Mike Sibley   Comment Posted Jan.13th, 2012, viewed 145 times

I artificially darkened this scan so I could critique it properly (see below). I'm less pleased with these results, but I think you may have discovered why I don't use this technique. Others do, to great effect but, like you, I always find my indentations are soft-edged and break down easily under shading.

However, it's a good technique to know about. And, if you're uncertain about indenting on an actual drawing, it does allow you to plan the placements first on the overlay sheet before committing them to your paper. There is a lot of evidence here of graphite dropping into your soft-edged indents and very few have survived intact. As I mentioned earlier, indenting in general works much better on a smooth paper, and one that has a hard surface beneath it.

It works well for artists such as JD Hillberry (www.jdhillberry.com) but never for me. Even when a line survives it is soft-edged compared to direct indenting. But this technique is good if you haven't tried indenting before. Indenting is, of course, a "one time" technique - you can't afford to fail - so being able to plan on a transfer sheet first at least allows you to pre-plan the position of your indents.

Personally, I very lightly draw a line alongside where I intend the indent to be, I take a few practice swings with the stylus, and then commit the indent to the paper just below my pencilled line.

I've used all manner of tools in the past but now I have two needles inserted into old clutch pencil bodies. The darning needle indents whiskers and other broad lines, and the other is a slimmer needle that I used an oil-stone on to blunt the tip.