What Pencils To Use?

When it comes to pencils for drawing I use almost any type, from the Derwent range to the Mars Lumograph pencils and even sometimes the cheap pencils for 10p each, but lately I've been using mechanical pencils, because of their ease to use and you never have to sharpen them, although you do have to re-fill with new lead every now and then, but I find that mechanical pencils really are the best when it comes to sketching as they have a fine point that is ideal for drawing.

There is no specific make that I use, because I use any, even the cheap ones, I have occasionaly bought the bic range of mechanical pencils, but when I can buy a box of 15 for £1 then I will do that to save some money, I do find though that cheap pencils sometimes can leave cheap looking pencil marks when you start ti draw and by cheap pencil marks I mean those annoying ones where you try to draw and they end up almost crumbling and leaving varied tone on your paper and that is not on.

I find the paper mate lead refills great for most mechanical pencils and particularly as they are 0.5mm which is usually the standard for mech pencils, though what you've got to be carefulabout is dropping your mech pencils as the lead breaks very easily, so if you have some kids who thinks it's funny to throw around pencils like my kids, then hide them and give them cheap ass pencils to play with, that's what I do.

Whatever pencils you choose to use, just make sure they deliver great results, out of interest, what pencils do you use?

Tools And Materials For Creating Fantasy Art

When it comes to materials and art equipment it becomes a personal choice as to what you are comfortable with working with, the artists tools can come in all shapes and sizes and you'll find at first that you won't need a lot to start off, but your equipment will grow over the years and you'll eventually have use for quite a bit of kit as your experience improves.

Pencils - Using pencils become a habit when you learn to draw at every available moment, so the choice of pencil you choose to use are your own, but I would recommend the Staedtler range as these are professionally produced but saying this it's handy to get cheaper pencils and stock up too. So pencils are cheap if you get them from any other place than an art shop, in packs they are obviously more expensive if they are the quality ones, but as I said an artists choice of art equipment is a personal one.

See some of the best available pencils below.



Mechanical pencils are also worth a shot because of the fine lead and there is no need for sharpening, just remember to refill on the lead when it runs out.
Again the more time passes the bigger your toolbox(art materials that is!!)

Pens and markers - When the part of the drawing comes to inking you will need a range of markers and pens for this process, the part of pen and ink drawings demands the light and dark to be finalised at this stage so having a grasp on what pens and markers might do the job effectively here is the important thing.



For markers I use anything from bingo markers to permanent markers to black in large areas that need shadow and these are fairly cheap from the pound shop or dollar store. But I have invested in some magic markers as these are the industry standard, well, in comic book art anyway.(and if you have noticed my art style is comic book inspired!)

Fine liners and other specialist pens come later as your toolbox expands(steady now)

Lastly paper is a necessity when it comes to drawing obviously, so any types of good quality paper is a must, but personally mixing and matching quality with the cheap paper is a good practice to split between the sketching of draft drawings and superb masterpieces.

I recommend Strathmore sketch pads for their range of paper sizes alone and a couple of cheaper alternatives.