Karen Hull Art

 

Different Types of Drafting Film

In the US, Grafix offers either a student grade drafting film in pad form under the name of Dura-lar, or their artist grade film, which can be bought either by the sheet or roll from Dick Blick’s. Althought the Dura-lar is sold as the 'student grade' it is not to be dismissed as it is an excellent surface to work on. The Duralar has a smoother surface than the drafting film which means that it accepts fewer layers than the toothier drafting film, but on the upside you will find your work stays cleaner as it accumulates less dust. Within the UK, drafting film is sold under the brand name Polydraw and this can be purchased in pad form on Amazon. Within Australia the Grafix Drafting film is only available in the 0.003” weight (75 Micron) and you can buy it in single sheets from Draftex.
 
It can be confusing trying to decide whether to get the single or double matte drafting film and which weight to purchase - in most cases it is best to buy the double matte in the heavier weights where possible. The drafting film is extremely tear resistant but can crease if handled roughly and it is almost impossible to get rid of the creases once they occur.
With all drafting films, it is advised to work with either a paper towel under the palm of your hand or to work in cotton gloves with the fingers cut out so that you are not leaving skin oils behind on the film which can prevent adherence of the coloured pencil. This is particularly true when you are working with graphite on the film, as you may get unsightly blotches and uneven blending if there are any finger prints or oil deposits left behind.

Vellum

​

Vellum is sometimes sold under the category of drafting film, however it is not the same surface. Whereas true drafting film is 100% polyester, Vellum (not the leather version) is usually plasticised cotton. It can look and feel very similar to the film, but it doesn't perform in quite the same way - it is more textured and will buckle with the application of any wet media. Drafting film will not absorb wet media and so it tends to sit on top and true drafting film doesn’t buckle at all if you do apply water to its surface. 
 

Best Pencils to Use on Drafting film

You can use both wax based and oil based pencils on drafting film, but you will find that you get the best adherence with the oil based pencils such as the Faber Castell Polychromos, the Caran D'ache Pablos and the Luminance. Prismacolor Verithin pencils give beautiful crisp detail on the film, but you do need to be careful with these pencils as they have a high clay content and can sometimes scratch the surface of the film. Wax based pencils such as the Prismacolors and the Derwents are effective too, but will give a softer look. Watercolour pencils may be used dry on the drafting film, but are notadvised if you are planning to use water with them. Derwent Inktense pencils can be applied with a fairly dry brush and give an interesting result. 

Graphite works well on the drafting film, and has both advantages and disadvantages. It smudges and blends beautifully, giving lovely soft skin tones and shading to portraits but this also means you need to work carefully so as to avoid smudging completed areas.. You can also get wonderfully crisp detail but it can be challenging to get very dark tonal values on the film. You can get some really interesting effects by applying graphite powder with a brush to the film and also by lifting some of the pigment off again using a kneadable eraser.

​

Erasing on the film

You can erase on drafting film, but you need to use a gentle touch because the tooth can easily be removed with aggressive rubbing. Kneadable erasers are handy for removing grubby marks and tidying up your pencil lines. Battery operated erasers are also quite effective. Mosts erasers will work fine, but it is always best to do a patch test first, depending on the type of film and eraser you are using.

Sgraffito (Scratching the film)

One of the other advantages of working on the drafting film is that you can scratch into the surface to bring back highlights or to add whiskers to a pet portrait. Ceramic blades such as the Slice Ceramic Pen Cutter are gentle and effective for scratching out fine details, wispy hairs and whiskers without damaging the surface of the film. You can then add colour back in as needed.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Applying Fixative

Applying fixative to the drafting film can be a tricky process. Coloured pencil, particularly the Faber Castell Polychomos are unlikely to smudge much on the film and so it really isn't necessary to apply fixative. Because the film is non absorbent, the fixative will sit on the surface as a glaze. If your entire surface is filled in with coloured pencil, then this glaze will be barely visible, but if you have left much of the surface white, then you may find that you are left with a haze that is sometimes blotchy. You can also find that some of the colours change and bleed with the fixative, particularly the mauves and dark pinks. When working with coloured pencils on the film, you will find that your work looks very shiny and a light application of fixative can matte this down, so if you feel you would prefer to add fixative, then I recommend a very light coat sprayed from a distance of at least 30cm (12 inches) from your artwork. 

Working with graphite on the film however is a different story. The graphite will smudge very easily if the artwork is not fixed or framed straight away. Here again, though, you do need to be very careful as I have finished quite a few commissioned portraits in graphite on the film and then applied fixative only to find that a series of little black speckles appeared all over the potrait. On a couple of occasions I have had to redo the portrait. This seems to be more prevalent when I have used mechanical and carbon based pencils.
 

Framing your artworks

I am often asked how I back and frame my artworks that have been done on drafting film. Mostly I use acid free tape and attach the film to foam core and I always frame the artworks with mat board, so that the film is not resting against the glass. If you prefer not to tape your artwork, you can also use photo corners, attach these to your backing board or foam core and sit the film inside.

 

​