







































Other tools, materials and some processes for drawing and painting 

188 
 

CHAPTER TWELVE 
 

Other Tools, Materials and Some Processes for 
Drawing and Painting 

 
Chinonyelum Okonkwo 

 

Introduction 
Different tools and equipment are used for drawing 

and painting. These tools and equipment are required to 
make painting and drawing easy. An art tool is an object, 
device or equipment used to transform the art material or 
medium into creating a finished work of art. Art tools and 
materials are essential because they help in the 
interpretation of emotions and feelings while making art. 

A variety of tools, equipment and materials are used 
in painting. These tools require some special care and 
maintenance for effective usage, and to gain a long-lasting 
result. 

Painting materials are substances used by the 
painter to create a work of art or painting. Another name 
for painting material is painting medium or media. 
Artwork can be made with a singular material or with 
varieties of art materials, depending on the artist's choice 
and what the artist tend to achieve. 
According to Zhiqiang Chen, "painting is the expression 
of emotional spirit and style".  Owen (1997) asserts that 
painting is the expression of ideas and emotion, with the 



Chinonyelum Okonkwo  

189 
 

creation of certain aesthetic qualities in a two-dimensional 
visual language. Painting is a tool for preserving, 
promoting and showcasing a people's culture. It serves as 
a means of social communication and commentaries. 
Painters are commissioned to execute a painting for moral 
values, social functions and entertainment purposes.   

Getlein (2002: 162) opines that "paintings usually 
are full of colour which is a potent visual stimulus. 
Painting is an exercise done for its own sake which can be 
its theme or other purposes than to give visual pleasure. 
Painting like every other human activity has its root in the 
basic needs of man’s nature and it provides one of how 
these needs derive satisfaction.  

Hence, Carpenter and Graham (1971: 87) agree that 
"painting deals with human actions". When the elements 
of painting are merged, they form expressive decorative 
motif that represents real or supernatural phenomena 
interpret a narrative theme or create an entirely visual 
relationship with society. Each painting has its style and 
material used in executing it. The material used in painting 
includes; 
Graphite pencil, ink, charcoal, paper, pastel, watercolour, 
oil colour, acrylic colour. 
 
Painting materials form the part of painting at the end of 
the work while the painting tool remains as is. It does not 
form part of the painting at the end. Some painting tools 
include; 



Other tools, materials and some processes for drawing and painting 

190 
 

Drawing board, pen, brushes, pallet knife, easel, sketch 
pad, paper, hammer, canvas, board, nail, staple gun tacker, 
stretcher, pallet, scrapper. 
 
Drawing and Tools for painting 
Pencil – Pencils are the slender rod of a solid marking 
substance, made from a graphite or plastic lead stick, 
surrounded by wood easing. There are varieties of pencil 
lead. They include hard, medium and soft pencils. 

 

 
 

Plate 1: A set of pencils in a pouch. Source: 
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/product-

recommendations/best-graphite-pencils-1202693099/ 

 
Types of pencils 

Soft pencils – are graded with the letter B and numbered 
from B to 6B. The larger the number before the B, the 
softer the pencil material. Soft leads are used for sketching 
and shading. 



Chinonyelum Okonkwo  

191 
 

 
Hard pencils are graded with the letter H and numbered 
from H to 6H. The larger the number before the H the 
harder the pencil material. The hardest leads are used to 
create sharp, lines. Pencils are used in writing, drawing or 
marking on surfaces. 
 
Coloured Pencil – Coloured pencils are used to draw fine 
colourful lines or to shade areas in colour. The artist 
blends two or more colours to create beautiful artwork. 
 
Charcoal – This is the oldest drawing tool. It is obtained 
from burnt wood and it has dry and dusty nature. 
Charcoal can come in different two forms, for example, in 
pencil form or its natural form. A variety of its values and 
hardness produces different kinds of effects when drawing 
or painting  
 
Conte crayon\pastel – Conte is a highly compressed 
form of chalk. It comes in different densities, ranging 
from hard to soft ones. Its colour is derived from earth 
tones.  For instance, white, black, brown and grey colours. 

Pastels are obtained from compressed chalks. There 
are two forms of pastel chalk .they are oil pastel and 
chalk pastel. oil pastels are obtained from chalks that 
are compressed with oil. Chalk pastel is pastels that 
do not contain oil. 
 



