The Best Graphite Pencils for Sketching and Drawing
Perhaps we’re biased, but there’s a unique beauty to drawing pencils that isn’t matched by your everyday writing pencil. Usually painted in a pleasing color and embossed with their name and grade, they cut a striking figure in one’s art box. Of course, you can’t judge a drawing pencil (solely) by its beauty. They come in a variety of grades: B pencils have more graphite in them, so they make dark and soft marks, while H pencils have more clay in them, which provides harder and more precise lines. A good drawing set will include a range of grades that transition smoothly from one into the next. Ahead, find top-notch options to get your sketching and drafting off to a good start.
How we pick each product:
Our mission is to recommend the most appropriate artists’ tool or supply for your needs. Whether you are looking for top-of-the line equipment or beginners’ basics, we’ll make sure that you get good value for your money by doing the research for you. We scour the Internet for information on how art supplies are used and read customer reviews by real users; we ask experts for their advice; and of course, we rely on our own accumulated expertise as artists, teachers, and craftspeople.
ARTNEWS RECOMMENDS
Faber-Castell 9000 Pencils and Sets
The Castell 9000 pencil has a cult following and a long history: It was purportedly launched by Count Alexander von Faber-Castell himself back in 1905. Loved for all the right reasons—smooth lead, even transitions, consistent wood casing—the pencils are staples in many studios. The harder pencils avoid being scratchy thanks to the finely ground graphite and clay, and even the softer ones hold a point for a long time. The sets of 6 and 12 pencils come in handsome green tin, and the set of 15 pencils comes with a sharpener and an eraser and is packaged in a nylon pencil case. And, if some pencils in your set wear down more quickly than others, you can purchase the 9000 pencil in any hardness individually. Read More..