I think pencil usage heavily depends on the person's skillset, style, and overall drawing preferences and likes. I've always loved drawing with graphite but troughout the years I started drawing with markers and pens, because I didn't have to sharpen them all the time, and they covered spaces much effectively than regular pencils. One time I got a mechanical pencil for my birthday (which was a 0.7 mm, bigger than the average 0.5 mm) and I fell in love with it!! It felt just right in my hands and was perfect for my style and my usual way of approaching a drawing. I have been using it ever since! (It's been 5 years now) I only pick up more traditional kinds of pencils when I do a bigger portrait drawing, but even then I use it sparingly alongside my trusty mechanical pencil. I think the most important thing is that you try every medium and get out of habits, your confort zone, because you never know what supply or tool will feel just right for YOU. Experiment with your art!

“When using a mechanical pencil, you can only draw with the very tip of the led.” Me: _extends led further than normal, turns pencil on side, and draws with side of led_ Mechanical pencils are my pencil of choice, because they’re more comfortable to hold, and not having to sharpen it is really convenient. I never have any issues with the led being too small, because my drawings are rarely very big. :)

I use a 2.0mm mechanical pencil and since its so thick i can use it on the side and do a wide line for shading or the point for a fine line. Its pretty cool.

"only using that tiny tip can get exhausting" 💀

Mechanical pencils are my go to. I don't have to carry a sharpener, they don't get graphite all over the inside of my pencil case, they're reusable, and if I like a sketch when I'm done, I line with a brush pen to get different line weights. I also draw very cartoony, so I don't typically sketch with a lot of shading and that sort of thing. I save that for the colouring. At the end of the day, It's really up to the artist to decide what tools work for them.

Ahmed Aldoori showed how to make thicker lines using a mechanical pencil in one of his sketch book videos. You just have to angle the tip and wear away the point. It's more effective with thicker lead sizes though (0.7+ mm)

I've had the fancy pencil extender thing for so long I don't even know if it was my mom's or grandpa's or where it came from, no one ever told me the purpose or proper use of them. Now I know!

I like using the mechanical pencil since that was the type of pencil i like to use when i sketch, you can actually make the lines thicker if you put enough pressure on it I think it mostly depends on the persons style of choice

I usually work with one trusty mechanical pencil. It’s .5 mm and have a push button to extend the lead. For some odd reason, I find that that specific pencil always has the sharpest lead out of all the mechanical pencils I own, and it’s for that reason that it’s my favorite. I love working with small lines for shading and such. Of course, I may get out a normal wood pencil if I want smoother shading, but it’s mainly just that one pencil. Ultimately, it’s a matter of taste. I personally don’t mind using small hatching and cross hatching for shading and such, but I can see how some people could find that tedious. 😅

I agree with the exhausted part. It was fun and precise but it does get exhausting eventually.

I use to bring a knife to school to sharpen my pencils ever since elementary and I always got in trouble with the teacher so I sharpened and used one of my scissor's blades instead, didn't stop a teacher from trying to confiscate those too. I'm just glad to finally see someone else use a blade too!

And for light shading you can pick up the grafite power off the sand paper with an eyeshadow brush:)

I’m gonna apply for art middle school and you vids have helped me sm

I like to use normal pencils and markers for my art!! I love to make messy sketches so I can fill all the gaps with ink. :)

I like using 2mm lead holders (clutch). They offer all the versatility and are widely available (and cheap) in almost any graphite softness level.

I used to have a 2mm mechanical pencil with a lead sharpener. It was awesome.

I've always been a mechanical pencil guy. I just hate sharpening pencils, I never know when to stop, I either don't get the pencil sharp enough or I break the tip off in the sharpener and have to start all over.

I started with HB pencils but I started to love the 1B-6B pencils. The shading you can get and the thickness you can manipulate when drawing makes it way easier

Tbh I just use my school pencils,I find stressing about what tools I'm using gets in the way of creativity

*Me, someone who draws exclusively with mechanical pencils*: You have underestimated my power.

as one guy in the comments said; "pencil usage depends in the person's skillset, style, and overall drawing preferences." thas why i like using mechanical move since i always get that thin lines perfect for my art style.

You underestimate my laziness to switch from a mechanical pencil to a regular pencil after sketching

my pencil of choice is a mechanical pencil, because its just so clean and it almost feels like drawing with a fineliner which i really like. thoughwhen i draw a more realistic drawing i use a normal pencil.

“Or you can use just the tip” 💀

I have used both a mechanical pencil and a woodless graphite pencil and I still do. Both of them are great but it actually depends on what you use them for.I use a mechanical pencil for my regular art style and a woodless graphite pencil for sketches or drawings that need a heavy amount of shading.

Staedtler lead holder f the world! Bought on your recommendation btw Proko, thanks for that.

