Graphite & Charcoal

[Galaxy_Stranger]

How many of you have used Graphite and Charcoal for weathering your Macross/Anime models?

[coronadlux]

I have used charcoal. I use my x-axto blade and scrape off some dust. I put it on with a stiff brush. A little goes a long way.

[neptunesurvey]

I have used 0.3 and 0.5 mm mechanical pencils for panel lining.

[derex3592]

Yes to both, however I have now switched to mostly pastel chalks.

[Galaxy_Stranger]

It never occurred to me to use Graphite and Charcoal for weathering. Today I saw a video someone did of a Tie Fighter and I came. He mentioned he used Graphite and it dawned on me I had never tried it.

I've got an idea to combine it with the Salt technique that I think will look great.

[MechTech]

This week is the last week of my formal drawing (sketching) class for college. I was thinking about doing the same thing with my graphites. Most of the panel lines in tiny 1/350th models are too shallow to accept a wash, like the X-47B I've gotta finish. If they won't "catch" the powder, then maybe the pencil will work. - MT

[Galaxy_Stranger]

Man, this crap just gets EVERYWHERE

[captain america]

Indeed, you have to be careful when using either pastels or graphite because that sh*t just gets everywhere if not used very sparingly. I happen to find that it's an excellent weathering medium and if you think about it, burn/exhaust marks are essentially carbon, so very realistic.

Best thing is to use a 1/4" paint brush or something slightly smaller and work it on gradually, and it adheres best to flat (rough) surfaces. The advantage is that for most painted surfaces, you can simply wipe away the excess with a damp sponge or Q-tip. Be warned that it might etch itself into matte surfaces more tenaciously though. Definitely a good compliment to airbrushing.

[Galaxy_Stranger]

I got anxious and used some Graphite on this:

I started on the bottom and got WAY too much on. Looks like someone went over it with a soft pencil. Then I did the top very lightly, building up like you normally would while dry brushing. So the top turned out a lot better.

I'm going to strip it and paint it from scratch. What I noticed was that the graphite doesn't fill in any of the crevices. What it really does is give you darkened highlights - which is what I suppose is what you'd want for an essentially white object. It also didn't adhere very well to the smooth surface of the toy. So, I'm going to strip it, prime it and give it an off-white color and build off of that.

[MechTech]

Using it on paper, it gets all over you too ! We had to use charcoal and that was even worse! I learned to start high up on the paper (or your model) and work my way down so as to not rub it off or smear it more. - MT

[Galaxy_Stranger]

I dipped it and then dabbed it on a paper towel to calm it down and then started in on the toy. I began on the bottom because I just KNEW it was gonna be too much!