Holding the pencil and choosing a grade

What you will learn

You will learn two ways to hold a pencil and how to control how dark its marks are. Every drawing in this course depends on these two skills, so take this first sheet slowly.

Before you start

You need an HB pencil, a 2B pencil and, if you have one, an H or 2H pencil. Add a sharpener, a kneaded eraser, one blue colored pencil and a few sheets of plain paper. Tape the paper to the table so it does not slide.

The idea: grip and grade

Most people hold a pencil the way they write: close to the tip, moving the fingers. That writing grip is good for small, precise marks such as an eye or a window frame. It is poor for long lines and broad tone, because the fingers can only travel a short distance.

For those, use an overhand grip. Hold the pencil under your palm, between the thumb and fingers, so the side of the lead touches the paper. Move from the elbow and shoulder. Long lines get straighter and curves get smoother. You will use this grip for most shading in the course.

Pencils come in grades. H pencils are hard: they make light, crisp lines that erase cleanly, which suits construction marks. B pencils are soft: they make darker marks and smudge more easily. HB sits in the middle. The number tells you how far along the scale a pencil is, so a 4B is softer and darker than a 2B. This course mostly uses HB for construction and line and 2B for darker values.

Pressure is your other control. Light pressure leaves marks you can erase. Heavy pressure presses the paper's grain flat and can leave grooves that no eraser removes. Start light, and press harder only when you are sure.

Pencil technique: a long point

Sharpen to a long point with some wood cut back, so you can use both the tip and the side of the lead. Turn the pencil a little every few strokes so the point wears evenly.

Working through the demonstration

The sheet has three rows between two margin lines. The top row repeats one wavy line with the H, HB and 2B pencils, left to right. The middle row is one straight line drawn in five parts, each pressed a little harder than the last, with a blue line under it that does the same in three parts. The bottom row holds two long straight lines and two long curves drawn across the whole width in the overhand grip.

Mistakes to watch for

If your H, HB and 2B lines look the same, you are pressing too hard with the H; use the same light pressure for all three and let the grade make the difference. If the pressure line jumps from pale to black in one step, spread the change over all five parts. If long lines wobble or hook at the ends, you are moving the wrist; lock it and move the whole arm.

Practice

Fill one sheet of your own. Draw the same line with each grade you have. Draw five lines that go from barely visible to as dark as the pencil allows. Then, in the overhand grip, draw ten long straight lines and ten long curves across the page.

You got it right if your grades look clearly different, your pressure lines darken smoothly, and your long lines are straighter in the overhand grip than in the writing grip.

Self-check

Which grip suits broad tone and long lines?

Answer: the overhand grip, moving from the elbow and shoulder.

Which is darker, a 2H or a 2B?

Answer: a 2B.

For your portfolio

Date this warm-up sheet and keep it. In a few weeks, draw the same sheet again and compare the long lines.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Pencil, grading and classification
• Getty: Understanding Formal Analysis

Next: even tone, the base of every shaded drawing.