Nothing beats a good old wooden pencil

I actually really like mechanical pencils bc I always make my lines thick after the sketch to avoid having to clean up an mistakes, I just cover/smooth em out on the second round

I have the last type you showed and I love it

I suggest focus on one set of a pencil in a brand, example, Staedtlers HB-8B, you can really discover each value of grays and use them for your drawings. I learned it this way than switching to different brands at the same time.

I love those thick lead mechanical pencils. My art program required them and it definitely got me into liking mechanical pencils

I just draw with the same mechanical pencil I use for studying

I use a mechanical pencil atm cuz I found this really thick metal one and it feels good to hold. I like heavy pencils and most wooden ones arent

the pencils you get from home depot are perfect for shading

I have the clutch. Like it. Some of them come w a sharpener in the cap. The lead is Thicker.

definitely depends on someones art style and preferences :D a mechanical pencil is good for me cuz its easy to just pick up and use (plus i usually dont do traditional art anyway)

I never new about the woodless ones. Neat.

When it comes to pencils I always use a 2.0mm lead holder pencil. The versatility is very astounding since the lead is thick enough that you can make broad lines while you can also make thin lines also you can adjust the size of the lead with ease. A mechanical and wooden pencil in one package.

Faber-Castell 9000 pencils are hard to beat.

i like the ones that are just a small eraser shaped stick of graphite something about them is so expressive

Thanks for your pencil drawing art style suggestions!😄

I absolutely love my 5.6 clutch lead holder. So satisfying to work with on big paper especially for initial sketches and ideas

Proko knows his business and I am thankful you're out there helping us cause I certainly need you.

Just remembered I had a mechanical one (for writing) gonna use it for drawing later today.

Another great video, thanks!

Mechanical pencils with full size graphite fill makes so much sence, its surprising this wasn't the version that caught on

I have one of those. I seriously love how the weight of it takes away a lot of my control

Man.. when I was in elementary to high school, I never knew about this kinds of pencils since I have such artistic talent until college where I took architecture.

honestly, i’m more of a mechanical pencil person myself. i usually use just a regular BIC #2 with 0.7 mm lead and, when i need thicker lines or shading, i’ll grab a post-it and wear a tilted side down until i get enough width in a stroke. keeps my point and gives the art a touch more detail to it. plus, if all else fails, snap it and try again ;)

"Just the tiipp"

Bro I just searched a hour ago tools in drawing proko then this vid came 💀🤯

I think that Mechanical pencils are a fine choice for doing all kinds of art with the variety of pencils there are out in the market, drafting pencils, in particular, have all sorts of dials to help you adjust the thickness and hardness of the pencil, which archives the same wooden graphite look effortlessly! There's also having to look at the different sizes of the lead, 0.5 is very good for sharper and fine edges, while 0.7 is a very good for all-around sketching and shading! However, even with mechanical pencils I still sometimes go back to the wooden pencils for extra coverage on graphite drawings. I think having the right eraser can also help to enhance your work, pencil-shaped erasers help to get smaller areas effectively, but can also be used to achieve a nice hatched effect, Kneaded erasers/ blutack can be used to get softer, light shading across dark space, gum erasers are great for erasing huge chunks effortlessly!

I have those! Although mine comes with a sharpener on the bottom rather than an eraser. Its removable and sharpen well !

My personal favorite is full lead pencil, not sure how it's based but I love the heft it has the easy way to shadow with it and honestly, like the look of it as well

I have one of those pencils! I never thought to put an actual wooden pencil in it! I love the large surface area of the graphite, and it has a nice heavy feel in my hands, it’s also larger around than normal pencils so it’s easier on my joints. But seeing a wooden graphite in there just reassures me I’ll keep using it because now when my colored pencils or charcoals get too small to hold comfortably I can have that hold onto them!! It’s a brilliant little design.

This is neat! Going to have to get it one day

My grandfather was an architect and he had a menagerie of weird pencils, mechanical, wooded, charcoal, the works, well i found one of these pens in the bottom of one of his old pencil boxes and also found some refills, love it and it's super high quality with some gold plating around the button on the back. Funny how interest something as simple as a pen can be

A box of 5.6mm arrived instead of the woodclinched I thought I ordered. Was going to return them, but ended up using as recommended here. Thank you!

I draw very stylized, so I like to mess around with varying line weights. Because of this, I go with mechanical pencils. This way, I can draw the thing, then add additional lines for where the lines will be thicker, and I can fill those in without worrying about going outside the lines!

The stars whisper secrets to each other in a cosmic language we'll never comprehend😂

0.5 for base, 0.7 for outlines ordarker lines in general and 2.0 for shading.

