How To Use Blender Stump

This is a drawing tool made from tightly rolled or twisted paper.

How to use blender stump. They are used to blend smear or smudge graphite charcoal or similar mediums. They work really well for blending large areas using the side and even small areas when using the tip which require detail and allow you to have more control than other blending tools like q tips. A blending stump is commonly referred to as a tortillon pronounced tor ti yon. Physically a blending stump and tortillon look very similar. They come in several sizes from small to jumbo and many brands can be sharpened to a fine point with a sanding block.

Learn how to make a homemade blending tool aka blending stump using materials you already have around the house. Using a blending stump is a great way to make a sketch or drawing look more polished. It can have either two pointed ends the stump or simply be a rolled piece of blank newsprint known as a tortillon. This has only one pointed end and is hollow. The blending stump is one of the most popular tools to use with charcoal.

Next use scissors to cut along the line so you end up with 2 identical pieces of paper. One method to use is the blending stump. Take a rough charcoal or graphite sketch and spend a few minutes rubbing the blending stick across it. Finally use a piece of thick wire to push the center out so the tip is pencil shaped and secure the paper with a small piece of tape. Stumps tend to be larger and wider with points on either end.

Commercially sold blending stumps are often shaped directly from paper pulp with a point at each end. Then grasp one of the pieces by the narrowest end and roll it tightly towards the outer edge of the paper. The main differences are paper weight and size. In this it is much like painting. Start by blending areas of light value with the side or tip of the stump before working into darker values.

A blending stump or paper stump is a stick of tightly rolled up soft paper with 2 pointed ends. Both are made of paper and artists use them for blending and pushing graphite and pastel around the drawing paper. Not all stumps are created equal so it s best to try several brands to see what s most comfortable or keep a variety on hand. This is a piece of formed newsprint paper.