#7 BEST Drawing Pencils in 2024 (Everything A Beginner NEEDS To Know)

I know what you’re thinking.

There are actually different types of pencils for drawing? Aren’t pencils supposed to be the exact same?

Well, no. Different brands have a variety of different types of drawing pencils.

And they all have different properties. Which completely influences your drawing.

I know, I know. A craftsman isn’t defined by his tools. That’s totally true and I’m all for it. However, knowing which pencil would serve your purpose better will definitely give you an edge over the rest.

Plus, it actually affects your drawing a lot.

Why Do Pencils Make A Difference?

Let me give you an example.

I want you to grab any ordinary pencil lying around. One that you would use to take notes.

Now I want you to try drawing with it. Draw a couple of circles, a few strokes, and some wavy lines. Pay attention to the way the pencil feels and how it lays down the marks.

Do you find it slightly scratchy? Does it have a rough texture? Does the pencil have a good grip?

Try smudging the lines. Does it smudge easily? Are you able to shade well with this pencil?

Chances are that you won’t be able to do a lot with it. Ordinary pencils lack properties that a drawing pencil specializes in.

Drawing pencils are supposed to be extremely easy to handle, smooth, and have a good grip as well. You should be any to do your intended artwork with them very easily.

For example, if you want to render a portrait, then you will need a pencil with darker tonal ranges. It should also be able to blend easily as you would need to render well with it.

Thus, if you want to make stunning artwork, then having a good pencil will definitely come in handy.

What You Need to Look Out For In A Drawing Pencil

So, before we get into the best pencils for you, let’s have a brief look at the different qualities a drawing pencil should have for you to purchase it.

After all, the price of the drawing pencil should be justified and you should certainly be getting the best value for your money.

I’m going to keep it simple, as there’s NO point in confusing you with pointless technical terms that wouldn’t benefit you. All you need to care about is four basic qualities.

1. Smoothness

The first thing you need to look out for in a drawing pencil is the smoothness of the pencil.

The pencil NEEDS to be easy to handle and should lay down marks effortlessly. It should NEVER get scratchy or rough.

So, you should basically avoid pencils that require you to fight with them to get decent strokes out of them.

2. Durability

The pencil HAS to last a long time.

The pencil’s point can’t break every other day. In that case, the pencil isn’t durable and you need to stay away from those pencils.

The pencil point shouldn’t break while sharpening as well as that can get super tedious.

3. Grip

Having a good grip with certainly improve your drawing experience as the pencil won’t slip out of your hand every time you sit to draw.

Most pencils on this list have a hexagonal barrel which prevents the pencil from slipping. It’s also really easy to handle.

TIP: The barrel of the pencil refers to the cylindrical part of the pencil.

4. Purpose

Different people will require different types of pencils. Depending on your purpose, you will need a certain type of pencil for it.

For detailing, you would require pencils with a lighter range and a lot of control. For rendering you would need a pencil that can blend well.

TIP: If you’re just starting out, you can go for the all-rounder pencil. It is quite versatile and you can use it for multiple purposes with no problems!

Pencil GRADES

Now that you know a bit about pencils, let’s take a quick look at pencil grades. These are really important to know when purchasing drawing pencils.

Every pencil brand has its own pencil gradings. They’re all mostly similar but you do observe quite a few differences from time to time.

But let’s talk about what pencil grades are.

So, pencil grades basically tell you how light or dark a pencil is.

Generally, the darker the pencil is, the softer it is. Thus, lighter pencils tend to be harder than darker pencils.

If you’re a bit familiar with drawing pencils, you would have come across words like ‘2B’ or ‘HB’. What do they actually mean?

VERY Basic Terminology

H stands for hardness and B stands for blackness. The numbers just tell you the level of hardness or blackness.

I just told you a second ago that lighter pencils are harder. Thus a 4H pencil would be harder AND lighter than an H pencil.

The same thing applies to the pencils in the B range as well. A 6B pencil would be softer and darker than a 2B pencil.

Instead of buying each grade separately, it’s much easier to buy a drawing set.

Drawing sets usually contain pencils from 2H to 6B. These are the ones most frequently used and if you’re just starting out, then you wouldn’t need to use any others.

How to Use These Pencils?

If you’re new to this and don’t understand what lighter pencils or softer pencils can help you with, then here’s a quick guide on how you can use pencils depending on their grades:

1. 2H-HB: These pencils are brilliant for under-drawings or guidelines. They provide plenty of control to achieve detailed drawings with them as well.
2.  2B-4B: The B ranges are darker as well as softer and are more suitable for finished drawings.
3.  4B-8B: These are the darkest pencils and are brilliant for rendering and shading.

