In order to write this article, we interviewed Ari Glass, the Picasso of Seattle, about the fundamentals of pencil drawing.
According to Glass, having a strong respect and understanding of the process and fundamentals of pencil drawing is essential in order to become a better artist.
In this article, Ari Glass will help us to better understand what the pencil denominations consist of.
Graduations of Pencils
The pencils are divided into degrees or graduations according to their hardness or darkness. A harder pencil produces a lighter shade on the paper, while a softer pencil produces a darker tone.
A hard pencil keeps its shape much better than a soft pencil because it has a firmer texture. The pencils of this range are preferred for technical drawing because the tip retains its shape for longer. Here, Ari Glass gives an interesting note: 'you can take a hard pencil and make its tip so thin that you can cut a paper with it.'
If you do not have the proper touch, hard pencils can leave marks on the paper or hurt it so much that it breaks when we try to erase it. If we usually try several sketches or ideas during the creation of our drawing, we can mistreat the paper and ruin our work. Therefore, for the illustration and drawing the softest pencils are used. Not only are they softer for the paper, but they also produce a range of darker shades. Consequently, they can stain the sheet if we mistakenly put our hands on it and require more effort when erasing (this is more common for the softer pencils on the scale).
The denominations of the pencils have two letters: "H" and "B," which correspond to the English words "Hard" and "Black". This letter is accompanied by a number, which corresponds to the hardness level. For example, a "2B" is a soft pencil, while a "6B" is a much softer pencil and produces a darker tone.
In Ari Glass’ opinion, there will be times when we want to put darker shadows on our drawings. For this reason, we are using a softer pencil. A 6B is enough for the vast majority of cases. Some artists often use soft pencils such as a 2H to make initial sketches, because they can be erased easier.
Which pencils are recommended for drawing?
Ari Glass shares: ‘Personally, I use only an HB pencil. That's enough for all my pencil drawings. To get a better range of shadows, get pencils 2B, HB, and 2H as I suggested earlier. It's enough to start. As you need softer pencils for darker shades you can buy a 4B and a 6B.
I was presented with a Mars Lumograph game by the Staedtler brand that brings grades 8B, 7B, 6B, 4B, 2B, and HB. It's my favorite when I go out to draw. I thought that I would go to use them all constantly, but the truth is that I always end up using only one, the HB or the 2B.
Unless you want to make a portrait or a realistic pencil drawing, which requires several gradations of tones, you can produce very good drawings with one or two pencils. So, do not become obsessed with trying to collect all the pencils that exist under the sky. Start with what you have and as you progress, experiment with another type of pencils.’
