The Artfkt collection library
Drawing
Drawing marks, powdery color, and washes
Drawing translates image tone into the language of drawing and print: graphite marks, charcoal masses, pastel deposits, incised lines, hatching, flat illustrated color, and translucent-looking washes.
Choose a material for the kind of edge and tone you want, then tune its mark scale. The result is an image interpretation, with the source composition still doing much of the work.
Included in Artfkt for Mac. All collections, one desktop studio.
Choose between a line and a deposit
Pencil Sketch builds fine directional graphite marks. Charcoal lays broader dark masses that can be smudged and lifted. Soft Pastel combines broken colored strokes with rubbed areas. Their pressure or deposit controls determine how much of the source appears on the implied paper surface.
Use a source with clear separation between subject and background when testing a drawing treatment. Delicate tonal differences can disappear as marks become sparse. Compare the outline of the subject as well as its internal shading so the material does not become more legible than the image.
Let the medium determine the edge
Crosshatch builds darker tone from crossing stroke families. Engraving uses curved parallel lines; Drypoint adds softer ink burrs around interrupted incisions. Frottage suggests rubbing across a textured surface, and Carbon Transfer adds incomplete pressure marks with a displaced second impression.
Watercolor organizes color into soft washes with pooled edges and paper grain. Ink Outline isolates contours against a quiet ground, while Cel Shading combines flat tonal bands and dark outlines. These alternatives answer different design needs: an open wash, a dense print, and a clean contour need different source contrast and space.
Pair the controls that describe the material
Work with material relationships rather than a single strength setting. Charcoal pressure interacts with smudge and lift; pastel deposit interacts with tooth and blending; watercolor edge pooling belongs with wash size. Increasing texture alone does not necessarily make the treatment more convincing.
Keep the intended use in view. An editorial illustration may need a quiet paper ground and clear contour, while an abstract cover can tolerate more broken marks. If you introduce variation or parameter animation, first make sure one still state has a coherent balance of material and subject.
Effects in Drawing
11 effects to explore and combine.
Pencil Sketch
Build graphite shading from fine directional marks and paper tooth.
Ink Outline
Trace clean contours against a quiet paper ground.
Crosshatch
Build darker tones with successive crossing layers of ink strokes.
Engraving
Carve curved parallel lines whose weight follows the image tone.
Cel Shading
Flatten colors into illustrated tonal bands with integrated dark outlines.
Watercolor
Soften color into translucent-looking washes with pooled edges and paper grain.
Frottage
Rub image tone across a textured surface with adjustable pressure.
Drypoint
Print interrupted incisions with soft velvety ink burrs.
Carbon Transfer
Transfer incomplete pressure marks with a displaced second impression.
Charcoal
Rub broad charcoal marks into shadow, then lift light from the paper.
Soft Pastel
Build the image from broken pastel strokes and softly rubbed color.
Creative applications
- Develop a charcoal editorial image with a strong silhouette and open paper around it.
- Compare engraved and crosshatched treatments for a line-led cover design.
- Translate a simple photograph into soft color washes while keeping a separate title crisp.
Starting workflow
- For a charcoal editorial study, choose a photograph with broad light and shadow regions and a readable silhouette.
- Apply Charcoal and increase Pressure until the major dark masses describe the subject.
- Balance Smudge and Lift highlights to separate broad shading from lighter detail rather than filling the entire frame.
- Check the mark scale at the intended page size. Keep enough quiet paper for the silhouette to remain clear.
- Compare with the untreated source and simplify the crop or treatment if the drawing marks no longer explain the subject.
Make it part of your next composition.
Combine Drawing with other collections, images, and editable text in Artfkt for Mac.