[StylesDavis]

'ello guys...

just bought a sketchbook some days ago cause i want to get rid of my bad habit just to sketch everything on loose printerpaper. but after doing some drawings and working them out wit pencil i had to realize that the pages got smeared like hell and the drawings are rapidly loosing intensity while getting mirrored on the opposite page

do you recommend fix spray for sketchbooks? i have "ghiant fix" and tried it some time ago on printerpaper, but the drawings lost much sharpness.
is it the bad fix spray or a general problem with this stuff? will more expensive sprays do better?

and will my ingres-papered sketchbook get ugly stains or spots after a while or change its color?

what should i do, any suggestions? leave sketchbook aside? buy another? only use hard pencils? no shading?

thx for any answers...


styles davis aka jeff bitches
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known as "ChrisNix" elsewhere.

[Impaler]

Stick pieces of vellum in between the pages of your sketch book. Wax paper works in a pinch, too.
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QED, sort of.

[matter]

i take loomis's advice... black prismacolor pencils. i've gone through 3 sketchbooks using various kinds of pencils ... not only do the prismacolors not smudge, they also don't really erase, which could be for better or worse i guess..

-matt

[B0b]

i used hairspray though my time @ college..

[Drunken Monkey]

use Workable Fixatif - any artstore should have them...

[cheney]

[StylesDavis]

thx for replying, guys...

the vellum trick is probably good, but i ask myself if one can buy sketchbook which already have vellum pages between the regular pages...?

drunken monkey, what do you mean with "workable" fixativ? is there a difference to "normal" fixatives?

these prismacolor pencils... often read about them at conceptart, sijun etc., but i never found them in any german store. does "prismacolor" mean a specific manufacturer or is it a general kind of "pencil"?
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known as "ChrisNix" elsewhere.

[matter]

i think prismacolors are simply a kind of color pencil... so you're basically just using a black colored pencil, which seems to be made of a more clay-like material than say charcoal or lead... just google for it, or try utrech.com.. i've found whole sets of black colored pencils on there but they were never much cheaper in bulk than what i get at the stores here

also, a friend of mine mentioned new-fangled charcoal that you actually bake into the paper and it will never smudge. anybody heard of this? i think i'll try to find out where he heard it from..

-matt

[Impaler]

Prismacolor is manufactured by Sanford, who bought Berol (the original manufacturer) a few years back. Prismacolor is basically the name of Sanford's art materials. Thus, you can get Prismacolor markers, Prismacolor colored pencils, Prismacolor pastels, and a few other products. They're all high-quality materials, used by a lot of professionals. Prismacolor is also ridiculously easy to find, at least here in America.

Also, I would suggest buying a roll of vellum anyways, Styles. It's great for protecting finished works during transportation. Nothing worse than scratching up a brand new printed work when you get on the bus. I know it looks expensive, but you can use it over and over again.
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QED, sort of.

[skullmonkeys]

I stick Post It notes on the base of my palm.

[StylesDavis]

yo, thx for replying again...

one last question: this vellum stuff, is it the same material like the one which is used for sandwich-package?

if so, i already have plenty of it, just have to rob my mom's kitchen...
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known as "ChrisNix" elsewhere.

[Drunken Monkey]

StylesDavis - its a spray in a can. Its basically the label in big black letters - "Workable Fixatif".

Sprays thin coat of something non-acidic... stinks of acitone untill it dries, then you cant smear it off and you can keep drawing on top. I am using it on all pencil/charcoal. Doesn't work well on pastels... maybe if you spray more.