However, this isn’t a rule and you should try to experiment with them to see what you find most comfortable.

The BEST Pencils For Drawing

Now that we’ve finally got all the basics down, let’s get into the fun part. Let’s check out exactly which pencils are the best for drawing for you.

TIP: All the pencils mentioned below are the BEST for their price range. Since beginners don’t need ridiculously expensive pencils, I’ve kept it at a reasonable range, just enough that you can get the best value.

1. Best Pencil Overall

Staedtler Mars Lumograph Art Drawing Pencils

These pencils outperform the other pencils in almost every single category. And if they don’t then they certainly come neck-to-neck.

These pencils are quite unique as they are mixed with charcoal, which is why the darker grades don’t have the metallic shine you would find in the other pencils.

However, due to this, they may be slightly harder to erase in comparison.

But, you shouldn’t let that bother you as these pencils are amazing. I have personally used them for over two years and haven’t once been let down by the quality.

They are very durable and feel very smooth while drawing. They also have a wide grading range so you can use them for most drawing purposes. The control over the pencils is also brilliant and you should have zero problems sharpening them as well.

Overall, it beats out the other pencils on this list and the German pencil brand has a very affordable price as well.

2. Best Pencil For Detailed Work

Faber-Castell 9000 Graphite Sketch Pencils

Coming in at a close second is the Faber-Castell 9000s.

These pencils are quite a bit lighter than the other pencils on this list. However, it isn’t really a drawback as these pencils are excellent for detailed work and offer a LOT of control.

The lead is also really smooth and you can draw lines very easily. These pencils are well suited for art students as they would definitely come in handy while sketching.

The only issue is that the H ranges may feel a bit scratchy. And, these pencils wouldn’t help you much if you need darker values for thorough renderings.

Other than that, these pencils are really fantastic and provide a great drawing experience.

3. Best Drawing Set

Tombow Mono Drawing Pencil Set

Tombow Mono Drawing Pencils have impeccable quality with really smooth lines.

They blend well and you can sharpen them with zero difficulty. They don’t break easily as well although they are the only pencil drawing set that does not come pre-sharpened.

However, the drawing set comes with an excellent eraser that is quite amazing and well worth the money.

These pencils have a softer lead than Faber Castell and have pretty dark ranges as well. Thus, I would highly recommend using these pencils for shading and gesture drawing.

INFO: These pencils don’t come in a metal case unlike the other pencil sets on this list.

4. Best Premium Drawing Pencils

Conté à Paris Drawing Set

Buttery smooth, these pencils are THE creamiest pencils on the list by far.

They are incredibly fun to use and are even smoother than the Tombow Mono Pencils.

The Conté à Paris pencils have a round barrel instead of the usual hexagonal barrels. This can make it slightly slippery to use and it’s really up to personal taste as some people may dislike it.

However, it doesn’t dissuade from the fact that these pencils have superior quality and shade really well.

Like the Tombow Monos, these pencils have a darker tonal range as well, making them perfect for more finished drawings as well as renderings.

INFO: Although these pencils are pretty amazing, they also have a higher price tag than the other pencils on this list so be warned.

5. Other Popular Drawing Pencils:

The above four pencil sets are truly the best in the price range you can possibly get. Nevertheless, I’ve still provided two more options just in case you feel the need to browse more options.

However, I should point out that the sets given below are NOT cheaper but still don’t deliver as well as the aforementioned drawing pencils.

Derwent Graphic Soft Graphite Drawing Pencils

The Derwent Drawing Pencils come in a metal case, pre-sharpened.

Its rendering, quality, as well as blending, are all quite good. However, it’s easily outclassed by Steadtler as well as Faber Castell in terms of smoothness and durability.

These pencils have a bit of grit to them and are scratchy at times as well. Furthermore, they are pretty soft and require frequent sharpening.

Prismacolor Premier Turquoise Graphite Sketching Pencils

While the Prismacolor Pencils come in a metal case as well, they have great quality, and sharpness and are quite easy to draw with.

They are relatively cheaper and are great options for beginners who would prefer more affordable options.

However, the Prismacolor Pencils can be hard to sharpen at times. And they are easily outclassed by the Tombow Monos as well as the Steadtlers.

TIP: The unique turquoise color instantly sets them apart from their counterparts and you would recognize them among your other pencils quickly.

6. Mechanical Pencils

Other than the regular pencils, you can also try using mechanical pencils for a change.

