A metalpoint drawing is made by applying a stylus—a thin metal rod inserted into a holder—to a prepared surface.. Silverpoint (one of several types of metalpoint) is a traditional drawing technique and tool first used by medieval scribes on manuscripts.
Metal point, descendant of the stylus of classical times and ancestor of the modern pencil, a small, sharpened metal rod used for drawing precise compositions on paper or parchment.. Metal point is a very old drawing technique first used by medieval scribes long before the invention of drawing pens or pencils.