Other tools, materials and some processes for drawing and painting 

192 
 

 
 

Plate 2: Chalk pastel of different colours. Source: 
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/product-
recommendations/best-chalk-pastels-1234575136/ 
 
Easel – This is a wooden frame 
used for holding an artist's work 
in a vertical position while it is 
being painted. All easels serve the 
function of keeping the canvas 
secure and upright 

 
 

 
 
 
 

Plate 3: An Easel. Source: 
 

 



Chinonyelum Okonkwo  

193 
 

Scrapper – The scrapper is a tool used for removing dirt, 
paint or other unwanted matter from a palette. A palette 
knife is a thin steel blade with a handle, used for mixing 
colours or applying or removing paint. It is used to mix oil 
and acrylic paint and to apply paint to a canvas, board or 
any other surface.   
                
Palette – A palette is a thin board or slab on which an 
artist lays and mixes colours.   

 
Cutter – It is a sharp and small knife used in sharpening 
the pencil for drawing or sketching the object to be 
painted. 

 
Hammer – This is a tool with a heavy metal head 
mounted at right angles at the end of the handle. It is used 
for driving the wall into the wood when constructing the 
stretcher for painting. 

 
Nail – A nail is a small metal spike with a broadened flat 
head, driven into the wood to join it together when 
constructing the stretcher for painting. 

 
Staple Gun Tacker – or staple gum is a hand-held 
machine used to drive staples into the wood of a stretcher 
to hold the canvas or board to the stretcher before 
painting. 



Other tools, materials and some processes for drawing and painting 

194 
 

 
 

Plate 4: A staple gun tacker. Source: 
https//amazon.com 

 
 

Saw – This is a hand tool used for cutting the wood to the 
required length when making the stretcher. 

 
A brush is one of the most important tools in painting. 
Brushes come in a wide variety of materials, shapes and 
sizes. They are made of a fibrous tip, a connector called a 
ferrile and also made of wooden or plastic handles. A 
brush has a very fast-drying nature which can make it 
difficult to mix colour well at a slow paste. More, it 
requires several coats to achieve the desired colour. 

The fibres of a paintbrush may be made of hair, 
bristle or synthetic material. A brush is judged by how well 
it can retain paint and hold colour. 
 



Chinonyelum Okonkwo  

195 
 

Paper 
Paper is an important material for artists. Different types 
of paper create different effects. Understanding how paper 
is made and its different properties allow artists to choose 
an appropriate paper type and to create new designs using 
a variety of media. The sizing of paper using substances 
such as starch or gelatin adds body to paper and makes it 
water repellant. Artists choose the most suitable paper to 
use for their paintings. 
 
 
 
Board 
It is a multi-use tool that allows the artist to hold paint in 
handy. It is also a platform for mixing paint. Its shape 
makes it easy and comfortable to hold for long periods 
moving the paint close. Board is a panel made from 
hardwood such as oak, cedar, birch, walnut, and 
mahogany. Boards can be used for painting in place of 
canvas. Boards for painting should be primed undoubtedly 
to avoid the colour from leaching. The priming of board 
follows the same procedure as the canvas. 
 
Drawing Board 
Any flat, square-edged surface can be used as a drawing 
board. The best boards are made of white pine with 
carefully squared corners and edges. Boards come in 



Other tools, materials and some processes for drawing and painting 

196 
 

various sizes. A 50cm x 65cm board is an acceptable 
dimension. 
 
Canvas is a strong, coarse unbleached cloth made from 
hemp, flex, used as a surface for painting preparation of 
canvas for painting.  
 
Materials for Painting 
Materials come in a huge range of colours, textures, 
strengths, flexibility, level, costs and availability level. 
Some material requires the use of specific tools and 
equipment to work with them. There are two types of 
materials for painting. They are dry and wet materials. 
Dry Material: This includes pencils, pencil crayons, 
charcoal, conte crayon, pastels etc. 

 
Wet Material: This includes ink. Ink is a fluid used for 
drawing, painting, writing etc. inks are found in a variety 
of colours. All inks can be used at full strength or diluted 
for wash drawings. A variety of tools are used to apply ink. 
Examples are nibs, pens, brushes, feathers, rollers and 
sticks and twigs. 
 
Paints or colours: There are different types of paints or 
colours and each has its specific property. The artist 
makes his or her choice of a particular type of paint based 
on the colours and effects it produces, its drying time, and 
the painting surface to which it will be applied.  



Chinonyelum Okonkwo  

197 
 

 
Oil colour or Paint: Oil colours are colours that are 
mixed with oil in the course of production.  
 
Features of Oil Colour 

• It produces rich colours at the end of the work.  

• It can be used to create lighter and softer colours 
when mixed with linseed oil.  

• It can be used to colour creational variations.  

• It is available in tubes.  

• It is easy to blend and easy to cover errors.  

