You'll find that the humble wood graphite pencil is one of the easiest drawing tools you'll use.

The wood graphite pencil is the most familiar drawing tool you'll keep in your collection of art supplies. It's also the most readily available.

Because of your familiarity with the pencil I won't bore you with a long description of what it looks like. It may interest you to know that the “lead” in a pencil is not really lead, but something called graphite. When graphite was first discovered it was thought to be a form of lead. Later, when it was found to be something else (graphite of course), the term “lead” stuck, and to this day we refer to the middle of a pencil... the “lead”.

You can find artist's wood graphite pencils at any large hobby store. There are also several on line stores that have great prices.

When you first start looking for artist's wood graphite pencils try not to panic.

Yes, you'll see lots of brands and types. Some will be pricey, while others will be had for just a few dollars.

The pencils will have numbers and letters on the ends (I'll explain those here shortly). Just take a deep breath and stay with me.

If your just starting out, and don't plan on creating masterpieces right away, then go with an inexpensive set of pencils. These sets are sometimes sold in a storage tin, and are very affordable.

(You can get a Set of 10 here.)

If you want to buy them individually you can start with 5 basic types:

Oh yeah, I promised that I would explain the number/letter thing on the end of your pencil.

Artist's wood graphite pencils come in a range of softnesses:

9B, 8B, 7B, 6B, 5B, 4B, 3B, 2B, B, HB, F, H, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H, 9H

I know, it seems a little scary, but I'll talk you though it.

The letter "B" stands for "BLACK", and are softer than the "H", or "HARD" pencils.

The 9B is the softest and will produce a deeper black on the paper.

The 9H pencil is the hardest and will give you a lighter black tone.

The HB pencil will be sort of middle of the road, and is comparable to a standard yellow No2 school pencil.

The ”F” stands for "FINE" which means that it can be sharpened to a fine point
( as can all the “H” pencils).

I would be careful with pencils in either of the two extremes. Hard pencils are going to be more likely to scratch your paper, and the softest drawing pencils are going to be more difficult to sharpen and break more easily.

I didn't say you couldn't use them; I just said be careful... Okay?

As I said earlier, to get off to a good start all you'll need is a set of drawing pencils that includes these grades of hardness:

2H, HB, 2B, 4B and 6B.

I would get some scrap paper and practice using your pencils. Hold them with different grips, and apply different pressures so that you become familiar with the feel of your new friends.

A common exercise is to draw a sphere and practice developing your shading and highlighting skills. This is also a good way to get used to the action of drawing so as to make drawing second nature.

Think of a new driver having to use a clutch, brake, and accelerator all in perfect harmony. At first every step must be focused on individually in order to move the automobile. After some experience behind the wheel, the driver can operate every aspect of the vehicle with complete confidence...automatically.

So draw...draw...draw every day!!

Draw anything...everything.

It's the only way to make using your pencils second nature to you.

Finished with Wood Graphite pencils and back to Drawing Pencils

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