The most used black lead pencils by gradation. What are the differences between hard and soft pencils? Hatching and shading

What is a pencil? This is a kind of instrument that looks like a rod made of writing material (charcoal, graphite, dry paint, etc.). This tool is widely used in writing, drawing and drawing. As a rule, the writing rod is inserted into a comfortable frame. pencils can be colored or “simple”. It’s these “simple” pencils that we’ll talk about today, or rather, what types of graphite pencils exist.

Interesting from history

The very first object vaguely resembling a pencil was invented in the 13th century. It was a thin silver wire soldered to the handle. Kept it like this "silver pencil" in a special case. To draw with such a pencil required remarkable skill and skill, because it was impossible to erase what was written. In addition to the "silver pencil" there was also "lead"- it was used for sketches.

Appeared around the 14th century "Italian pencil": A rod made from clayey black shale. Later, the rod began to be made from burnt bone powder mixed with vegetable glue. This pencil gave a clear and richly colored line. By the way, writing instruments of this kind are still used by some artists to achieve a certain effect.

Graphite pencils became known in the 16th century. Their appearance is very interesting: in the Cumberland area, English shepherds found a certain dark mass in the ground, with which they began to mark their sheep. Since the color of the mass was similar to lead, it was mistaken for metal deposits, but later they began to make thin sharp sticks from it, which were used for drawing. The sticks were soft and often broke, and they also got your hands dirty, so it was necessary to place them in some kind of case. They began to clamp the rod between wooden sticks or pieces of wood, wrap them in thick paper, and tie them with twine.

As for the graphite pencil that we are used to seeing today, Nicola Jacques Conte is considered its inventor. Conte became the author of the recipe, when graphite was mixed with clay and subjected to high temperature treatment - as a result, the rod was strong and, in addition, this technology made it possible to regulate the hardness of graphite.

Types of pencils

Graphite pencils come in two main types: soft and hard. As a rule, the degree of softness or hardness is indicated on the pencil body. So, the letter “M” means that the lead is soft, the letter “T” is hard, and the letter combination “TM” tells us that the pencil is hard-soft. Numbers are sometimes located next to the letters - they indicate the degree. For example, "2M", "3T", etc.

Visual difference between pencils depending on the degree of softness or hardness

In Europe, hardness and softness are also designated by letters, but with different ones: “H” - hard, “B” - soft, “HB” - hard-soft. It is more convenient for an artist to have all types of pencils in his arsenal: for sketching, drawing, shading, etc.

It is important to store pencils correctly and, of course, take care of them. Try not to drop pencils on the floor, as the impact may simply cause the lead to break. In addition, “simple” pencils do not like high humidity - after the lead gets damp and dries again, it will become deformed.

A mechanical pencil can also be classified as a type of graphite pencil. The lead of this pencil is movable - the length is adjusted with a special button. Mechanical pencils can have very thin leads (0.1 mm) or quite thick ones (5 mm). By the way, professional artists are increasingly choosing high-quality mechanical pencils.

By the way, combining different types of pencils in one drawing gives excellent results.

Let's see how amazing drawings with a "simple" pencil can be.

Drawings with graphite pencils have their own charm. Experiment with different types of pencils, look for your unique style!

A simple pencil is something so familiar that in childhood we drew on wallpaper, at school we made notes in textbooks and drew triangles on geometry. Most people know that this is just a “gray” pencil, those who had drawing in school know a little more about it, artists and representatives of several other professions who use pencils in their work know its real beauty.

A little about simple pencils.
In the usual sense, a simple pencil is graphite in a wooden shell. But it's not that simple. After all, a “gray pencil” can have different shades, depending on the degree of softness of the lead. The lead consists of graphite with clay: the more graphite, the softer the tone, the more clay, the harder.
The pencils themselves are also different: in a typical wooden shell, collet and solid graphite.

