Silverpoint Drawing Complete
Silverpoint Drawing Techniques Workshop

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Making your own metalpoint
  Manufacturing tips and holders. Alloys, hardening and annealing.

You just finished preparing your support and surface, either by stretching paper and then coating it with multiple coats of ground or by using a panel of wood or Masonite. When the panel or paper is completely dry, it is ready to use for drawing. Don't be in too much of a hurry - a slightly damp panel or piece of paper will not work well! Make sure it's dry!

Start gently at first to get a feel for the response - with practice, you will be able to feel how the point moves on the surface, and the unique feeling when the point is making its best line. With the cone-shaped end, you can rotate the point in your fingers as you draw, and this will help to maintain the shape for a very long period of time.

Mistakes cannot be erased! However, marks can be removed by using a very small piece of sandpaper, which actually removes the mark along with a small amount of the ground. Don't breathe the dust, it contains zinc oxide and silver particles.

Experiment with the points - (see the series of illustrations below) The pure silver point I provide has two usable ends, one cone shaped, the other beveled. An expressive line can be developed with the beveled end, as well as extremely fine ones; cross-hatching or tonal depth can be developed with the cone-shaped end. Discover through practice which end suits your drawing style.Tonal Blending using circular movements is delightful to experience! Great darks can be achieved either through an initially aggresive attack or through gradual buildup. I prefer the gradual approach. And, using a piece of soft leather such as a chamois or a piece of felt, you can do some blending, achieving fantastically rich and even skin tones; a paper blending cone or stump works also, but tends to pick up silver, and then deposit it again when you least expect or want it! The blending techniques work particularly well on smooth panels such as Masonite.

The "Traditional" point is usually used as one would a hard pencil, using strokes or cross hatching to develop tones and lines to delineate shapes, but to some extent one can use it in shading, particularly on surfaces prepared with the Old Masters Silverpoint Ground ™.

"Dressing" the pure silver point - Although the point will last for a very long time, it will wear, causing the shape to gradually undergo change. You can reshape the point with fine Wet-or-Dry sandpaper. Keep in mind that this drawing instrument is metal, and if the point is too sharp it will cut the ground, the paper, and even fingers. I recommend that you round the tip slightly, and also that you polish the surface a bit with a scrap of ground-treated board or paper.

Examples of silverpoint drawing techniques:

See also/Next
Making your own metalpoint
  Manufacturing tips and holders. Alloys, hardening and annealing.

Tips on Usage - opens in new window.
  Reshaping the point, and how I make what I think is a "perfect surface".

Last update: January 2007