Pencils

[Endyr]

Hello again all, wanted to thank you for the warm welcome. I'm glad to be here. I've been perusing the site for a while now but am having a hard time finding some small, specific info. So I thought I'd ask here and I hope it's the appropriate section.
So as I mentioned in my introduction post, I am very interested in drawing maps by hand. I was just curious about tools. I guess, mainly, pencils. I have acquired some excellent inking pens along the way, good sketch pads and a wide array of high quality mech pencils. Have some wood pro drawing pencils as well. Question is this - what hardness of lead is ideal for mapping work? We generally write with HB - the good ol' no 2 from school. That's my main light sketching lead right now. But the lines aren't right I think. I've heard 2B should be my standard sketching lead, with something like a 4B or so for shading. How does this sound to all you hand drawing experts out there? Any advice you can give would be appreciated.

Thanks so much all!

Endyr

[Lingon]

Welcome to the forum (since I missed your introduction!)

For sketching, it's not really important what hardness you use. I grab whatever is closest to me. But yeah, sticking to the B side is probably a good idea for all kinds of drawing. When you start the final version of the map, you'll need something a little harder, to be able to draw the fine details, but even then, I tend to use B or HB. Just keep the point sharp and you should be able to get good results with anything

I'm looking forward to seeing your work! And don't spend too much time thinking about the "right" tools – the important bit is to get started

[Endyr]

thanks very much for the tips! keeping sharp is not a big deal considering I use mechanicals. Ever use a kuru toga? Japanese. you should check it out. Anyway, thanks a lot! Dont worry, I am sketching like crazy, just felt something was kind of off and I wanted to get some advice. I feel comfortable with a 2B so I will stick with that. Will post something when I have a more semi-finished first sketch.

[Tracker]

Hello:
I was trained to draft in high school. I really liked it. Was given a Alvin Draft/Matic mechanical pencil by one of my teachers. I still have it. They come in several different hardness values. I use a a 0.7 mm for normal work and a 0.5mm for drafting mountains. I have used these pencils for years a love them. You can find them in art supply stores. I have around 9 of them now and the last one I purchased was four months ago for a gift. They run around $9.00 to $15.00 U.S. I do like them.

Tracker