When learning how to use your graphite pencil, it all starts with your hold. The way you hold your graphite pencil will affect your artwork. To create a light loose sketch, hold your pencil towards the end. For more exact, specific lines, hold your pencil closer to the tip for more control.

Derwent Graphic Pencils are an excellent and affordable all-round graphite pencil. They are perfect for almost any kind of drawing, whether you prefer loose sketching or highly detailed illustration. Graphic Pencils also cover an impressive range of grades, with the softest being the 9B and the hardest the 9H.

So the short answer is, an HB Pencil is generally lighter than a 2B pencil because a 2B pencil is softer and will, therefore, leave more graphite on the drawing surface with each line than the HB pencil. It is simply softer and therefore darker than a harder graded pencil.

The Best Drawing Pencils, According to Artists

• Staedtler Lumograph Graphite Drawing and Sketching Pencils, Set of 6 Degrees.
• BIC Velocity Max Mechanical Pencil, Thick Point (0.9mm), 2-Count.
• Faber-castell Pitt Graphite Master Set.
• Koh-I-Noor All Metal Lead Holder.
• Koh-I-Noor 2B Leads 5.6mm (Pack of 6)

Graphite pencils are classified as either soft black (B), hard (H), hard black (HB), and firm (F). The degree of soft black, hard, hard black, and firm are then further classified by numbers, the higher the number the higher the intensity.

Faber-Castell is a German brand known for high-quality art supplies, and the Faber-Castell 9000 Graphite Sketch pencils are no exception. The brand makes sets with a variety of grades included or you can purchase single packs of pencils in each grade. Plus, Faber-Castell’s handy tin makes the pencils highly portable.

As a general rule of thumb harder pencils, which create lighter marks, are easier to erase than softer pencils, which produce darker marks. Pencil lead, which is actually graphite, comes in a wide range of types.

Even though there are darkness and hardness variations among different brands’ No. 2 and/or HB pencils, it’s widely considered to be the ideal lead grade for writing (and it’s required for many standardized tests), making the Golden Bear a perfect choice for elementary school and beyond.

For graphite drawing pencils on the market, the lightest is 6H, while the darkest available is 8B. The higher the number in each grade, the lighter or darker it is. So a 6H will be lighter and harder than a 2H, and a 8B will be much darker and softer than a 2B. F and HB are middle-grade pencils.

The B leads are softer (darker) than their H counterparts. The higher the number in front of the B the softer the lead is. So a 6B will be softer (darker) than a 2B.

Graphite drawing pencils are an art medium specially designed for drawing, as opposed to the writing pencils that are in common use. They are made with graphite, which is also called black lead or plumbago, mixed with clay. They come rated by hardness: the more clay mixed with the graphite, the harder the pencil; the more graphite, the softer.

Art Term. Graphite is a metallic grey writing and drawing material most commonly used in pencil form – though graphite powder is also used by artists as a drawing material.

Pencil drawing, drawing executed with an instrument composed of graphite enclosed in a wood casing and intended either as a sketch for a more elaborate work in another medium, an exercise in visual expression, or a finished work.