These pencils have two main advantages over regular pencils:

• Mechanical pencils don’t require any sharpening at all and you can simply press a button to increase the size of the lead whenever you want
•  These are the BEST pencils for detailing and drawing intricate details as the control offered is incredible

TIP: Mechanical pencils come with refills as well so you can just switch the lead whenever you run out of it.

Furthermore, if you require a thicker lead, then you can do that as well. Mechanical pencils come in all sizes, from 0.2mm to 5.6mm.

The ‘mm’ refers to the circumference of the lead. Basically, if you want thicker lines, you can opt for higher sizes, from 2mm onwards.

TIP: Mechanical pencils are AMAZING for portrait drawings as you can add in those tiny details in the eyes, hair, and other features very easily.

Uni Kuru Toga Auto Lead Rotation

This mechanical pencil is one of the absolute best on the market. It has an incredible auto-rotation feature which causes the lead to auto-rotate every time you draw.

This way, the lead tip would always remain a pointed tip and would rarely get blunt. Isn’t that amazing?

This pencil also looks extremely stylish and has a fantastic grip as well. It doesn’t blend easily, making it great for technical drawings as well as underdrawings.

Rotring 600 Mechanical Pencil

Although this pencil is CRAZY expensive, its performance cannot be denied.

It’s a traditional drafting pencil and has perfect balance. It’s made for artists especially and is quite amazing for drawing illustrations.

However, this pencil is on the heavier side and you can’t really travel with it as it has no protection for the lead. So, if you decide to go for this pencil, keep its restrictions in mind as well.

7. Charcoal Pencils

You know that annoying shine that occurs EVERY single time you try to render using a 6B graphite pencil? When all you really want is a dark value on the drawing?

Enter charcoal pencils.

Unlike graphite pencils, they don’t sparkle under direct light and actually give you the dark values you need. And I’m telling you. You can get really dark values with these.

Although they aren’t as smooth as graphite pencils and do take some time to get used to.

But once you do, you’ll find it amazing to draw with them. They are perfect for gesture studies or for laying in dark lines.

Faber Castell Charcoal Pencil Pitt is a brilliant charcoal pencil that you’ll be able to use without any difficulty. However, be gentle with the sharpening as the pencil is more prone to breakage than the graphite pencils.

Other Drawing Tools You Will Need

Once you’ve chosen a pencil, you’ll also need quite a few other drawing tools to complete your entire drawing set.

But, don’t worry. They certainly won’t be as expensive as drawing pencils and will only cost a small fraction of the price.

1. Eraser

This is fairly obvious. You’ll definitely need an eraser for drawing practically anything.

However, it’s not as easy as just simply picking up any eraser lying around the house. You need to make sure that the eraser:

• Erasers WITHOUT leaving any pencil stains behind
•  Doesn’t smear the graphite on the page and actually picks up all the marks

There are two types of erasers you can choose to go with.

A regular eraser is the most common one and is a simple rectangular block. Make sure it’s dust-free and erases cleanly. The Tombow Mono eraser is a fantastic example of this.

A kneaded eraser is one that most artists prefer as it can be molded into any shape you want and picks up all the graphite WITHOUT the irritating eraser shavings. It’s simply amazing and I highly recommend you try it out at least once.

2. Sharpener

Unlike regular pencils where you just use a simple sharpener to sharpen them, I strongly suggest you sharpen your drawing pencils with a knife instead.

Doing this has two benefits:

1. You gain control over the sharpening process and can easily make the point longer than possible with regular sharpeners.
2.  You can control EXACTLY how sharp you want the lead to be.

Although sharpening with a knife may seem like a seriously daunting task, it’s actually not.

It only appears that way. But I promise you, once you actually try it, you’ll enjoy the process much more than you would have imagined.

Here’s a quick tutorial on how to sharpen your pencils with a knife.

Conclusion

We’ve reached the end of this guide and I hope you’ve made a decision on exactly which pencil you’d like to go with.

Although I recommend beginners to strictly adhere to drawing with a pen during the very initial stages, you’ll eventually require a good drawing pencil once you’ve mastered the basics.

If you’re still a tiny bit confused about which pencil to go with, then I’ll make it simple for you.

Go for the Staedtler Mars Lumograph. It is the perfect drawing pencil for your first time and you’ll be able to do a LOT with them.

For rendering and shading I would recommend either the Tombow Mono or the Conté à Paris pencils (if you can afford them).

And lastly, if you aim to do more detailed and precise drawings go for the Faber Castell 9000s.

Hopefully, you’re now all set to get started with drawing. If you want to know more about how to improve your drawings by 1377% then click on the link.

If you have any favorite drawing pencils that you love, feel free to share the name in the comment section.

All the best and happy drawing!