Staedtler 2B Sketch Pencils

The Staedtler 2B sketch pencils are a classic pencil and one that is great for shading and heavy shading on your drawings, it is also a good pencil to draw dark outlines on your work, so that it shows up nice and clear on your computer after scanning.

Any 2B pencils can do the job, but for the sake of a brand name, that's why I chose the Staedtler pencil, because they are very cheap considering other sketching pencils and one of the things that I really like about them is that they are generally strong pencils that don't break easily, although if you throw them around a classroom then like any pencil they are sure to break.

Typically in the UK, the Staedtler pencils have been the classic school pencil from what I remember anyway and the main tonal ranges I remember are HB, 2B and the 5B Staedtler pencils as I used them in art class enough times to practice sketching and shading with them.

The pencil sketch above of a skeleton warrior was drawn initially with a HB Staedtler and then shaded with a 2B Staedtler pencil and that is one way of drawing with a light pencil like a HB and then add other softer gradients for better shading, sometimes shading all in one with a HB makes the drawing look flat, but then if you're not really bothered about the overall appearance of your drawing, then sketch and shade away with your HB pencils.

The 2B and darker shades of pencil are ideal for laying in thick areas of pencil shade and areas that you may want to contrast with the white papers surface. Thick cartridge paper is a great medium for drawing with the multi tone pencil ranges as it's paper surface has a unique quality to it