A quick note on good stuff y’all may or may not know about.
If you ever had the chance to experience the secret-formula Ritmo charcoal pencils, you know how creamy and gorgeously black they were. Ritmo stopped making these several (3? 5?) years ago, and it’s rumored that Disney immediately went out and scoured the world to buy up whatever was left.
Since then, General Pencil Company has managed to come up with its own formula that’s damn close. I’ve bought several packages of these things, called “Primo” (and even labeled with lettering that is no doubt intentionally reminiscent of “Ritmo”) and I LOVE ‘em. They’re sold only in a 4-pack, with B, HB, 3B, and a white pencil and an eraser. Doesn’t matter - all 3 of the charcoals are insanely black and wonderful. In fact, I’ve done a totally scientific side-by-side comparison* with my few remaining Ritmo pencils, and I actually like the Primos better. (*I used a Primo, then a Ritmo).
Also cool: the eraser in the pack - a weird black thing with “Factis” printed on it - is the ONLY eraser I’ve ever found that can actually remove Conte, and take off very soft black charcoal as well (with some smearing).
Enjoy.
P.S. Off to an agility trial, so no posts until sometime next week.
Tags: methods & materials
Entries (RSS)
April 24th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Yeah the old Ritmos were the best. Its all any one used in life drawing classes on smooth newsprint in Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to hear of the rumor and buy a bunch before it was too late. I think I still have 12 boxes of original Ritmo 3b’s. I was teaching horse drawing at Dreamworks right after they went off the market and saw many boxes of them lying around so I think what you said about Disney (and Dreamworks) is true that they scooped the rest up. The Ritmos that came out after that sucked. It was not the Italian maker but an American rip off with a lot of filler in the pencil. Thanks for the tip on Primo, as I will be trying them very soon. The substitute pencil that many people I know used after the fall of Ritmo was the Conte 1710 3b. This is also a super dark pencil that is awesome. I think its a blend of charcoal and black conte.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Joe, good tip on that Conte pencil! If I can find it easily I’ll try it out. Sadly, Missoula only has a Michael’s Arts & Crafts (yecch), but the store actually carries the Primo pencils…I’ll see if they have the special Conte as well. And you’re correct - I’d forgotten to mention that Ritmo kept going but the formula/company changed (rumor I heard was that they laid off all the old timers who knew how to make the secret recipe - dumb).
I actually do prefer the General’s Primo pencils to my Ritmos, now - the Primos are amazingly black. Their B is like anyone else’s 3B, and their 3B is off the scale.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:40 am
Glad that you mentioned Michael’s as there is one in my town as well as a Hobby Lobby. There is a Dick Blick store just 40 mi. away if I can’t find what I want at either of those at home. I see that you ARE represented by a gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. I’m so glad to come across that info today so I can relay it to the gal who’s vacationing out there. I have another friend who goes every February so she’ll know where to look next year. I’m glad your works are being seen in more places. They have great appeal for many reasons.
May 2nd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Jean, it’s a damn good thing I don’t have a Dick Blick store that close to me or I’d be spending WAAAYYYY more on art supplies than I should! I suppose it’s probably a blessing there’s no decent art supply store around here. Thank you for the kind words about my work and for telling others about it - I really appreciate that!