. You might even consider securing the edges with low-tack acid-free masking tape to keep it in place.
If choosing drawing paper is confusing read this: What’s the Right Paper for Pencil Drawing?
No one else does this!
I use cellophane to protect my work more than anything else. I buy A3 self-sealing cello’ bags, the same wrappers you see displaying greetings cards, except much larger.
I pop my sketch in, seal it, and tape it to my drawing board. Then…
N.B. Read this content only at wildlifeartstore.com
An artist’s support is called a Mahlstick? It’s a fancy word for a stick with a cloth or leather ball at one end. The old masters used them.
You can buy them but they’re expensive. Why not buy a length of dowel with a rubber ‘bung’ (walking stick ferrule) on the end. For extra peace of mind, you could tie some cloth around the end too.
The advantage of having a soft tip becomes more obvious if you ever drop the stick. I’ve had a few near misses.
I’ve seen some artists use a stick tied to the easel to keep it safe and handy.
That’s how you stop your drawings from smudging while you work, now you need to know how to repair pencil smudges.
You would think that rubbing out would be self-explanatory, but nothing is as simple as it sounds. There are many kinds of erasers and they’re used for different reasons.
A kneadable eraser is the most practical eraser for cleaning purposes. They remove the marks without ruining the paper surface and leave fewer crumbs behind.
NB: Be careful blowing the dust away, you might spray spittle!
I often use a fan blending brush to flick the bits away. It works well with hard pencils but will smudge very soft graphite, so be aware.
Blu-Tak kneads to the finest point possible and can lift off graphite with precision. If you have smudged some detail that can’t be redrawn, use Blu-Tak to dab the paper. You’ll be amazed at how well it works.
Plastic erasers clean the paper but use them with caution. They are useful for erasing dark graphite, but it’s way too easy to overdo it and buckle the paper. Hold one side of the paper and rub away from you.
Rubber erasers are softer than plastic ones but crumble more.
Eraser pens are plastic but great for precision line work.
Battery erasers are fantastic for insanely detailed work. If you lose the sparkle in the eye and want to recover the white paper. Use this tool.
Personally, I don’t fix my graphite drawings. I can’t see the point, but I know many people do.
The problem is a light spray doesn’t work very well, especially with charcoal and pastel, and heavy sprays change the tonal values. And there’s always the chance of getting random blobs of varnish on the paper.
I’ve written about fixative in detail: How to Protect and Preserve Your Drawings
It’s a gamble. One I don’t like taking. Besides, it’s used mainly to fix the artwork prior to framing, and if you’re going to frame your work anyway there’s no need to spray it in the first place.
If you do use fixative use a known brand and certainly not hairspray.
Most of the problems I have with smudging drawings occur when I store my work poorly and get complacent.
Drawings cannot be stored without protecting the surface. It is vital to both cover the surface and secure the paper firmly in place. Just leaving them in a drawing pad is not good enough. They will ruin over time. I know this to my cost.
This guide goes into more detail: How to Store Drawings Safely: The Ultimate Guide
This is what happens. You put your drawing pad safely away in a container and assume that all is well. What you fail to realize is that any movement or vibration smudges the drawing very subtly.
It’s unnoticeable at first, but over time hundreds of tiny movements take their toll, until one day you notice a bland dull grey drawing that was once high contrast.
I found a solution. Lay tissue paper or tracing paper over each drawing and store them between two acid-free boards and clamp them together with strong bulldog clips. It works a treat.
I’ve traveled for months and still had good drawings when I got home.
This is how I do it: How Do You Travel With Art Supplies? (A Practical Guide)
The other option is to store them in clear sleeves in a portfolio. The graphite will lift if you allow them to vibrate so just to be sure you are wise to follow the clamping method.
Another way to solve the storage issue is to mount (mat) the drawing and wrap it in a clear polypropylene cover. You can buy it in a roll. It’s the same stuff florists use. If that’s environmentally out of the question cellophane is better, but still not 100% eco-friendly.
This is the most drastic option for protecting your drawings if you have a large portfolio. Framing isn’t cheap and who has the wall space?
This is my Quick Guide to Framing on a Budget
I don’t store my work in frames, it’s impractical. Instead, I frame them only upon request from a buyer.
If you are keen to frame them you need to know the pitfalls and take them into account.
Store your frames on a shelf or rack above the ground. Any number of mishaps can occur and if your art is above ground they are likely to escape the worst.
Not only that, I know from experience that careless handling creates problems. Frames chip, especially the corners and glass cracks. Many artists choose to frame their drawings with plexiglass as an alternative but acrylic scratches very easily. You have to be so careful.
When you store your framed drawings make sure they are in a dry environment and wrap them in clingfilm. To be extra safe it’s a good idea to cover them in bubble wrap too.
It’s a bit cheeky including this one but it’s amazing how lazy we get. I end up using my fingers a great deal and it’s all very well smudging deliberately but intensely annoying when you leave a dirty great fingerprint behind just because you didn’t wipe your hands.
Keep a cloth or wet wipes handy and keep your hands nice and clean. It’s an essential habit.
If you’ve ever dreamed of selling your art but don’t know where to start, I can show you how. It’s all laid out, Step-by-Step! Take a look.
Make your drawing routine habit-forming. The more actions you take on auto-pilot the easier it will be to keep your artwork clean and fresh.
It’s far better to prevent your drawings from smudging than it is to backtrack and rescue your work.
I hope this article has been helpful. If so you might like to read these:
- Is It Cheating to Trace Your Art? Is It Really Ok?
- Does Art Fade? Does Pencil Fade? Do Prints Fade?
- Can You Copy Art and Sell a Painting of a Painting? I Found Out
- What Do Pencil Numbers Mean? Pencil Shades Explained
- Is Drawing From Photos Bad? Are You Cheating?
- How Do You Get White Lines in a Pencil Drawing? (Without Going Mad)
Originally published at https://www.wildlifeartstore.com on June 19, 2020.
