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!
February 10th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I still have original Ritmo’s made in Italy and have not found any that can beat them, but besides the Primo’s and Conte’s, which I like and used, I also recommend Wolff’s Carbon Royal Sovereign 4b/6b and Germany 309 J.F. Lyra Hart/Hard( made in soft/med./hard).
February 12th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
AC, I like and use the Wolff carbon pencils as well (not least because they were Bob Kuhn’s favorite!) - mostly I use them for working out painting ideas in my sketchbook. When only rich black will do, though, the Primos can’t be beat. Is there any place to get original Ritmos any more?
February 14th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
No, they are not made anymore, unless someone has some to sell. The one’s
I have I bought when I heard they where being discontinued.
May 13th, 2011 at 5:42 am
Thanks for your post. My spouse and i have usually seen that the majority of people are wanting to lose weight because they wish to show up slim in addition to looking attractive. On the other hand, they do not always realize that there are additional benefits for you to losing weight also. Doctors assert that over weight people suffer from a variety of health conditions that can be perfectely attributed to their excess weight. Thankfully that people who definitely are overweight as well as suffering from several diseases are able to reduce the severity of their particular illnesses by way of losing weight. You are able to see a continuous but noted improvement with health as soon as even a small amount of weight-loss is obtained gywl512.
October 22nd, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Oh fun! Our big day is June 26, 2010 in the heart of Boston. The hotel roof top where we’re hosting both the ceremony and the reception overlooks the Boston Public Garden and the Common, so we’re aiming for a garden feel for the roof top. Lots of greens (plants and flowers), some strung lights, and candles will help the guests feel as though they are outside in the garden while being 17 stories above the city. We are envisioning a ceremony with friends and family standing around us. Things we won’t have: a bridal party, a cake, or color themes driving every element (at this point). This classy contemporary wedding will be full of lots of love.
October 29th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
cheers for sharing this with all of us. Of course, what a great site and informative posts, I will bookmark this site. keep doing your great job and always gain my support. thank you for sharing this beautiful story
October 30th, 2011 at 12:00 am
Zune and iPod: Most people compare the Zune to the Touch, but after seeing how slim and surprisingly small and light it is, I consider it to be a rather unique hybrid that combines qualities of both the Touch and the Nano. It’s very colorful and lovely OLED screen is slightly smaller than the touch screen, but the player itself feels quite a bit smaller and lighter. It weighs about 2/3 as much, and is noticeably smaller in width and height, while being just a hair thicker.
November 9th, 2011 at 3:49 pm
I?¦ll right away snatch your rss feed as I can’t find your e-mail subscription link or newsletter service. Do you have any? Please allow me realize in order that I may subscribe. Thanks.
November 15th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
I really like this article about full movie online. A bunch of of pages online are just full of crap, but this page is very well written.
November 17th, 2011 at 8:55 am
I think this is one of the most vital info for me. And i’m glad reading your article. But want to remark on few general things, The website style is perfect, the articles is really nice : D. Good job, cheers
November 18th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
I did not see a button anyplace but do you offer advertising? I’ve a variety of blogs in connected area of interest and I would prefer to add my banner somwhere in your page.
November 25th, 2011 at 1:27 am
Sure high resolution video quality includes much memory, that’s why it provides superior quality.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:29 pm
GREAT INFLUENCE. With your powerful network of friends, you are going to have great influence. The whole world could be yours. Since an Internet, online, or home-based business-enterprise is an intellectual, knowledge-based business, to succeed in a huge manner, you will have to accomplish intellectually online. This means that you will develop into a thought leader in some Internet-based area. And thought leadership will expand your influence.
December 31st, 2011 at 11:57 am
This website doesn’t show up correctly on my droid - you might wanna try and fix that