Category: Blackwing Pencils

The Ridiculous Adventures of Unboxing Blackwing Vol. 192!

7/2/2023

I'm OBSESSED With Blackwing Pencils!

If you're new to my world, Blackwing pencils are my absolute favorite drawing pencils! I love the weight of them, the feel of them, and how magical they are for shading faces!

One Blackwing pencil basically gives you the power of an entire pencil set all wrapped up into ONE pencil.

Because I love Blackwings SO much, I subscribed to Blackwing Volumes to get a limited edition box of Blackwings four times a year :)

Before we continue, super quick announcement: All product links are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links but by law there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support.

LAST TIME I unboxed my Blackwing Volumes subscription box, my nice, relaxing Saturday night turned into a horrendous CRAFT project!! Not at ALL what I'd expected. ?

So... I've been sitting on my unopened subscription box for a couple of months because I just don't wanna do any more crafts!! (Check this video out if you want a laugh!)

Fingers crossed Blackwing Vol 192 is craft-free...

As soon as I opened the box, I was really intrigued by the bold color scheme and the words "Don't carry the world upon your shoulders," inscribed on one of the pencils pictured on the box.

As I turned the box around, I noticed a list of songs and quickly discovered this month's theme: Lennon & McCartney!! YAY!!

Wanna Try Blackwing Pencils?

I hear ya!! I rarely reach for anything else when I sit down to draw (except my mechanical pencil when I need a super fine line). Blackwings are expensive, and cheaper by the dozen. If you wanna give them a try, you can grab a box of 12 on Amazon for around $35. If you've got an artsy friend or two, you could also go in on a box together. I've also occasionally seen a pack of 3 floating around Amazon.

If Blackwings just feel totally out of reach for you (I get that too!!), pick up a smaller pencil set by another quality brand like Faber-Castell for less than half the price, or simply play with whatever #2 pencil you have lying around the house! Seriously!! The most important thing is what you DO with a pencil, not which brand you use!!

Wanna Learn How to Draw
Paul McCartney & John Lennon?

So you're NOT gonna believe this crazy coincidence. I literally JUST wrapped up lessons for the Fun Fab Drawing Club on how to draw John Lennon & Paul McCartney in the style of Simon Chow, so I can't believe how timely these Lennon & McCartney Blackwings are!!

To enjoy these drawing lessons, join me over at Awesome Art School in my Fun Fab Drawing Club! I'll show you step by step, start to finish how to draw Paul McCartney and John Lennon from scratch.

You HAVE TO SEE what some of my Fun Fab Drawing Club students have been posting in the Facebook Group from these lessons.

Amazing, right?! I love how each one looks so unique!! I'm also a little surprised to see how many more John pix are trending in the group right now! He seems to be the group fave at the moment :)

Drawing Idea for When You're On the Go

I started the little watercolor journal spread below on a recent flight. It's not finished, so it's the perfect opportunity to show you how my Blackwing Vol 192 pencils work!

I don't know what it is about being on a plane that makes me feel a little self-conscious, but I don't love art-ing in front of the people next to me. I know it's weird because I have people watching my videos and doing lessons with me all the time in my art clubs, but when I'm in the middle of creating and filming - I'm totally alone. No one is watching me in the moment.

If you ever feel like that, but still want to art on a plane or anywhere on the go - I've got a fun drawing idea for you.

Use a template and just shade and/or watercolor some shapes! I've got this awesome circle template that fits right into my travel art journal, and for whatever reason, I don't feel weird tracing a bunch of circles onto the page (even if someone is watching!). It's super low-stress and takes the pressure off.

Use a blending stump to add a little shading to your shapes, or even better - try a little watercolor over graphite. Watercolor locks IN your graphite layer and accentuates it. Not long ago I reviewed a fun watercolor palette by Derwent called Graphitint.

If you're not familiar with Graphitints, they're watercolors with graphite mixed in, so the colors look a little dirty and edgy (shown above), which I kinda love. Derwent's Graphitint Paint Pan Pocket Set is a small palette, and perfect for travel, especially if you're thinking about doing any moody fairies, landscapes, or cityscapes!

Watch my full review on Graphitints over pencil here:

And my ridiculous unboxing of Blackwing Vol. 7 here:

Wanna Stay in the Loop?

And get notified EVERY TIME I publish a new video on YouTube? Join my Email Newsletter!

As my way of saying thanks - grab a copy of my FREE Fun Fab Swatch Sheet or my Whimsical Face Drawing Guidelines!

Need More Resources?

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON
❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my online art classes @ Awesome Art School
❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON (affiliate links)
❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP

Thanks for hanging out with me today!!

2 Comments

UNBOXING Blackwing Volume 7 Fiasco + The BEST BLACKWING PENCIL for Drawing

27/9/2022

3 Comments

What's the deal with Blackwing pencils anyway?! Lots of drawing artists love them, but why? Today, I'm talking ALL things Blackwing in this product review, will show you which Blackwing pencil is best for drawing, and can't wait to share the unboxing of my FIRST Blackwing Volumes Subscription Box!

