Smart Drawing

Pens

Pencils: There are different thicknesses of pencils, which you can see at the end of your pencil. There are the letters/strengths H, B, HB and F. H stands for hard. B stands for Black. F stands for Firm. There are also numbers.

Example: You have a pencil that says 2H on it, then this pencil is rather hard and bright.

So: the higher the number before the H, the harder and brighter the pencil is. The higher the number before the B, the softer and darker the pencil is.

Harder pencils are better for sketches because they are easier to erase, softer pencils are better for shadows and dark areas.

I can recommend mechanical mechanical pencils because you don't have to sharpen them.

Colored pencils: Colored pencils consist of color pigments, fats, waxes, binders and fillers. Depending on the composition, the lead is softer or harder. There are colored pencils that can be mixed on paper like wax crayons; these are called wax-based colored pencils. However, if the lead contains more oil, the pencil is harder. These are called oil-based colored pencils and are better for detailed pictures with fine lines. Then there are also watercolor pencils that can be mixed with water.

The wood around the pen is also important because the wood protects the lead from breaking.

Light resistance: This means how long the pigments live under the influence of light. If you have a pen with high lightfastness, the colors will remain vibrant for longer under light or sun. The light resistance can be recognized in the form of one to three stars or small suns.