The Best Pencils to Draw Cartoons

I was once asked to be a guest teacher for a 4th grade class, and a little girl asked me what was the best pencil to draw with.  I replied, “the one that’s in your hand.”  That’s a fine answer for the 4th grade, but I can  elaborate, knowing that there’s a wide range of pencils to choose from.

As you know, a pencil is a stick of wood with a graphite core, what we call “pencil lead”.  No, the element Lead is not in a pencil.  It’s what graphite was called when it was first discovered (and that was a mistake, corrected years later).  But the phrase stuck. 

According to Wikipedia, there are twenty grades of pencils relating to how hard or soft the graphite core is inside of a wood pencil.  “H” is for how hard it is, “B” is for how soft, and “F” for fine point.  It breaks down as:

9H     8H     7H     6H     5H     4H     3H     2H     H     F     HB     B     2B     3B     4B     5B     6B     7B     8B     9B

An HB pencil is the most common.  That’s your everyday, office and school supply pencil that you see everywhere.  As you go further up the H scale, the pencil lead is harder.  And further down the B scale, the pencil lead is softer.

The softer the lead, the darker and “blacker” the stroke of the pencil is.   This makes it ideal for artists.  However, that means  the pencil has to be sharpened more often.  The harder lead is easier to sharpen and maintains a point longer, but isn’t as dark.  Graphic designers and architects choose a harder lead, especially when working with rulers.

Most comic book artists and animators choose 2B to 6B grades of pencils to do finished art.  However, when working roughly or in the first stages of drawing, animators in particular choose a kind of pencil that goes by the brand name Col-Erase.

Col-Erase pencils have different mixes of wax and graphite, in a range of colors like blue, red, purple, and green.  They are less likely to smear across the hand, unlike soft 2B to 6B pencils, or tear up paper like the H grade pencils.   There is even a “non-photo blue” pencil that will not show up on a photocopier.  This allows an artist to draw roughly in blue, “clean up” a drawing with a 2B or 6B pencil, and have only the “clean” drawing show up on a camera, photocopier, or scanner.

Every comic artist and animator has their favorite types of pencils.  If you’re looking just to get started, go with a Col-Erase Blue and a 2B pencil.  The Blue is for rough drawing, like basic shapes and guidelines, and the 2B for clean outlines and shading.

And don’t be afraid to experiment.  6B pencils are fantastic for Life Drawing or sketching people quickly in a cafe’.  2H pencils are great for drawing with rulers, and will keep a sharp point longer.  The idea is to have something on hand when you have the inspiration to draw.

So really, my answer to that 4th grader still stands.  The best pencil is the one already in your hand.