Types of Pencils Used For Sketching and Shading (Guide)

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 <a href="https://soft-crystal.medium.com/guide-to-choosing-coloured-pencils-a6dac9032e00" rel="noopener">info about coloured pencils</a>, that will be in a separate piece. <h1>What’s a Graphite Pencil, Anyway?</h1> 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. <img alt="A cross-section of a pencil which is labelled with “lead core” and “wood casing”." src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/1*7FxU8hYwI4u4BI3Mz1HD_A.jpeg" style="height:289px; width:700px" /> Graphite can be easily bought in many forms — powder, stick, pencil, lead. <a href="https://soft-crystal.medium.com/types-of-pencils-used-for-sketching-and-shading-guide-af881e9aa62c">Read More</a>