Things You'll Need:
- Pencils
- Erasers
- Mechanical Pencils
- Pencil Cases
- Pencil Sharpeners
- Pencils
- Pencils
-
Step 1
Take a trip to the local art store and try several pencils. The correct pencil is the one that you enjoy using the most.
-
Step 2
Select a pencil with soft lead if you want dark, fat lines that are easy to make and you don't mind smudges or frequent sharpening.
-
Step 3
Select a pencil with harder lead if you want smudgeproof, precise lines and a pencil that doesn't require sharpening as often.
-
Step 4
Ask the art store clerk about any pencils that don't have a grade indicating the softness or weight of the lead. Leads are graded, hardest to softest, 4H, 2H, H, HB, F, B, B2 and B4.
-
Step 5
Consider a lead holder and a selection of changeable leads if you want to be able to change the weight of the lead, keep a very sharp point and enjoy using a special gadget.
-
Step 6
Select a mechanical pencil with replaceable leads and erasers if you enjoy gadgets and don't want to carry a pencil sharpener or lead pointer and a separate eraser.
-
Step 7
Choose a pencil or leads that work well with the sketch paper that you select. You'll get rips using hard lead on fragile paper, and lots of dust and smudging using soft lead on rough paper.
-
Step 8
Select a soft lead if your sketch paper might become damp while you're sketching, since harder lead won't make marks on wet paper.
-
Step 9
Remember to pick up a separate eraser. Most drawing pencils don't have one on the end. Make sure it works with the lead you've chosen - very soft and very hard leads are both difficult to erase.
-
Step 10
Remember to pick up a pencil sharpener or lead pointer. Make sure it works with the pencil or lead holder you've chosen.
Comments
Anonymous said
on 1/25/2006 Kneadable erasers are the best to use when sketching. Not only do they thoroughly erase pencil, they are reshapable so that you can pull and fold it to a clean part - over and over again. The gray kneadable eraser is a more effective eraser than the art gum type, it erases more completely and can be molded to erase in even the smallest areas. The art gum eraser is very annoying primarily
because it leaves clunky eraser crumbs all over your paper while doing at best a fair job at erasing. If I don't have a kneadable eraser, I will use some blue or yellow ticky tacky (I don't know its real name, that's just what we call it) the removable poster adhesive stuff.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 It is perfect if you shade a picture by mixing a 4b pencil with a hb. When shading, the edges where the light doesn't shine is the darkest and it gets lighter and lighter as it gets closer toward the light.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 Special drawing pencils with different size leads are important if you are an architect or an artist. I recently bought a set of drawing pencils with 9 different types of leads, and it is a great selection. My favorite pencil in my set is the 4B pencil, which is probably one of the thickest lead pencils for the set. I am not an artist or an architect, but I do enjoy drawing. If you are going to buy special sized lead pencils, be sure to know some information on the different pencils.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 A pencil gets a rating based on the amount of binder in the graphite. Harder pencils have more. Pencils marked H range from H6 to H1 and are the hardest. Pencils marked B are softer and range from B1 to B6. A pencil marked HB is in the middle of the scale.
The common No. 2 pencil is actually a B2.
It is good to try a variety of pencil brands and styles. An architects' pencil uses replaceable pencil leads. A carpenters' pencil is wide and flat, to keep it from rolling off the workbench. You can also find graphite pencils made entirely of graphite coated on the outside with an acrylic binder. Also look for wax pencils (also called china markers), charcoal pencils, and colored pencils.
There is even a non-photo blue pencil which is invisible to some copy machines. These are great for sketching and later going over with ink for clean final photocopies.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 The HB pencil is great for drawing, but I have come to learn that you can't earase it that well.Oh well, u can always draw over ur mistakes...right?