Mono Zero
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Labels: Penciled / Reviews / Sequential / Technique / Tools of the Trade
Young Allies Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1, Page 21
(panel 1 detail). 2009. Pencil on Marvel Board, 11 x 17.25.
It's no secret that I love buying tools and art supplies. This weekend, I received my newest gadget, Tombow's Mono Zero, a pencil-style eraser with a 2.3 mm "lead." I love it.
When I pencil a page, I tend to work in two broad stages: the first pass is drawn lightly and loosely with a lead holder containing a 2mm 2B lead; the second pass requires a harder lead, HB, with a smaller diameter, .05mm, to tighten up any important details—most often faces, hands, and technical objects. As a result of this process, the majority of my erasing is done during the first stage with a kneaded eraser (attached to a pushpin magnet, of course). I tend to make less mistakes during the second phase (mainly because I've worked out most of the quirks already), but the details are usually of greater importance. The margin of error for lines on a face, for example, is practically nonexistent. Because of this, I need an eraser that's as accurate (and easy to use) as my pencil.
The price, $5.25 with 2.25 refills, is high compared to other erasers, but not exorbitant. Luckily, I don't use it all that often (but need it dearly when I do). I purchased it from jetpens.com, which gave me free shipping (for orders over $25) and prompt service. They also have a rectangular version that looks pretty useful.
This thing sounds amazing! With all the graphite work I do, I may have to grab me one of these. Fine details in pencil (like the faces you mentioned) can be such a pain to refine and edit when all I've got is a pencil eraser or a kneaded one.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's been an absolute pleasure to use. I've been doing a whole lotta pencilling lately... which means a whole lotta erasing.
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