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best kind of pencils to use? (1 Viewer)

I use any pencil that's to hand, I suppose it all comes down to personal preference, I like soft pencils that leave a good dark mark on the paper, but also like a pencil hard enough to do a few drawings without having to sharpen it every few seconds. Best to try a few and find your own favourite.
 
Sanford Turquoise drawing pencil.

Best brand in my opinion! The pencil is not turquoise, it's just the signature color on the outside. (This pencil does not have an eraser, it's great for drawing down quick sketches.)

If you're style of drawing is more harsh than delicate, I'd suggest a Sanford Ebony pencil. It's very dark and the graphite is very soft. Be careful! It smudges.

I hope this helps.
 
A nice, soft pencil for me 4B - 6B. Not concerned over the brand name, but I always use a surgical scalpel to sharpen it -it gives me infinite control over the type of tip I produce on the pencil. I don't personally like automatic pencils - I find that my drawings lack a bit of life whenever I've used one (although other artists can obviously adapt wonderfully to them).
Look at some of the art threads here - the magical use of ballpoint pens always leaves me in utter bewilderment!
 
I like to use 2B like Tim I don't like automatic pencils I personly find them a bit unwealdly especially in the feild where you need to be fluid and quick.
 
Whatever comes to hand, usually HBs with the occasional 2B thrown in for luck. I usually have 4-5 sharpened and ready to go, I hate having to stop and sharpen midway through anything. If I do sharpen between sketches I always use a scalpel - Can't stand pencil sharpeners!

One of the best bits of advice I was ever given was - Use cheap sketchbooks and make 'em A3 to start with. That way you never worry about making a mess of things and wasting your expensive sketchbook. Also the larger size lets you draw unrestricted and flow more easily. I now use A4 hardback Daler Rowney pads bought real cheap through Cass Arts in London but that's only because I gained a lot of confidence using A3 pads I made myself from photocopy paper that I 'liberated' from work.

Woody
 
thanks Woody-i was wondering about that also....i have aleays been afraid of ruining my nice sketchbook/pad with not so perfect sketches lol.....sketchbooks are better than pads aren't they? With a pad, it just seems odd because it "isnt all bound together". I think ill get cheap books from now on, if there is such a thing....A3, ill remember that, Thank you Woody!
 
You must never be afraid to ruin a page in a sketchbook, treat them roughly! My sketchbooks have been half-dissolved in rain, dropped in mud, had fish guts dropped in the pages (by Herring gulls - not one of my artistic quirks) and been ripped by the wind. The sketchbook is where all notes and ideas get drawn out and is not intended to be a showpiece (though I don't mind letting people look). I'll put my hand up and say that I have sketchbooks with an unfinished sketch of a barn owl (because when the wind blew it, it turned out to be a reed, sketches of avocets with black tail bands - because I wasn't looking at what I was drawing and just imagined, and basically lots of badly-drawn stuff - but with notes on how to correct it etc. Go into a sketch thinking, 'there's another page after this one, and I'll use it if I want to!'
 
also what is a good box brand of sketching watercolors? Here locally they have Cotman watercolors, but they are student quality, not pro! But would they be good enough you think?
 
cotman is perfectly good enough, better quality than what I use for my painting! Am starting to buy in artists' quality at the moment, but cotman is a fine choice, or daler rowney - especially for the blues, they just seem nicer from daler.
 
I use those sometimes - er, maybe not such a good recommendation after all.
try to get Windsor & Newton half pans and invest in a small field box - something to love, cherish and use forever. Happy sketching!
Oh, don't buy too many colours - burnt sienna, prussian and aqua blue, yellow ochre, sepia and a tube of white gouache gives you the potential for all you'll need in the field.
 
I have an unhealthy attachment to Bruynzeel High Grade HBs. (I don't know why ... I just like the particular softness of the graphite, the lack of smudginess, and the smoothness across the page!) They're hard to find, though -- my local art store carries them on occasion, never seen them anywhere else. But, I really don't think the brand makes much difference to my drawings. As for softness, I never go above a 3B, but the softer leads do seem to get me to loosen up more. If only they weren't so messy!
 
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