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There are several qualities in graphite that set it apart from lead. Graphite came into widespread use after a large deposit was discovered in Borrowdale, England in 1564. Some early styluses were made of lead, which is what many still refer to pencil cores as today even though they are made of non-toxic graphite.( 1) No, the Roman stylus was a thin metal rod that left a light yet readable mark on papyrus, a form of paper. The pencil can be traced back to the ancient Roman Empire writing implement called a stylus- not be confused with the modern digital stylus. Traditional pencil animation is a technique unto itself just as any technique yields unique results. They have missed out on hand-drawn animation and the beauty that fluid lines bring to the medium. Some have only created animation on such a system, which is a shame. Many animation professionals today use a stylus with a tablet and specialty animation software loaded on computer hardware. Yes, that is me at my Weber animation desk using a Yellow No.2 pencil on some animation drawings, circa 2003 or so, for a special project at Walt Disney Animation Studios. I rarely strayed from it and the hardness of that graphite core. It has been my pencil of choice throughout my entire four-decade animation career. Whether at home or at work, I always had a stack of these bright yellow hexagonal pencils adorned with the metal ferrule holding a latex-free pink eraser. high school where I took the SATs, then into college and throughout my animation career at Walt Disney Feature Animation.įor more than a half century, I have had a Yellow No.2 pencil within arm’s reach, most of the time. But I am talking about a simple pencil that I started using in kindergarten, maybe even before that, and have used consistently throughout my formative grade school years, Jr. Okay, sure you can say that you have worn blue-jeans since you were a tike, or you have had numerous pairs of suede desert boots. There are not many things that any of us can say we have used for most of our lives outside of the necessities. 2 pencils is my pencil of choice and I’ve been using it since at least kindergarten.
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