If for some reason you'd like to draw pictures with the bottom of your cup, Japanese designer Fumiaki Goto has made these little vessels with the same combination of ceramic and graphite used to make pencil lead.

The process involves mixing clay, graphite and water then casting the material into the desired shape and firing it part-submerged in charcoal.

The top part is exposed to air during firing and turns white, while the bottom section is deprived of air and turns into pencil lead.

The graduated mix of graphite means users can keep their hands clean by holding the white top and use the pointed base to draw with. They come with little stands to stop them either spilling their contents everywhere or marking surfaces they shouldn't.

Read more stories about ceramics here.

Here's a little bit of text from Fumiaki Goto:

A pencil lead is a type of ceramic

It is made with mixing clay with graphite and baking it at high temperature. These vessels are made with the same recipe as a pencil lead. So they are not only ceramic vessels but also tools for drawing.

The special way of baking makes the white part normal ceramic and makes the black part a pencil lead. The gradation part has both of the features. The user can grab the white part and can use the pencil without making a hand dirty.