Which pencils and paper do I actually need for drawing?

What the H and B grades mean, why a set of twenty is a waste, and the paper weight that stops everything buckling.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 15 min
Read: 3 min

Short answer

An HB, a 2B and a 6B cover the whole tonal range. H grades are hard and light, B grades are soft and dark. Buy a putty rubber, and paper of at least 130gsm so it takes erasing and a little water without buckling.

Art shops sell tins of twenty graded pencils, and most people use three of them. The grade scale is simple once explained, and knowing it makes the rest of the display irrelevant.

Step by step

Learn the grading scale.H stands for hard, B for black. 9H is very hard and pale, 9B very soft and dark, HB and F sit in the middle. The number is how far in that direction.
Buy three grades, not twenty.HB for construction and general work, 2B for most drawing, 6B for the darkest tones. That covers the range; the intermediate grades give finer control you will not need at first.
Use H grades for light construction only.They are pale and hard, which suits faint guide lines. They also groove the paper, and those grooves show through later layers, so keep the pressure light.
Get a putty rubber.It lifts graphite without abrading the paper and can be shaped to a point to pull out highlights. A plastic eraser is useful too, for cleaning back to white.
Choose paper by weight.At least 130gsm for dry drawing. Thin cartridge paper tears when erased and buckles at the slightest damp. Heavier paper makes an immediate difference to how work looks.
Choose paper by texture.Smooth paper suits fine detail and hard pencils; a bit of tooth holds more graphite and suits soft pencils and tonal work. Try both — it changes the drawing more than the pencil does.
Have a cheap sketchbook and a good one.The cheap one is for practice, which should be plentiful and unprecious. The good one is for work you want to keep. Only having expensive paper makes people draw less.
Add a blending stump if you want smooth tone.A rolled paper stump blends graphite far more cleanly than a finger, which leaves grease on the paper that resists later layers.
Keep pencils sharp with a knife rather than a sharpener.A craft knife exposes more lead and lets you shape a chisel or a long point. It is what most people who draw a lot end up doing.
Try charcoal once.Willow charcoal is cheap, forces you to work in big tonal masses rather than lines, and improves pencil drawing by breaking the habit of outlining.

Tips

HB, 2B, 6B. That is the whole set most people need.
Paper weight matters more than pencil brand. 130gsm minimum.
A putty rubber is a drawing tool, not just a corrector — it lifts highlights out of tone.

Common mistakes

Buying a large graded set — Most of it is never used, and having twenty options encourages fiddling with materials instead of drawing. Three grades, used properly, cover the full tonal range.
Pressing hard with an H pencil for guide lines — Hard pencils emboss the paper. The groove stays visible after erasing and shows as a pale line through any tone laid over it.

If it doesn't work

Paper tears when erasing

Cause: Paper too thin — Fix: Use at least 130gsm, and lift with a putty rubber rather than rubbing.

Drawing looks flat and grey

Cause: Only mid-grade pencils used — Fix: Push the darks with a 6B — most beginner drawings never get truly dark anywhere.

Shiny patches in dark areas

Cause: Too much soft graphite built up — Fix: Build tone in layers rather than pressing, and use paper with more tooth.

Ghost lines showing through

Cause: Hard pencil pressed into the paper — Fix: Use a light touch with H grades, or construct with a 2B lightly instead.

Questions people ask

What does HB actually mean?

It is midway on a scale from H, meaning hard and pale, to B, meaning black and soft. The higher the number in either direction, the more extreme — 4H is very pale, 8B very dark and soft.

Are expensive pencils worth it?

Moderately. Better pencils have more consistent leads that break less and lay down tone more evenly. It is a small effect compared with paper quality and practice.