Let's start with wooden ones.
I will describe pencils and other materials that I have and use regularly. Not all of them look like from a shop window, but understand that it is quite real =)
So, a set of pencils "Koh-i-Noor", 12 pcs. The company is familiar to everyone; these pencils are available in any office supply store and you can buy them either in boxes or individually. Their price is quite affordable and affordable.
The pencils are good, but individually you can buy fake ones with bad wood and lead.
This set seems to be for artists from 8B to 2H, but there is also the same one for drawing, it is dominated by hard pencils.

Set of pencils "DERWENT", 24 pcs. Tones from 9B to 9H, some with 2 pieces of the same type (I’ll write below why this is convenient). In fact, I practically don’t use pencils that are softer than 4B and harder than 4H, since “DERWENT” pencils are already much softer than the same “Koh-i-Noor”, so I don’t even know what to draw, for example, with a 7B pencil, if it so soft that it leaves behind graphite crumbs.
The pencils are of high quality, sharpen well, and do not break, however, at first you need to get used to their, hmm, smell. However, after two weeks it disappears.

Set of pencils "DALER ROWNEY", 12 pcs. Very soft pencils from 2H to 9B (see below for comparison of markings) in a compact pencil case.

The pencils lie in two rows, so when drawing you need to remove the top row

And, of course, Faber Castell. There are no complaints about these pencils, but the increased softness is not inferior to "DERWENT".
We do not have boxed versions for sale, we only have two series of individual ones.
Cheaper series

And recently a slightly more expensive, but very stylish series appeared. The “pimples” are quite voluminous and thanks to them and the triangular shape of the pencil, it is very pleasant to hold and draw with them.

The softness of a pencil can be seen not only by the markings, but also by the color of the head, which matches the tone of the lead.

In addition to these manufacturers, there are many others (such as "Marco", "Constructor", others), which for some reason do not suit me personally, but this is not a reason to ignore them, so you can try everything.
In addition to the sets, I buy the most used pencils from the same brand and the same markings as in the box.
I always have two pencils 2B, B, HB, F, H and 2H. This is necessary because when drawing you don’t always need a sharpened pencil, so one pencil, for example, 2H, is sharp, and the second has a blunt, rounded tip. A “blunt tip” is needed when you need to dial in tone without leaving a clear trace of the stroke. This was not taught in art, but, as practice shows, it is very convenient and many artists, masters of a simple pencil, do this.

Collet pencils. They have already been written about a little earlier. I repeat again that they are good in all field conditions or on the road, but in the workplace it is better to draw with wooden ones.
An undeniable advantage of collet pencils is the thickness of the rod, or rather the variety of this thickness.
Crayons come in sizes from 0.5 mm (07, 1.5, etc.)

And up to a very impressive thickness of soft technique rods

Solid graphite pencils. They consist entirely of graphite in a thin shell, so as not to get your hands dirty.
Here I have “Koh-i-Noor” pencils, I don’t see any others on sale. In principle, I use them even less often than collet ones, because they are not very convenient to sharpen and in few places there is a need to draw with the entire thickness of the rod. Another significant disadvantage is that they fight...

A little about labeling.
Let's start with the fact that each company has its own. That is, the marking seems to be standard from 9B to 9H, but, as can be seen in the figure below, the “DALER ROWNEY” NV and the “Koh-i-Noor” NV are two different NVs. That is why, if you need pencils of varying degrees of softness, they should all be taken from the same company, preferably in a set.
"Faber Castell No. 1" is the series that is cheaper.
“Faber Castell No. 2” - with “pimples” (in fact, I don’t have “F” ones, it would just be somewhere like that).