Wanna learn how to draw an easy face in pencil? Download my FREE whimsical face drawing guidelines! They're super easy to follow and will help you draw proportional facial features every time. Simply click the button below and I'll send it straight to your inbox!

Once you print your cheatsheet out, meet me here to draw and shade the face below...

I'm OBSESSED with Blackwing pencils! The one above is my absolute fave and is what I'm drawing with in all of my videos (unless I need a finer lead and the weight of my mechanical pencil).

If you're new to Blackwing - these pencils are basically the "aristocracy" of the graphite world. Some people only care about that, but I'm definitely not one of them.

What I care about is the drawing experience a pencil provides for myself and my students.

I've discovered working with one single Blackwing pencil gives me the experience of having an entire pencil set and specialty eraser - packaged into a single pencil. Most importantly - it gives me FAB results!

I often see the trio above of white, gray and black packaged together as a set on Amazon. Make sure you click over to the video if you want to learn more about the difference between the Blackwing pencils in this set and see how they write.

Each pencil from this set has a different "hardness" to the graphite inside it. The white one is called Blackwing Pearl and has the hardest lead. It creates the faintest/thinnest lines. The gray one is a Blackwing 602 with medium soft lead and creates medium bold/slightly thicker lines than the Pearl. This one has been a favorite of musicians, authors, and artists since the 1930s! Two of the 602's most passionate followers include John Steinbeck and Shamus Culhane (animator for Disney's Snow White - who asked to be BURIED with his Blackwing 602!).

The black one above has the softest lead and is my favorite. It's the Palomino Black Matte and gives me the greatest range of light to dark for shading. Depending on how much pressure I use on my paper - I feel like this one can give me anything from a low H to an 8B. ALL of those values packed into one pencil make this one extremely valuable!

Another thing that makes Blackwings unique is their eraser. The Blackwing pencil eraser has a rectangular shape that reminds me of working with my Tombow mono eraser. Even better - the erasers are totally removable and replaceable. You can flip the used side over to start using the opposite side, or slide it out completely to replace it. So cool, right?!

The cheapest way to try Blackwings out is to grab one at your local art supply shop (typically around $4/each), or to drop a box of 12 into your Amazon cart.

I know they're expensive, and the price point's not for everyone. If they're not in your budget, FINE! Pick up any old pencil you have lying around your house and draw with that. Who cares what YOU draw with! The most important thing is that YOU DRAW :)

When you're ready and have a few extra bucks - experiment with a pencil set like this from Amazon or your local craft store.

If you're in the market for MORE than a pencil set - you might just LOVE the set of drawing supplies I curated with Jerry's Artarama called The Fun Fab Illustration Set.

The pencils in this kit are by Cezanne and provide a super dark 12B - which I never even knew existed before I tried them!

If you've been following me for a while - you know I'm a busy girl and kinda love flying by the seat of my pants! If I've got somewhere to go and want to bring my sketchbook ... for me - it's SO much easier to fly out the door with one pencil (that does literally everything), instead of fumbling around with an entire set.

Make sure you click over to the video to see the great reveal of what's inside this month's Blackwing Volumes Subscription Box! It's my very first one, and happens to be Blackwing Volume 7 - a tribute to animator Chuck Jones (illustrator of Wile E. Coyote).

I have a feeling there might be some limited edition Blackwing animation pencils inside! So excited to check it out...

Come on!!

Thanks for hanging out with me today!

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON
❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON
❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP
❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

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The Ridiculous Adventures of Unboxing Blackwing Vol. 192!

I'm OBSESSED With Blackwing Pencils!

Wanna Try Blackwing Pencils?

Wanna Learn How to Draw
Paul McCartney & John Lennon?

Drawing Idea for When You're On the Go

Wanna Stay in the Loop?

Need More Resources?

UNBOXING Blackwing Volume 7 Fiasco + The BEST BLACKWING PENCIL for Drawing

Karen Campbell

Archives

Categories

What Fans Are Saying

Contact ME

blog

The Ridiculous Adventures of Unboxing Blackwing Vol. 192!

​I'm OBSESSED With Blackwing Pencils!

Wanna Try Blackwing Pencils?

Wanna Learn How to Draw ​Paul McCartney & John Lennon?

Drawing Idea for When You're On the Go

​Wanna Stay in the Loop?

Need More Resources?

UNBOXING Blackwing Volume 7 Fiasco + The BEST BLACKWING PENCIL for Drawing

Karen Campbell

Archives

Categories

What Fans Are Saying

Contact ME

I'm OBSESSED With Blackwing Pencils!

Wanna Learn How to Draw
Paul McCartney & John Lennon?

Wanna Stay in the Loop?