Current graphite pencils in my kit - Liz Steel

Over the last year or so I’ve started including graphite in my everyday sketching kit. There is something super nice about drawing with graphite – it’s a simple tool that feels so good to use.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Ziyu.

When I draw with graphite, I feel a freedom that I don’t have with any other tool! On occasions when I’m not sure that I could be bothered to do a ‘proper sketch,’ I pull out a graphite pencil and do something simple. It’s always very satisfying.

So now I don’t leave home without some form of graphite, and therefore, I’ve included it in the demos of my upcoming Travel Sketching course.

Graphite is great for travel sketching!

If I was using a minimal kit and could only include a single pencil it would be a 2B Castell by Faber Castell. The Castell graphite is the nicest I’ve tried (and yes! I prefer it over any Blackwings). 2B is soft enough to get some dark areas but not too smudgy. It would be nice to have a darker graphite pencil, but I smudge graphite too much while sketching with it to use anything softer. (More about preventing smudges and transfer at the end of this article).

Here is a quick sketch done with this pencil during my recent trip to Melbourne.

But generally I carry two pencils with me: A mechanical pencil and a water-soluble graphite. I rarely sharpen pencils mid-sketch so the mechanical pencil means that I always have a fine point for details. Water-soluble graphite is very versatile and also smudges less than normal graphite.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website graphite paper wholesale.

My current favourites are :

1. Faber Castell TK-Fine mechanical pencil with 0.7mm 2B lead (also Faber Castell). I’ve tried lots of different mechanical pencils over the years and this Faber Castell one is the nicest – robust and comfortable to hold. I use 0.7mm as it breaks less (I’m rather heavy-handed especially when I draw quickly) and is easier to use on its side when shading.
2. Faber Castell Aquarelle Graphite in 4B. As it smudges less than normal graphite I use a softer grade so I can get blacker darks. Note: A few months ago I was using a very cool rectangular pencil by Bruynzeel. I’ve stopped using that lately as I don’t know where to buy another one, and it was a little hard to sharpen (with a knife). This Aquarelle Graphite pencil by Faber Castell is much easier to sharpen and produces very similar results. It’s also very readily available! So that’s what I’m using at the moment.

I use both of these pencils in my upcoming Travel Sketching course to show you different occasions when I chose to draw with graphite. But like all my SketchingNow courses, you don’t need to use exactly the same materials as I do. My goal is to help you find the tools that feel the most comfortable for you!

And yes! This image is from one of the course demos. To find out more about Travel Sketching and get a one-time-only Earlybird price, sign up for the dedicated waiting list here.

As for preventing smudging and transfer onto the opposite page… my solution is simple. I have several 300gsm cards (3 or 4) cut to the size of my sketchbook. I put these between the last few spreads to prevent transfer. These cards also seem to protect the earlier spreads in my sketchbook, so I no longer need to worry about fixative. I’ve been using these particular cards for over 12 months and they collect interesting marks! ????

So that’s an update on my graphite pencil choices.

Do you carry a graphite pencil with you? What’s your favourite?

Have you ever wanted to try out a new Blackwing or test which graphite best suits your needs? The Blackwing Audition Pack comes with one of each core Blackwing pencil for you to try out. Every Audition pack also includes a one-time $10 discount for a future purchase of a 12-pack of our core pencils.

For more graphite electrodes for saleinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.