Actually, about the softness and hardness of pencils.
Hard pencils are N-9N. The higher the number, the harder/lighter the pencil.
Soft pencils - B-9B. The higher the number, the softer/darker the pencil.
Hard-soft pencils - HB and F. With HB everything is clear - it’s the average between H and B, but F is a very mysterious marking, it’s the middle tone between HB and N. Either because of its unusualness, or because of the tone, but I use this pencil most often (only “DERWENT” or “FC”, with “Koh-i-Noor” it is very light).
There are also Russian markings “T” - hard, “M” - soft, but I don’t have such pencils.
Well, just to compare

Bottom line - DALER ROWNEY, darkest pencils.
The penultimate line is Loki's "DERWENT-sketch" set, it's a little different from mine (top DW).
Third from the bottom are some Marco pencils. They have the most alternative markings because 6B is darker than 8B and 7B is lighter than HB. That's why I don't have them.

As an example of use - my drawing "Curious Fox"

The lightest tone is snow, it is drawn with an 8H pencil (DW)
Light fur - 4Н (Koh-i-Noor) and 2Н (FC№1)
Mid tones - F (DW and FC#1), H (DW and FC#1), HB (DW), B (FC#1 and FC#2)
Dark (paws, nose, contours of eyes and ears) - 2B (FC#1 and FC#2), 3B (FC#1), 4B (Koh-i-Noor)

Review of erasers -

What could be simpler than a pencil? This simple instrument, familiar to everyone since childhood, is not as primitive as it seems at first glance. It allows you not only to draw, write and draw, but also to create a variety of artistic effects, sketches, paintings! Any artist must be able to draw with a pencil. And, just as important, understand them.

Graphite (“simple”) pencils are quite different from each other. By the way, “pencil” comes from two Turkic words - “kara” and “dash” (black stone).

The writing core of a pencil is inserted into a frame made of wood or plastic and can be made of graphite, coal or other materials. The most common type - graphite pencils - vary in degree of hardness.

The human eye can distinguish about 150 shades of gray. An artist who draws with graphite pencils has three colors at his disposal. White (paper color), black and gray (color of graphite pencils of different hardness). These are achromatic colors. Drawing only with a pencil, only in shades of gray, allows you to create images that convey the volume of objects, the play of shadows and glare of light.

Lead hardness

The hardness of the lead is indicated on the pencil with letters and numbers. Manufacturers from different countries (Europe, USA and Russia) mark the hardness of pencils differently.

Hardness designation

In Russia, the hardness scale looks like this:

M - soft; T - hard; TM - hard-soft;

The European scale is somewhat wider (the F marking does not have Russian correspondence):

B - soft, from blackness (blackness); H - hard, from hardness (hardness); F - this is the middle tone between HB and H (from the English fine point - subtlety) HB - hard-soft (Hardness Blackness - hardness-blackness );

In the USA, a number scale is used to indicate the hardness of a pencil:

Corresponds to B - soft; - corresponds to HB - hard-soft; - corresponds to F - average between hard-soft and hard; - corresponds to H - hard; - corresponds to 2H - very hard.

Pencil is different from pencil. Depending on the manufacturer, the tone of the line drawn with a pencil of the same marking may differ.

In Russian and European pencil markings, the number before the letter indicates the degree of softness or hardness. For example, 2B is twice as soft as B, and 2H is twice as hard as H. You can find pencils on sale ranging from 9H (hardest) to 9B (softest).

Soft pencils

Start from B to 9B.

The most commonly used pencil when creating a drawing is HB. However, this is the most common pencil. Use this pencil to draw the base and shape of the drawing. HB is comfortable for drawing, creating tonal spots, it is not too hard, not too soft. A soft 2B pencil will help you draw dark areas, highlight them and place accents, and make a clear line in the drawing.

Hard pencils

Start from H to 9H.

H is a hard pencil, hence the thin, light, “dry” lines. Use a hard pencil to draw solid objects with a clear outline (stone, metal). With such a hard pencil, thin lines are drawn over the finished drawing, on top of the shaded or shaded fragments, for example, strands in the hair.

Hatching and drawing

Strokes on paper are drawn with a pencil inclined at an angle of about 45° to the plane of the sheet. To make the line thicker, you can rotate the pencil around its axis.

