STAEDTLER 110-4B Tradition Graphite Pencil for Drawing & Sketching - 4B (Box of 12)

Product Information

One of the best ways to practice this and get a feel for different values is to create a tonal scale. How do you do that? Time for the mechanical pencil. Use it to add tiny shadows within the clumps (the big clumps are made of smaller clumps, after all). Be very, very careful—too much of it may destroy the effect. Feel free to copy the shapes of the shadows you see in my drawing. Step 16 Now you know how to draw fluffy hair, both short and long. As you can see, fur isn't so hard to draw once you know the rules. You can use this knowledge to draw all kinds of fur now. The B-grade pencils are softer in texture and produce darker marks with little pressure from the artist.

You could see that the HB, B, and H pencils have unique and distinguishing features even though they fall under the same pencil set. No, buying every pencil grade from 9H-9B is not at all necessary. If you are starting out and unsure, you may want to buy an entire set and see what works best for you. Most likely you will find that a few grades will constantly need to be replaced, while others will hardly ever get used. If you are on a budget, I recommend starting with an HB, 4H, and 4B and go from there.

As you can see from the diagram above shows how the silicon polymers give their Pentel AIN STEIN Lead its added strength.

Get out every type of graphite pencil that you own. Ideally, you’ll have everything from a 9H to a 9B. Pencil manufacturers use letters to indicate the various degrees of hardness of the lead in a pencil. For our cube, use an H pencil on its flattest edge to work in horizontal strokes. Using the flat edge will create broader strokes but the darkest tone. As the right hand side of our cube is furthest from the light, this is where the heavier shades will need to be. The other pencil manufacturers followed suit, with Faber-Castell introducing in 1967 a 0.5 mm mechanical pencil with 0.5 polymer lead. Pencil drawing animals is challenging mostly because of fur. Short fur is based on the same rules as long fur. After all, it doesn't matter how long the fur is, but how long it is in relation to the surface it lies on. The smaller the surface, the more bending and the more clumps there are. The bigger it is, the more uniform the hair.

Graphite Grades

Choose a sheet of paper. While any paper will do in a pinch, using a smoother paper will give you more precise control as you add graphite to create values.

These two substances are used by pencil makers in various degrees to determine the texture of a graphite pencil.

Summing it Up

Another factor to consider is "graphite shine". Graphite is naturally shiny. However, this shine can be reducedif the graphite is applied using a layered approach. Lighter pencils may be used earlier in the process followed by darker pencils. Even and consistent pressure should be applied with each layer so that the tooth of the paper is not destroyed. (Flattening the tooth often increases the shine.)

An H pencil corresponds to a #4 pencil on the American grading system, which places it a few spots further up the hardness scale over a #2 pencil. While an H pencil will create lighter lines than the more common #2 pencil, it is possible to create lines that are moderately dark by using a lot of pressure. If you like to have a detailed sketch done before you do a finished drawing or painting, an H pencil can work very well for you. It’s still a hard graphite lead, but it’s softer and can be used to create darker lines than other hard pencils.An 8H lead is very hard, but not quite as hard as a 9H lead. What should you use an 8H lead for? You can use it for anything that you use a 9H lead for since the two are very similar in terms of hardness and the types of marks that they create on paper. The only real difference is that an 8H lead is slightly softer than a 9H lead, which means it will produce marginally darker lines and that it is somewhat more likely to smudge. As we have already seen, the softest mechanical pencil lead grade is 4B, only available for 0.5 mm pencils. H" pencils are better suited for filling the tooth or texture of the paper, resulting in smoother transitions of tone and value. "B" pencils fill the tooth to a lesser degree, making the texture of the paper more noticeable. By combining "H" and "B" pencils in a drawing, smooth transitions of tone can be developed without compromising a full range of value. Graphite pencils are labeled with letters and numbers with each letter and number signifying specific effects. An HB pencil is used in many different ways in drawing because it writes clearly but does not leave much graphite on paper.