What Types of Drawing Pencils You Should Use

Drawing pencils come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. They are easy to find, and fairly affordable. Drawing is the most affordable of all the different arts. It is satisfying to see your ideas come alive on paper. There are 4 main groups of pencils: mechanical and sketching, colored, watercolor, and pastel.

Mechanical and sketching pencils are great for simply laying down your ideas on paper. Be sure to plan or sketch at least three different possibilities for each drawing so you can select the best of the three. Mechanical pencils have a very light touch on the paper, so they are easy to erase. Sketching pencils come in seven different levels of darkness, or more. Sketching pencils are great for testing ideas, or even using the different levels of their lead for your lights and darks in your drawing. Right now, I am using both Papermate Sharpwriter and Inc. Softscripts mechanical pencils. For sketching, I have Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils. All are great brands.

Colored pencils really seem to bring your drawing alive. You can do a drawing with all colored pencils, or you can do a drawing with sketching pencils and add little touches of color to it. Both ways are equally good, it just depends on your needs for that drawing. Colored pencils should not be used in the same way that sketching pencils are used, however. They have many qualities you can take advantage of, if you know how to use them. Here’s a few ideas for drawing with colored pencils: layer them, use multiple colors together, or blend them together. My favorite brands are Prismacolor colored Pencils and Derwent colored pencils.

Watercolor pencils blend beautifully with a light touch of water and a paintbrush. They are intended to have water added, so be sure to use them with watercolor paper or a thick paper. Otherwise, your paper will ripple or cockle. Watercolor pencils are softer naturally, than regular colored pencils. They have brilliant colors, so brilliant that some people draw their drawings with watercolor pencils and never add water. The only watercolor pencil set I own is by Kimberly watercolor pencils by General.

Pastel pencils are basically a soft pastel in a pencil form. They are neater, cleaner, and easier to work with than regular soft pastels. You can do the same artwork with pastel pencils that you can with soft pastels. They have a beautiful, softened, appearance when worked correctly.

There are many kinds of drawing pencils for you to choose from. It depends on your paper, and what artwork you want to create. Have fun and try them all.