[digink]

Hi,

I was going to go down to a art store tomorrow to pick up some pencils and maybe pens. I ususally just use a normal #2 pencil for my drawings but those kinda of pencils suck for shading. I was wondering you could recommend some good pencils for drawing and shading and tell me how much that cost, and also if you could recommend some pens to.

Thank you!

[Akolyte]

Pencils are pencils. Heh, not much advice from me there. However, Rapidograph makes a nice pen, and Sakura Microns are pretty nifty, yet cheaper.

[Ben Barker]

Just get a pencil set with about 8-12 pencils. Those sets with 25+ pencils are a waste of money.

[digink]

Like I was talking about shading pencils.. like the 8B Woodless Pencil or the HB woodless graphite pencil. Are those good for drawing/shading etc?

[Mezoic]

.5 mechanical from any local grocery store.

[Ben Barker]

I don't like woodless pencils because they often break, and if you put them in your pocket with a kneaded eraser the eraser comes out looking like a lump of coal.
I think a #2 is an HB.
Some other things you might want to pick up are a "click" type eraser (it looks like a pen but with a long, white eraser you click down) and a few blending stumps or tortillons if you are a blender.

[bumble]

I find the woodless graphite pencils very useful. You can make a large variation of lines with it. Also, I find it useful to break a new one in half, sharpen, and use kneaded eraser as a pen cap so to speak. If you like long pencils you can also carry a pencil extention. However, when you finish your piece be sure to spray it with a fixative because the graphite is very different from normal pencils and moves easily.

[digink]

Thanks alot for the help guys. I was going to just pick up some HB grahpite pencils and a friend of mine recommended some ebony pencils.. I apprecaite the help!

[y2kinG]

Ah graphite pencils..?
good but i prefer 4B...steadler mars...!
and yes i use graphite sometimes for real sketches but not for digital colouring.

[MadSamoan]

I'm a big fan of drafting lead holders and have been using them for years. You can switch out whatever grade lead you want and you can protect the lead from breaking when traveling by just tucking the lead back into the holder. Also many lead holders have a cap that has a hole in the tip that doubles as a sharpener. You can also buy a sharpener for them that fits on a keychain. I know quite a few comic book artists that use them.

[Pigeon]

Well you've probably gone to the store already, but I just wanted to add that I don't like the Ebony pencils. They're about a 6B, but they don't blend well with other pencils, especially when you lay it on thick - they end up too silver and shiny.

To achieve deep blacks I like to sometimes use a black prismacolor colored pencil. It goes on soft, smooth, and pure black. In general though, I use about 4 pencils: 4H, 2H, HB, and 4B.

And pens - you gotta at least try a uni-ball vision pen. Good waterproof ink that rolls on smooth. Nice feel to the pen. inexpensive. I also use a brush with india ink, and a Rapidograph size 4.

[ August 01, 2001: Message edited by: Pigeon ]

[Shirotsugh]

I swear by my Castell 3H pencils. I have a bunch of supplementary stuff, but a 3H seems like the perfect density/stroke. For how I draw and what I do, of course.

[Breakerboy2]

I usually throw down a quick sketch with an HB/#2 sort of thing, then jump right in with Ebony pencils. I can never have too many Ebony's around.

They do take a little getting used to, though. They get REAL dark REAL fast if you're not careful.

Probably not the best thing for super crazy anal pencil renderings, however. For that you'd want to start at H or HB and gradually progress through the B's.

[Flinthawk]

I awlays have at least three Ebony pencils sharpened and ready to go. They seem to suit the loose rendering/sketching style that I've adopted this past year or so. Though I must say that earlier this week I got a few of the blue col-erase pencils and I'm drawing up a storm...a fun change from the soft lead of the ebony pencils.