Tortillon From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A Tortillon is an artist's tool used to smudge and blend a drawing made from charcoal 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. 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.
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