Hello! This is a guide to graphite (aka lead) pencils. This guide is meant to only be about the art materials themselves and won’t include any tips or guides on shading or blending techniques — that’s another topic altogether, so I’ve split them up into different articles. I’ve also only written specifically about graphite pencils here, so if you want info about coloured pencils, that will be in a separate piece.
What’s a Graphite Pencil, Anyway?
It’s a little stick of graphite mixed with kaolin (clay) as a binder. Graphite is what is making the marks, while kaolin sticks the graphite together. The ratio of graphite to kaolin determines the grade (hardness/softness) of the pencil. More graphite in a pencil will mean darker, softer lead, and vice versa.
Graphite can be easily bought in many forms — powder, stick, pencil, lead.