How to Use Pencil to Draw

There are a lot of effects you can get when drawing with a pencil. Many can be achieved by blending and shading pencil lines. Here are a few ways to do that.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Use a softer leaded pencil for the best effects. If your pencil has a number on it with a 'B', the higher the number, the softer the lead. The higher the number with an 'H' means the harder the lead will be. Most writing pencils are are 'HB" or #2's.

2. 
    

   Vary the pressure of your lines to get thick and thin lines.

3. 
    

   Smear the thicker lines with your finger or a hard eraser for a form of shading.

4. 
    

   Use the side of the pencil to create a wide shading line.

5. 
    

   Carefully wiping with a soft eraser can make the lightest of shading lines even softer. Sometimes a soft eraser will also drag the lead line making it blurry.

6. 
    

   Another ways of shading with a pencil is to use cross-hatching.

7. These are just some of the shading effects you can get drawing with a lead pencil.

Resources

• Get more enjoyment out of drawing
• Exercises on artistic vision
• Mixing basic colors

[Toanjalo]

on 8/15/2008 Great tips!