Tortillon

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A tortillon (or tortillion) is an artist's tool used to smudge and blend drawings made from charcoal, graphite pencil, or pastel. The tool consists of a tightly-wound stick of soft, fibrous paper and is sanded to a point at one end like a pencil. It is used in place of the artist's fingers, which can leave oils on the drawing paper.

A blending stump is similar to a tortillon but is longer, more tightly wrapped, and pointed at both ends. Blending stumps produce slightly different textures than tortillons when blending. They are typically made of paper but can also be made of felt or leather.

[edit] Technique

When blending, a tortillon is held at an angle to avoid driving the point into the paper and to increase the surface area that contacts the paper. The tip of the tortillon must be kept clean while blending in light-toned areas of a drawing, so as to not smear darker media from other areas onto it. Eventually the tool will become dull from use; sandpaper pointers are often used to clean and re-sharpen it.