Light areas are shaded with a hard pencil. Dark areas are correspondingly soft.

When drawing, gradually move from light areas to dark ones, since it is much easier to darken part of the drawing with a pencil than to make a dark place lighter.

Graphite pencil lead is a fragile material. Despite the protection of the wooden shell, the pencil requires careful handling. When dropped, the lead inside the pencil breaks into pieces and then crumbles when sharpened, making the pencil unusable.

And a little about pencils, whose companies you may have known for a long time.

"Constructor"

Well-proven inexpensive pencils, made of high-quality wood, the lead does not break and is easy to sharpen. Environmentally friendly, easy to hold in the hand, the marking of the hardness of the lead always corresponds to the letters indicated on the pencil (the last two parameters are very obvious, but users of various forums for artists often note them in their descriptions).

Quite good, high-quality pencils; they are a favorite model for many artists. Sold in sets of 24 pieces. They have a strong body and sharpen well. The features of these pencils are their persistent and rather specific smell, as well as, pardon the tautology, the softness of soft pencils. They are really much softer than similar model numbers from other companies; the softest ones even crumble and smear a little. But overall, this is an excellent option even for professionals, very comfortable and high-quality pencils.

“Koh-i-noor”

High-quality, excellent sharpening, these pencils are easy to erase and do not break at all, even after repeated falls on the floor.

They are sold both individually and in stylish metal boxes - in general, they are a pleasure to use. The only drawback is the price; they are often one of the most expensive in the assortment of a single store. By the way, they got their name in honor of the large Kohinoor diamond, one of the most famous gems in the world.

If you have your own favorite brand of pencils, then you can tell us about it in the comments.

Thank you for your attention!

New disposable pencil with a wooden frame, the lead must be sharpened (sharpened) before first use. In addition to disposable pencils there are reusable mechanical pencils with replaceable leads in a permanent frame.

Pencilsdiffer in the hardness of the lead, which is usually indicated onpenciland is indicated by the lettersM(or B- from English blackness) - soft andT(or H- from English hardness) - hard. Standard (hard-soft) pencil in addition to combinationsTM And HBdenoted by the letterF(from English fine point). Softness levelpencilsdenoted by a letterM(soft) or 2M, ZMetc. Capital letter beforeMindicates greater softnesspencil. Solid pencilsdenoted by a letterT(solid). 2 T harder than T, ST harder than 2 T, etc.

Unlike Europe and Russia, in the USA a numerical scale is used to indicate hardness.

Hardness scale correspondence table

The hardest Average The softest

Usually they start pencilmedium soft -TM or M- and then move on to softer numbers" -2 M And ZM.

Choice pencilsdepends on quality and on the creative task that the artist sets for himself. For example, fast it's easier to make it softpencils, and when working on long time for like half-whatman, you can start with light ones pencils T or TM. On smooth fits better soft pencil, on rougher surfaces it is convenientpencilmedium soft -2 M.

History of pencils

Since the 13th century, artists have used thin paper for painting.silver wire, which was soldered to the handle or stored in a case. This type pencil called « silver pencil » . This tool required a high level , since it is impossible to erase what he has written. Another characteristic feature of it was that over time the gray, applied silver pencil, turned brown.

There was also "lead pencil" , which left a discreet but clear mark and was often used for preparatory. For , completed silver and lead pencil, characterized by thin . For example, likepencilsused by Dürer.

Also known is the so-called"Italian pencil" , which appeared in the 14th century. It was a rod made of clayey black slate . Then they began to make it from burnt bone powder, fastened with vegetable . This tool made it possible to create intense and rich Interestingly, artists still sometimes use silver, lead anditalian pencilswhen they need to achieve a certain effect.

