H and B Pencils
My favorite pencil for softness is the 8B pencil. I like it because it gives me a huge range when I am trying to lay shading in. Generally, when you look at pencils online or at the store, it starts with H (the hardness). 9H is probably the hardest. Then, 9B would be the softest and the B stands for blackness. There is also an HB which is probably the most popular pencils. HB is a good in between. I like to use 8 or 9B, because I can get rich darks or I can back off and get really light darks. Once you get use out of the 8B and 9B, they get very brittle. You have to really watch it and be sure you do not drop it on anything. Most likely the lead will break from the drop. Then, as you sharpen it, it will keep breaking. But, the big advantage that outweighs the brittleness of them is getting that rich darkness.
I love drawing animals and I usually have a sharpener with me with 3 to 5 8B’s. I do have some H pencils that I like to use for the beginning of the drawing, then I go in with the B’s. I would use more like a 2H to sketch it out, then go in with one of the B’s. Or, I skip the H altogether and go in immediately with the B’s. Those are the combinations I like to use. There are so many types of pencils when you look online or go into an art store. When you are shopping, just remember H is for hardness and B is for blackness. The higher the number, the harder or darker it will be. Give these a try when you are sketching. The HB is a good one to start with since it is a mixture of both.
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