A creative mind is one that needs to be exercised properly and on the regular, otherwise, it’ll start to feel a little abandoned. Whether you’re a regular artist who lives and breathes images, or you’re a casual doodler who dabbles in the creative world, a well filled out tool kit will be incredibly useful for the long term. In order to really get creative, you need the right tools.
Although creativity inarguably comes from you and your thoughts, with the right utensils, you can be confident that you’ll be able to create something that’s truly unique.
B Pencils
B, or Black pencils, are going to give you a deeper, darker line than your alternate H and F. The sumptuous and luxurious effect that B pencils offer are also easily erased or manipulated to get a smudged, artistic effect. For your drawing set, you should look at securing yourself a range of B grade pencils. Look for 8B, 7B, 6B, 5B, 4B, 3B and 2B to kit yourself out properly! Chances are, B pencils will be some of your most-used pieces in your drawing set.
H Pencils
H, or Hard pencils, give a very different effect than your B pencils. The harder the lead, the lighter the pencil, so high-grade H pencils will be a little difficult for you to draw with. Hard pencils give a faint, fine line that’s a world away from the dark line that B pencils give you. Grab 2H, 4H and 6H pencils to fill out your drawing set. 6Hs are specifically made for sketching, so if you’re a keen sketcher or still life drawer, these are well worth the investment.
HB Pencils
HB pencils are a little more standard than H and B styles. HB is a combination of Hard and Black pencils, making them perfect for your everyday writing needs. Although this isn’t essential for a drawing set, it’s always a good idea to have one on hand for when you need to annotate or even add some written elements to your artwork.
F Pencils
F is for Fine. Fine pencils are great to have if you want a fully geared up drawing set however, they’re not essential if fine drawing isn’t your particular artistic style. Although, if you are an expert in realistic, soft line drawings and pencil graphics, you should definitely consider grabbing yourself a couple. For the fine drawer, you’ll want to pick up 8B, 7B, 6B, 5B, 4B, 3B, 2B. If you only want a few styles, opt for 4B and 7B, these two will give you line variants that’ll fill out your tool kit properly, without overloading you on pencils that you aren’t really going to reach for.
Mechanical Pencils
Although these aren’t the first type of pencil that the average drawer thinks of, they’re still a very useful tool to have in your set. You can find a wide range of mechanical pencils out there, just look for a well-made style crafted out of a quality metal or acrylic that’ll last you for the long run.
By securing these pencils you can feel sure that you’ll be prepared for any project that you have in front of you. Whether you’re looking to add to your current stash, or you’re building your set from scratch, these pencils will be perfect for all your drawing and writing needs. Remember to grab yourself some sharpeners, a few erasers and a ruler, to ensure that your creative time has everything it needs.