In the XV-XVI centuries. on parchment or painted with a silver or lead pin ( German Stiff - "base, tool"). A silver stylus is especially good for this purpose. It gives thin and clear and similar to a chisel. These are so dense almost do not wear off. Silver pin, or stylus , many people drew Italian artists as well as Northern Renaissance- R. van der Weyden, A. Dürer, H. Holbein (Holbein) Junior, J. fan Eyck.

In the era and XVI-XVII centuries artists preferred soft or liquid materials - , , , , . Since the end of the 14th century. began to use lightly burnt clay grayish slate ( "black chalk") or red-brown ("red chalk").

In the 17th century became widespread"Italian pencil" (French Crayon d'Italie). It was made from burnt bones , crushed into powder, with the addition of vegetable . " Italian pencil" (later -retouch) is capable of creating juicy black matte , and when rubbing - a wide scale transitions. This material was a favorite in creativity Venetian artists, for example Titian, it is convenient for them to make preparatory To . And " Italian pencil"artists painted - and romance of the late XVIII-XIX centuries.

Known since the 16th century. First description pencilwas found in the 1564 writings on minerals of the Swiss naturalist Konrad Geisler. The discovery of the deposit dates back to the same time. in England, in Cumberland where sawed into pencil leads. English shepherds from the Cumberland area found a dark mass in the ground, which they used to mark their sheep. Because of, similar to lead, the deposit was mistaken for deposits of this metal. But, having determined the unsuitability of the new material for making bullets, they began to produce thin sticks pointed at the end from it and used them for drawing. These sticks were soft, stained your hands, and were only suitable for drawing, not writing.

In the 17th century usually sold on the streets. Artists, to make it more convenient and the stick not to be so soft, clamped these « pencils "between pieces of wood or twigs, wrapped inpaper or tied them with twine.

The first document to mention woodenpencil, dated 1683. Production in Germany pencilsstarted in Nuremberg. Germans mixing with sulfur and , received a rod of not such high quality, but at a lower price. To hide this, manufacturerspencilsresorted to various tricks. In wooden casepencilat the beginning and at the end pieces of clean , in the middle there was a low-quality artificial rod. Sometimes the insidepenciland was completely empty. So-called "Nuremberg goods"did not have a good reputation.

It was not until 1761 that Caspar Faber developed a method of strengthening by mixing ground powder with resin and antimony, resulting in a thick mass suitable for casting more durable and uniform rods.

At the end of the XVIII century, the Czech I. Hartmut began making pencil leads from a mixture and clay followed by firing. Appeared rods reminiscent of modern ones. By varying the amount of clay added, it was possible to obtain rods of varying hardness.

Modern pencil invented in 1794 by the talented French scientist and inventor Nicolas Jacques Conte.

At the end of the 18th century, the English Parliament introduced a strict ban on the export of precious from Cumberland. For violating this prohibition, the punishment was very severe, including the death penalty. But despite this continued to be smuggled into continental Europe, which led to a sharp increase in its price.

On instructions from the French Convention, Conte developed a mixing recipe with clay and producing high-quality rods from these materials. By processing at high temperatures, high strength was achieved, but even more important was the fact that changing the proportion of the mixture made it possible to make rods of different hardness, which served as the basis for the modern classificationpencils by hardness.

It is estimated that pencilwith a rod 18 cm long you can carry out 55 km or write 45,000 words!

Modern leads use polymers, which make it possible to achieve the desired combination of strength and elasticity, making it possible to produce very thin leads for mechanical pencils(up to 0.3 mm).

Hexagonal body shape pencil proposed at the end of the 19th century by Count Lothar von Fabercastle, noting that pencils round cross-section are often rolled off inclined writing surfaces.

Almost ²/ 3 material constituting a simplepencil, goes to waste when sharpening it. This prompted the American Alonso Townsend Cross to create in 1869metal pencil. the rod was placed in a metal tube and could be extended to the appropriate length as needed.

