how can i avoid smudging my pencil drawings

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There's cypher worse than working hard on a pencil cartoon, but to observe it smudged in your sketchbook or hanging on the wall. Luckily, there are some easy means to protect your pencil drawings from smudging.

To protect your pencil drawings from smudging, spray them with a fixative. This volition create a bulwark between the graphite and anything that might come up in contact with information technology. If your drawings are in a sketchbook, you can likewise put wax paper, frames, or page protectors betwixt the pages.

All artists shake their fists at the sky considering of smudging at some betoken.

Information technology'due south just a part of the game.

Thankfully, there are some easy ways to protect your pencil drawings from smudging, all of which are clay cheap and like shooting fish in a barrel to implement. Yes, these techniques fall in the category of "small hacks that will change your life." Well, your art life anyways.

Let'south become started and end that smudging.

1. Apply a Fixative to Protect Your Drawings

Fixatives do exactly that — they help "fix" your graphite to your paper. Fixatives are used with many types of art to assistance preserve it and protect information technology from UV rays, yellowing, fading, and aye…smudging.

When y'all're done with a pencil drawing, whether it's a simple doodle in your sketchbook or grand masterpiece, a fixative is an important spray to keep your pencil from smearing.

Of import notation: Do Not use hairspray as a fixative for your art.

Hairspray IS a fixative, but it's called HAIRspray for a reason. Information technology'due south meant to set your pilus, not your art. Some hairsprays share ingredients with art fixatives, only they aren't the same thing. To make sure that your drawings terminal as long as possible, become an art-specific fixative. If you're in a pinch, I would say that it'south ameliorate to non use a fixative at all than to employ hairspray.

As you choose a fixative, focus on quality. You'll be more upset with a low grade fixative that ruins your art than spending a few extra dollars for a high quality product. Krylon is a swell make that specifically makes fixatives for pencil drawings. It's actually pretty cheap, too. Read reviews, talk to the staff at your local fine art shop, ask your artistic friends what they use.

Krylon Workable Fixatif is a great option! Discover it here on Amazon.

Exercise your enquiry and so experiment with the one you choose (source). Start off with a tester page then that you tin piece of work out all of the kinks of applying it. You don't want the first thing you've e'er sprayed with fixative to be a grand masterpiece.

best drawing pencils for sketches — Cheque out more from Adventures with Art!

As you lot're spraying, make certain that you have a light touch. Keep moving and don't linger on whatsoever one part of the piece. Y'all'll desire to practice a few light coats of spray then that you aren't tempted to lay on a thick layer of spray on the get-go pass.

Information technology might exist obvious, but don't use your fixative indoors. If y'all do, you volition have a fun-smelling afternoon. Y'all'll also desire your drawings to air out a picayune bit and dry after y'all spray them, so go outside and enjoy the sunshine as y'all spray.

This video has some great tips and techniques for applying your fixative.

2. Put Wax Paper Between Your Pages

Wax paper is useful outside of cooking and baking! This glace paper can go a long way in helping you protect your pencil drawings. Grab a roll of wax paper or a pack of pre-cut wax newspaper sheets.

Trim them to the right size and slip them in between the pages of your sketchbook. If yous take standalone drawings, lay a piece of wax paper on meridian to protect information technology from the outside world.

To secure your wax newspaper, employ a sparse strip of masking record or painters tape along the top. Just use masking tape or painters record. Any other type of tape tin rip your drawing when you endeavour to take it off. A rip is obviously much worse than a smudge, and then make certain you lot don't sabotage yourself with your tape choice.

Pro tip: cutting your piece of wax paper ahead of time before you even start your pencil drawing. Lay it underneath your mitt and keep information technology there as you piece of work. This will help you keep a smudge-free workspace and prevent you from getting graphite on your drawing hand.

If you don't have wax paper, you lot tin utilize parchment paper or cling wrap equally well. We're basically looking for a slippery fabric that'southward designed to exist non-stick. These magical blistering tools can piece of work wonders in our art tool boxes besides. Simply be sure to hibernate them from any bakers in the house!

drawing of cloth and butterfly wing hanging to dry — This is a drawing that I kept in my sketchbook, but DIDN'T protect properly. Yous can see that it has smudged a trivial 🙁

iii. Frame Your Pencil Drawings

If we're looking for a barrier, this is a peak notch barrier. You can't become more than extreme than putting glass between your pencil cartoon and the rest of the world. While this won't work for sketchbooks, this is a great pick for any of your special pencil drawings.

Don't be shy virtually framing your art. You worked hard on it and it'southward beautiful. Show if off already!

drawing of older woman — My parents accept a lot of my drawings framed from when I was a kid because, yous know, that'due south what parents do.

All of us get to Ross and buy discount art that was mass produced in a warehouse when we have original pieces of work right in our own shelves.

Or, if you're like me, you requite all of your art to your parents and their house turns into some strange shrine. Seriously, people could walk through my parents' house and see how my art has progressed (or not) over the years.

When looking for a frame, make certain to get a high quality one with proper UV blocking glass. This will non only protect your drawing from smudging, but also from fading in the sunlight as well. Win-win!

Just like fixatives, you get what you pay for. If you've worked hard on a piece of art, y'all might besides spend a few extra bucks to make sure it lasts a long time.

5 tips for protecting your art from sunlight — Bank check out more from Adventures with Fine art!

4. Use Page Protectors

We're talking virtually those page protectors you used in schoolhouse to organize assignments in your folder. What I love nigh this method is that it not but protects your pencil drawings, only likewise gives you a cracking manner to organize your work. Put each piece of art into its ain page protector and and then file information technology any way you'd similar — chronologically, thematically, stylistically, whatever suits your fancy.

I'm one of those people who loves having binders full of neatly organized documents. There's something well-nigh folio protectors that makes everything seem so peachy, clean, and more organized than it would exist otherwise. Looking at your own beautiful fine art in this fashion is a dream for someone who loves organization and crispy clean stuff. More practically, it's as well a great way to maintain a portfolio, but who cares about practicality.

If you lot're not interested in organizing everything in a binder, at that place are some SUPER neat folio protectors that are rigid. This means that they can't be bent which, forth with smudging, is another enemy of art. These sleeves are fabricated out of rigid PVC and will keep your art directly and smudge-free. Grab a few packs of them and starting time stacking your pencil drawings without worrying that they'll smear with each other.

The obvious trouble with this method is that you're limited to art piece of work that'due south 8.five×11 or smaller. This is definitely ane of my favorite techniques for smaller pencil drawings though.

Do Pencil Drawings Fade Overtime? — Check out more from Adventures with Fine art!

Don't Pick Merely One Method to Protect Your Art

Some of these strategies will be meliorate than others depending on what yous're working on. If you have a grand slam masterpiece, fix it and frame it. If you have a sketchbook, utilize wax newspaper. If you lot have stand up alone pieces that are the size of printer paper, use the page protectors. Having a number of different protective techniques at your disposal means that, no matter what type of pencil art you create, you know you'll accept a strategy in your back pocket for extending its lifespan.

Diana has been an creative person for over 25 years and has training in drawing, painting, digital drawing and graphic pattern. Diana's latest obsession is digitally drawing with Procreate and creating t-shirt designs with Canva. Diana has experience selling her fine art beyond a number of platforms and loves helping other artists learn how to make coin from their art too.