What are your weapons of choice?

[Thanatos]

What kind of pencils do you guys use most?
I've been using a mechanical pencil with 0.5 HB lead just cuz thats all I've had and I am finding I don't like it so much anymore. It's good for making nice dark sharp lines but when I'm sketching rough shapes and shadows it gets too easy to make it too dark when I might not want those lines there after.
I don't even know what H or B or HB means lol I never have. Whats best to use for rough sketches and whats best to use to fill in the dark final detail?

On another note, I've had the problem of every picture I draw (I do tend to make the final with dark lines and dark solid shading) smudging too much. It will look great then I will close my sketch book and after my picture is all smudges in spots. I've been sealing my pages with hairspray after I'm done to keep them clean and crisp and smudge free but this is a pain in the ass as I have to spray each page and wait for it to dry befpre flippin it over to draw some more and whatnot.
Will using a different kind of pencil/lead aleviate (sp?) this problem or should I stock up on hairspray?

[Wu Hsi Wu]

When I first started drawing,I could only use a 1mm (regular pencil) because
I felt that I had no control when I used a .5. But I could not get sharp or
intricate detail, so I made myself get used to it , now all I use a.5 mech.pencil.
I use mainly 2b & 4b . H is hard-B is soft. 4H would be real hard.
4b would be real soft. Hard comes out light, so for a drawing to come out dark, you would have to press down hard which makes grooves that are hard
to erase. With a softer lead you have to be light handed.
I do thumbnail with HB, the bulk of drawing with 2B, and fine detail & shading
with 4B. I occasionally use 6B for very dark shading but haven't found any
in a .5 mm. :p

[Roquefort Raider]

I use a 0,5mm HB pencil; I actually like the way it smudges a little. If a picture is meant to stay uninked, I prefer a wooden pencil: as it gets duller and duller, it seems to give more volume to the lines (even as resolution decreases). But mostly I'll use a mechanical pencil.

For inking, my favorite pen nib is a Speedball C6; I'll use a Hunt 102 or 107 for very fine lines. I use brushes from time to time, but with such little success that I'd be hard-pressed to recommend one type over another. For straight lines (frames, word bubbles, mechanical stuff) or lettering I use Koh-i-nor technical pens.

[yousir]

I love mech pencils. I have abandoned and re-discovered them many times over the past fifteen years or so and in the end I think they're fantastic as an all-purpose pencil, but if you're really serious about getting the most out of graphite for drawing, they're not enough. Primarily, the needle-like tip allows for little variation in line width. You can get what is sometimes called a 'leadholder' (I'm not sure what the proper industry name is) which is basically a high-quality mech pen with a threaded metal grip at the end that locks the lead in. Staedtler makes great ones. The leads are fatter like a regular pencil and come in the full range. Mech pencil companies dont seem to bother with the extremities of the B-F-Hb-H spectrum, which can range from 9b to 9h.

H range pencils are very useful for preliminary sketching. An H or 2h should be fine. The main difference is that B-range graphite works its way into the fiber of the page with pressure, making it more or less permanent. H-range will sit on top of the paper if you use it with light pressure, making it easier to erase. But if you press to hard you'll have a crease.

Smudging is a pain in the butt, straight up. If you're working your drawings that much, maybe you should consider removing them from your book. Finished pieces are best treated with thorough and individual care. If you care about them its worth the extra time. And its worth the expense of getting a proper fixative.
While you're drawing, use a clean sheet of paper to put under your hand where it rests on the page. If your drawing paper is fairly smooth it may worsen smudging, toothier stocks will hold the graphite better.

Just experiment with the pencil and paper types that are available, go out of your way to be as nice as you can to your drawings, and your problems will be solved.

[howyadoin]

I work with a variety of stuff. The fact that I composite my stuff digitally means there's no worries about smudging, the paper curling or cracking, or any of that stuff, really.

I've got a couple of cheap watercolour sets from Talens, a big box of various markers, a variety of Stabilo pencils and Grumbacher charcoals, a set of Demco pastels, Prismacolor coloured pencils, and acrylics by Reeves, Artists' Choice, and Stevenson.

I also use a Letraset marker pad, Canson paper for charcoal and some watercolour, and a variety of paper scraps that I have kicking around my place.

And Photoshop.

[Thanatos]

howyadoin, nice avatar man :cool:

Anyways, to overcome the smudging problem I've been thinkin bout takin up inking whatever will have solid lines and dark shadows, ie. more than just a sketch/doodle.
Totally unchartered teritory for me here lol. We'll see how it goes.