This invention influenced the development of a whole group of products that are used everywhere today. The simplest design is mechanical pencil with a 2 mm lead, where the rod is held by metal clamps ( collets) - collet pencil. The collets open when you press the button on the end pencil, resulting in extension to a user-adjustable length pencil.

Modern mechanical pencilsmore perfect. Each time you press the button, a small section of lead is automatically fed. Suchpencilsno need to sharpen, they are equipped with a built-in (usually under the lead feed button) eraser and have different fixed thickness (0.3mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, 0.9mm, 1mm).

pencil have a grayish with a slight shine, they do not have intense blackness.

Famous French Emmanuel Poiret (1858-1909 ), born in Russia, came up with an aristocratic-sounding French-style pseudonymCaran d'Ache , with which he began to sign his works. Later, this version of the French transcription of the Russian word"pencil" was chosen as the name and logo of the Swiss brandCARAN d'ACHE , based in Geneva pencilssharpened with fine-grained sandpaper), reminiscent italian pencil . Pencil « Retouch"There are four numbers: No. 1 - very soft, No. 2 - soft, No. 3 - medium-hard, No. 4 - hard. Rodspencil « Retouch» are made from finely ground birch charcoal, clay and a small amount of carbon black.Pencils « Retouch» give an intense, bold black feature , which shades well. , made in pencil "Retouch", may not be secured with a fixative. In addition to the black pencil "Retouch", another pencil is being produced "Painting» with marking 2 M- 4 M.

Pencil "Blueprint"

Except , in quality . Gives a blacker and more contrasting stroke, better perceived by various photocopiers. , produced for marking on wood, as well as"Carpentry". For this work " Carpentry» pencil Convenient due to its length and thick lead.

Italian pencil

Italian pencilis one of the types of freestyle pencils. Its distinctive feature is its deep matte velvety black , easy to shade .

Italian pencilused when performing, and naked human body.
Italian pencilsknown since the 15th century. They come in hard, medium and soft.

WHAT A PENCIL CAN DO

graphic artist Stanislav Mikhailovich NIKIREEV

If we turn to painters, graphic artists, monumentalists and even sculptors with this question, then everyone would find in an ordinary pencil, in its artistic and technical capabilities, something they love, and we would not hear a definite answer. But that's probably allwithThey say that the pencil was not invented in vain, and drawing begins with its help - in the form of sketches and sketches. A great many works of art were created pencil.

Pencildraw. But what isdrawing ? This question is not easy to answer briefly. Every significant artist makes his contribution to the art of drawing, although there is a general opinion about drawing as the basis, the backbone of fine art. I remember the words of the wonderful Soviet artist and teacher, academician E. A. Kibrik, with whom I was lucky enough to study. He said:

“It took more than a decade before I understood what drawing was.”

He had in mind the drawing of the highest, most difficult in its artistic style, realistic art, where line and stroke build objects, figures, landscapes in a volumetric, weighty, characteristic way.

Quite often I had to spend a long time working with pencils, plain and colored, and now I need to remember ( after all, my creative path is already three decades old), what did I draw for them and how.

Drawing with a pencil with complete seriousness, devoting most of your creative time to this activity, is not easy. It is necessary to overcome the temptation of paints and colors and feel confident that you can express, along with clear constructiveness, a tonal and picturesque mood in a silver or black image. To decide on this means to win, the first, significant one. The second victory of extreme importance is when you are able to understand that an artist can create masterpieces not only with paints, but also with a pencil. Magnificent drawings will help you with this with the clearest clarity.

In the artist’s work, the pencil performs a great deal of auxiliary work, allowing one to make sketches, sketches, and quick sketches, which serve as a preparatory stage for works of easel and monumental painting, and prints. The work is responsible and extremely necessary. The maximum value of the qualities of a pencil is manifested in independent drawings, when the artist needs to express his ideas more fully and definitively. And the pencil will not let you down with its endless scale of elusive shades, delicate shadings and richly velvety spots, from the thinnest cobwebs to decisively tense, elastic lines. If we add to this the varying softness and degree of gray-black gradations, then the pencil’s abilities surpass any otherart material .