Lately I’ve been only sketching with colored pencils, they work so much better cause there’s no smear! Plus, it’s lighter so if I wanted to ink something it won’t show up as much :) Plus it’s fun to use colors

personally I switch between mechanical and standard sketch pencils, I like sketch pencils more overall but if I don't have one available I'll gladly use a mechanical pencil

The thing is, usually when your drawing realistically(kinda professionally or professionally), you want your lines to be clear and thin(also for hatching), so the mechanical pencil is good, but you have to use a softer or harder pencils in the drawings(to get it to be lighter and darker), so the wooden ones are better. But it really depends on your drawing style and preferences.

Ooooo I'm loving these Proko shorts!

That third option 😍😍😍

I like mechanical ones because i have a bad habit on drawing like way smaller than i need to and it just helps to have an always "sharp" one so my lines don't look weird

The .3 mm is hard to find but it make the tiniest details ever. Worth have at least one

I enjoy drawing with a lot of differnt pencils and pens but my favourite is the refillable one with how much I can do with it, or simply just fiddle with

One more pencil I'd like to add is Charcoal pencils. Usually you can't get very precise lines with it but it's more darker than usual pencil and great for blending. (It's very messy to work with tho bcz it's smudges easily (।।ㅠㅡㅠ)

I use only mechanical pencils and wooded graphite pencils, and honestly i don't need anything else. For example i can just make a sketch with the mechanical pencil and then shade or do whatever with the graphite pencil. These two work perfectly fine for me even tho adding some color isn't bad aswell, but i would love to try out some new pencils because that is how we grow and make progress!

Thanks a lot sir ❤

Just got that last type in a scrawled box, haven’t used it yet since I usually just use my trusted mechanical pencil then ink over the sketches- but if I did more pencil heavy drawings I can see how beneficial it would be!

i have pencils thats always blunt at the tip as well they make really good rounded lines

Is there a list of these products and links to buy them???

Cool! I didn't know about these. 😮

That's what that thing is, I've had a pencil extender for ages and had no clue what it was for lol

Black wings are my personal favorite

Love proko videos

I trie so hard with guide line like to look like the thing he’s showing us ,it turns out it looks like I dropped on the head in 7 different occasions

I USED TO HAVE ONE but I lost it this jogged my memory- it was my favourite thing ever but I have no idea where it has gone now I need to buy one because it was seriously comfortable to use, the leds didn't break as easily as they would with the mechanical pencil or an actual pencil

Don't forget the sharpener for lead holders. You'll end up with pure lead powder as it fills up. Only problem is that your shading will mix if you use different shades (I use 4h, hb and 4b) and there's no way to know the exact shade. I prefer the mechanical sharpener than sandpaper. Much more efficient (after you learn to use it) than sandpaper.

Un 3rd grade I used to use a 2.0 clutch pencil for writing and drawing it was very trusty

Dirt poor me has only used wood charcoal and Mongol no. 2 pencil 🙃

you pencil carving MONSTER!!!

I love graphite pencils!, and the I want to try a graphite sticks🥰

2mm lead holder is my personal preferred type. Same size and tip feel of a wooded pencil, while having nice variety in hardness along with nice sharpeners/pointers. My go to for drafting and writing. I mostly do art digitally though so i havent done a done if sketching with them yet though

me still using those pencils your teachers had in cups back in year 1 be like "BRUH"

Mr oatmeal made my day today🎉

Tbh mechanical pencils are my pencil of choice if you are just doing sketching. I sometimes use mine as a shading but since my artstyle isnt all that fancy, just more cartoon but sometimes semi-realistic but still cartoony, its really easy to just draw with it. I highly reccomend for B-grade pencils, especiallt 2B if you wanna do darker lines or use is as a lineart if you dont wanna use a pen incase you messed up

I draw with a mechanical pencil. I don't do realism with shading and all that in my sketches, so the thin led isn't an issue. I do my shading when I color on my tablet.

I prefer using a variety of them to make smaller draws and bigger drawings such as combinations of pencils like mechanical for the light detail and art pencils such as 2b to draw then for darker drawings 4b 5b and 6b for detail and shadows mechanical for light outline i do occasionally use oils and stuff to make more but as a “middle level artist” not too good or bad im decent with it

you can also use wood pencil shavings to help start a good fire when stranded in the Yukon in December

I use mechanical pencil because I love crosshatching.

I like the thin line more tbh. It makes me feel like I have more control over the lines

Thank you... 🙏 😔 🙏 For the review. You left out the 2.0mm holders.

⟟ have pencil extenders, the amount of pencils I was able use until it completely died is immaculate, idk how to live without it now

Usually i just use those number 2 school pencils students use since that's where i started doing art

Personally i love the 2 mm version of those led holders fewls juat like a wooden pencil mixed with a led pencil

no one can stop me from using a mechanical pencil