• It takes a long time to dry.  

• It requires the use of chemical solvents for cleaning 
the stains and drips of paint. Paint brushes are used 
for the application of oil paints. 
 

Acrylic Colours: Acrylic colour is a water-based colour.  
 
Features of acrylic colour 

• It can produce a very rich colour like oil colour 
when it is not diluted with water. 

• It creates a soft effect like water colours when it is 
turned with water. 

• It is available in tubes, bottles, large containers or 
cans. 



Other tools, materials and some processes for drawing and painting 

198 
 

• It dries quickly and permanently into a water-
resistant, flexible and plastic-like finish. 

• It can be used to create transparent or opaque 
colours, by varying the amount of water added to it.  

 
Water Colours: They are water-based colours with a 
transparent medium.  

• It is quick in drying. 

• It can be opaque or transparent, depending on how 
much water is added to it. 

• It allows the colour and texture of the painting 
surface to show through the colour. 

• It can be used freely to create soft designs and 
colour tones. 

• It can create opaque, transparent, and translucent 
colours. 

• The dried paints can be reused by adding water to 
them. 

• Brushes are used for the application. 
 
Tempera or Poster Colours  
It is a water-based colour, and it can be bright, opaque or 
softer, depending on the amount of water that is added to 
it. 
 

• It is available in powder or premixed liquid paints. 



Chinonyelum Okonkwo  

199 
 

• It can produce very bright vibrant colours and 
effects. 
 

In conclusion, the artist does not create paintings just for 
his consumption, but for society to appreciate, critic and 
patronise them. He strives to satisfy the aesthetic thirsts of 
his spectators, according to Chuta (1997: 23) the aesthetic 
urge of his client which if achieved, will result in giving 
him his satisfaction. That is why every artist strives to 
make use of good art materials and tools for a very good 
result. 
 
Preparation of Canvas for Painting 
The preparation of canvas for painting can come in two 
processes; 
 
Construction of the stretcher and stretching of canvas; 
Construction of stretcher, the stretcher is produced using 
pine wood. Good pine wood is resilient and prevents 
intrusion and destruction by insects and termites. The 
dimension of the wood for a stretcher is about 2 inches in 
thickness. This is to avoid cave-in of the stretcher due to 
pressure from the stretching of the canvas.  The sawing of 
the wood to create a standard dimensional length is done 
meticulously. 
 



Other tools, materials and some processes for drawing and painting 

200 
 

Angular split ends of the woods are shaped at the angle 
450 hinged at both ends using adhesive and a staple gun 
tacker. 
 
Canvas stretching 

When stretching a canvas on a particular stretcher, 
an extra 2 inches is added to both ends. The purpose of 
such extra dimension is to provide space for overlapping 
required for dragging and attaching the canvas. The 
attaching of the canvas begins the fastening of the long 
side of the set-up. This is accompanied by sizing and 
priming of the canvas 
 
Priming of Canvas 

This involves mixing top bond and emulsion paint 
in equal quantities and applying it evenly on the surface of 
a well-stretched canvas using a wide flat brush. The reason 
for this exercise is to cover the tiny openings in the canvas 
and to ensure that the canvas is not porous. This process 
will make the canvas ready for the next layer of paint. 
Also, it helps to bring out the brightness of the colour, 
thereafter, the painter mixes some quantities of oil colour 
with little kerosene and runs it through the canvas using a 
big brush. This will make the colours assimilate well into 
the background in the course of the painting. In the 
painting stages, the painter engages his or her skill in the 
creation of visual forms using paints, paint brushes, 
pallets, and pallet knives on the canvas surface. 



Chinonyelum Okonkwo  

201 
 

 
Concept Development 
This procedure entails studio creative production 
processes which systematically begin with thumbnail 
sketches, of the object or theme that the artist intends to 
produce on sketch paper. At this stage, many sketches 
could be done in which the artist will later select the one 
that would best suit the topic. Some additions and 
alterations could be made at this point. Then after, the 
artist transfers the sketch to the already primed canvas or 
any other medium of his or her choice and commences 
with the painting. The essence of the thumbnail sketch is 
to guide the artist. In the painting stages, the painter 
engages his or her skill in the creation of visual forms 
using paints, paint brushes, pallets, and pallet knives on 
the canvas surface.  
 
References 
Getlein (2002). Living with Art. New York: McGraw Hill 

Higher education. 
Carpenter and Graham (1987). Art and Ideal – An approach 

to art appreciation, London – Mill and Boom. 
Knowledge and empowerment studio (2006) Art, design 

and communication, Canada    
       
 