When working with pencils, I never feel annoyed that at some point they may be powerless to express my desires and intentions. Using a simple pencil, I studied casts, still lifes, portraits and figures of sitters during long sessions, diligently shaded and carefully worked out the details. But with a special desire I paint landscapes - grass, flowers, trees, earth, buildings. At the same time, I study not only their design, materiality,invoice , but I strive to convey different “moods” on paperlandscape .

The pencil is light and easy to correct, which is especially important when working in wildlife, and is almost indispensable on trips, where you encounter many interesting moments that you would like to capture, while it is impossible to use other art materials due to limited time.Line Andspot , which the pencil provides, help to easily and quickly record exciting moments and necessary details in the artist’s travel album.

It is difficult to imagine the life around us, so to speak, in black and white, without color. It turned out that I parted with watercolors and oils a long time ago, devoting all my time and energy to graphics, but I acquired a reliable assistant - a colored pencil, which fully satisfies my needs to work in color. The opinion has become stronger that colored pencil is poor and limited in color range. Is it worth demanding, however, from him complexity and wealth?oil painting ? But we must strive to use its capabilities to the fullest.

Sometimes drawing comes down to either imitating children's drawings, or admiring mannerisms: the sweep of a stroke, line, spot, pure
formal compositional solutions. Many professional artists sometimes paint as if on a break, while taking a break from painting or other activities. Hence the frivolous approach to pencil, the lightweight drawings that you often see at exhibitions.

When I first tried to work seriously with a colored pencil, as a student, I admired the unusual elasticity and texture of the lines and strokes.

I wanted to see the motif in sweeping and sometimes random lines and in no case allow shading. The paper breathed and the lines were really beautiful. But if the goals of art were reduced to solving such problems, then artists would, as they say, be a dime a dozen. Thinking about what I draw and why made me look at working with a pencil differently. Gradually, a different charm began to be revealed, other virtues, less flashy, but noble and necessary for the expression of ideas. The amazing ability of the pencil to convey the smallest objects and details with extraordinary clarity of form was revealed, while simultaneously enveloping these forms with the finest fluffiness of a stroke or coloring them with a rich, sonorous spot. This technique corresponded to my understanding of the world, and I could not achieve this in other artistic materials. It turned out that the color possibilities of a pencil are much wider and deeper when you try to convey the mood and state of a landscape. At the same time, a purely pictorial technique is used - scraping, when it is not possible to immediately guess the color, texture, and tone of objects. It would seem that the drawing is dry, in places it is careless due to scraping, but the completeness of the sheet, dictated by the content, and not by formal aspects, acquires true meaning and beauty.

In such work, many times he went so far from drawing with strokes and lines into purely shading spots that the sheet took on the appearance that artists casually call “oilcloth.” But if this technique is warmed by great, genuine love and passion for what was shaded so imperceptibly under the “oilcloth”, then, I assure you, the success of this discreet sheet is ensured with a greater guarantee than a “tasty” solution. This revealed the ability of a colored pencil to work in multiple sessions, starting a drawing easily and bringing it to a meaningful conclusion.

With each drawing I learn about new possibilities of the pencil. You just need to look carefully and sensitively at the small stylus in a wooden frame, and it will give you great joy and success.

I love a pencil because you can draw with it. I love him jealously, because he is capable of much more - drawing, writing. I love it for its amazing accessibility and simplicity, because I drew my first work from life with a simple pencil, and then the dream of becoming an artist arose in me.

A simple pencil is perhaps the most important tool of any artist. It is with a pencil that all initial sketches, sketches and markings are made. By the way, almost all the lessons on our website are drawn in pencil.

Pencil sketches can be edged and shadows applied to them using the same pencil with which these sketches were made, or you can complete the drawing with paints. Note that in cases where, in addition to pencils, other tools will be used, the sketches should be especially light and inconspicuous.

