A Tortillon is an artist's tool used to smudge and blend a drawing made from charcoal, pencil or pastel. It consists of a tightly-wound stick of soft, fibrous paper, and is sanded to a point at one end like a pencil. This tool is used in place of the fingers because the skin can leave oils on the drawing paper. Look up Artist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Artist Artist is a descriptive term applied to a person who engages in an activity deemed to be an art. ... A modern hammer is directly descended from ancient hand tools A tool is a device that (most commonly) provides a mechanical advantage in accomplishing a physical task. ... Drawing is a means of making an image, using any of a wide variety of tools and techniques. ... Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents of animal and vegetable substances. ... It has been suggested that pencil lead be merged into this article or section. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... It has been suggested that pencil lead be merged into this article or section. ... Fingers of the human left hand The finger is any of the digits of the hand in humans and other species such as the great apes. ... Oil is a generic term for organic liquids that are not miscible with water. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

When blending, the tortillon is held at an angle to avoid driving the point into the paper and to increase the surface area. The tip of the tortillon must be kept clean when blending in a light toned area of the drawing, or it will smear darker media on the illustration.

A blending-stump is similar to a tortillon, but it is longer, more tightly wrapped, and is pointed at both ends. It produces a slightly different texture than a tortillon when blending. Blending-stumps are typically made with paper, but can also be felt or leather. Felt was also the name of a 1980s UK Indie band. ... Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows. ...