Blue Moon Blog

In a recent post, I covered my inking tool preferences. And like my friend, Pete Krause says, “I still love my pencil!” Though I’m told my Wacom Cintiq has shipped and is on its way, I figure I’ll still do a portion of my drawing at the drawing table, and you may, too, so here’s a list of my favorites.

In my teens, I started using a clicky mechanical pencil. Mostly, I liked not having to sharpen all the time, and didn’t mind it was so thin (o.5 mm) as I liked the level of detail I could achieve. Some years later, while working on a project with Brian Augustyn (who shortly after became our editor on my self published comic book, Trollords) advised I try a thicker pencil.

Boy, was he right! I switched to a 2mm leadholder, or “clutch pencil,” and never turned back. I’ve been using it for twenty-three years. The thicker lead helps me keep my drawings simpler. For a time I did my light sketching with a 2H and final pencils with HB, but use only HB now; I just draw more lightly in the first pass. I use this single leadholder for sketching, storyboards and illustration. For modeling, shadowing or filling in blacks, I simply turn the pencil on it’s side.

For more bold, dark and loose sketching I sometimes call on a woodless graphite pencil. It feels great in the hand, is super-thick since it’s covered with balck lacquer, you don’t get your fingers all dirty. I use only HB, for more full rendered drawings, one can get a full line, from hard to soft. I prefer the Pentalic, but there are other good brands, too. This pencil is sharpened in a standard pencil sharpener. For the leadholder, I sue the 2mm sharpener, with which you get a great tip as you like it, and no wood shavings, just lead, easily disposed.

For erasing large areas, I pull out a trusty Mars Plastic wedge. More standard Pink and others rub the paper, changing the drawing surface, or spread pencils across the paper instead of erasing. A plastic eraser is quicker, cleaner and faster. For smaller areas I use the Papermate Tuff Stuff Eraser Stick, a great little tool when you want to erase just one tiny line in a hard-to-get-to space.

With just these few, simple drawing tools, I can work on any number of projects, in the studio or out and about.

Every so often, take a break from the digital graphic tablet or clicking the mouse, and pick up the old pencil. There’s nothing like the feel and sound of pencil on paper for this sometimes-old-creative-dog. Happy Drawing!