To create such subtle guide lines, pencils of hardness “H” or “HB” (T or TM in the Russian version, respectively) are best suited. By the way, we have not yet told you about the classification itself. The internationally accepted hardness rating system divides pencils into types “H” (from the word “Hard”) and “B” (from the word “Bold”)

Note that the Russian-language classification of pencils is similar to the H-B system, only in our language “H” is denoted by the letter “T” (hard), while the letter “B” corresponds to the Russian “M” - soft. Many artists strongly discourage the use of table edge pencils - 6H and 8B for creating regular sketches. According to their comments, 8B is too soft, leaves marks and is more black than plain. 6H, as one artist put it, is generally “just nails.”

In the usual sense, a simple pencil is graphite in a wooden shell. But it's not that simple. After all, a “gray pencil” can have different shades, depending on the degree of softness of the lead. The lead consists of graphite with clay: the more graphite, the softer the tone, the more clay, the harder.
The pencils themselves are also different: in a typical wooden shell, collet and solid graphite.

As a rule, good pencils are sold in several versions, at least in two: individually and in a set; there can be a different number of sets. High-quality drawing pencils are made of high-quality wood. It should not be jagged, large wood fibers, and it should not be brittle. Good pencil wood appears as a solid, smooth material that is light beige in color.

An important test for a pencil is the sharpening process. During sharpening, the pencil lead should under no circumstances break or crumble; such symptoms indicate cheap, low-quality raw materials.

Pencils “Constructor”

Well-proven inexpensive pencils, made of high-quality wood, the lead does not break and is easy to sharpen. Environmentally friendly, easy to hold in the hand, the marking of the hardness of the lead always corresponds to the letters indicated on the pencil (the last two parameters are very obvious, but users of various forums for artists often note them in their descriptions).

“Derwent” pencils

Quite good, high-quality pencils; they are a favorite model for many artists. Sold in sets of 24 pieces. They have a strong body and sharpen well. The features of these pencils are their persistent and rather specific smell, as well as, pardon the tautology, the softness of soft pencils. They are really much softer than similar model numbers from other companies; the softest ones even crumble and smear a little. But overall, this is an excellent option even for professionals, very comfortable and high-quality pencils.

Pencils “Koh-i-noor”

The third pencil manufacturer in our mini-review is Czech pencils Koh-i-noor. In the review they are second, but in the lists of preferences of artists on our site they are clearly first. High-quality, excellent sharpening, these pencils are easy to erase and do not break at all, even after repeated falls on the floor.

They are sold both individually and in stylish metal boxes - in general, they are a pleasure to use. The only drawback is the price; they are often one of the most expensive in the assortment of a single store. By the way, they got their name in honor of the large Kohinoor diamond, one of the most famous gems in the world.

Pencils "Faber Castell"

There are no complaints about these pencils; they are not inferior to “DERWENT” in softness. We do not have boxed versions for sale, we only have two series of individual ones.

Cheaper series

And recently a slightly more expensive, but very stylish series appeared. The “pimples” are quite voluminous and thanks to them and the triangular shape of the pencil, it is very pleasant to hold and draw with them. In the same style, Faber castell has eraser tips for pencils.

The softness of a pencil can be seen not only by the markings, but also by the color of the head, which matches the tone of the lead.

In addition to the sets, it is useful to buy the most used pencils of the same brand and the same markings as in the box.

I always have two pencils 2B, B, HB, F, H and 2H. This is necessary because when drawing you don’t always need a sharpened pencil, so one pencil, for example, 2H, is sharp, and the second has a blunt, rounded tip. A “blunt tip” is needed when you need to dial in tone without leaving a clear trace of the stroke. This was not taught in art, but, as practice shows, it is very convenient and many artists, masters of a simple pencil, do this. In order to obtain the necessary “sharpness” of the tip, I use sandpaper.