Preparing your drawing surface is one of the first steps to take when working not only with pencil but with any type of media.

Clean the Work Area

Of course, you’ll need a clean surface to work on. Remove unwanted residues from the desktop. I often work on the kitchen table, so this includes sticky ones for me.

Remove Clutter

Remove any unnecessary clutter from your work space. Keep only the drawing or painting supplies you’ll be using on your desktop.

I learned this lesson the hard way. Several years ago, I was working on a pencil portrait for a client. It was a small 8″ x 10″ portrait that included three children. At the same time, I was also working on an oil painting for someone else. I had both going on in the same small room, and although I had set the painting aside to finish the pencil drawing, I had left some open paint on the table. When the portrait was finished, I erased the last few stray marks. Instead of brushing them off with my hand, I decided to use a new mop brush so I wouldn’t smear anything. Sadly, I didn’t notice that when I picked up the brush, it went through some dark brown paint. I ran it over the lower part of my drawing, and there was the paint. I smeared a lot with that brush. 🙁

Keep the Surface Smooth

Add a few clean sheets of paper under the piece you will be working on. This keeps the texture of your drawing board from coming through onto your finished picture. This is especially helpful when working with pastels. I like to tape my paper to a large piece of foam board, even if I’m working on a thicker piece of paper that won’t bend (such as 300 lb. watercolor paper). I usually purchase a standard size sheet from Wal-Mart for about $2.00, although you can also find it in art supply stores and office stores. The foam board is smooth and padded

Make It Portable

If you don’t have a designated space to work in, you’ll want to make it easy to keep your work safe while moving it around. I have a small area in our house to work, but with a house full of kids, things get moved anyway. Foam board is very portable, making it easy for me to move my drawing or painting if I need to. If I don’t have foam board on hand, I’ll grab a piece of extra mat board or smooth cardboard. Gator board is thicker and works well for watercolor paintings.

 
Photo by DMedina