Sanjeev Mansotra - What type of pencils are best for sketching and shading?

Hello folks, My name is Sanjeev Mansotra. I love drawing, sketching, and painting in my leisure time. Love to create my imagination.
Started making a live sketch. Facing issue regarding pencil which one to use. Is HB or 2B better for sketching? Which HB pencil is best for shading?
New to this community, please help me!

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Welcome to LettuceCraft! :smiley:

Im not very good at this, but as I have come to understand, the pencil on the B-side (2B, 4B etc) makes a blacker line, and the pencil on H-side (2H, 4H) makes a lighter line. So for light sketching I think that HB is better than 2B.
But I also think it depends on how you like to draw and sketch too. So try with HB or other H-pencils and see what you think. And change the pencil if you are not happy with the result.

But I know there are other artist on here who might be even more help! :slight_smile:

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The H stands for hard, if I remember correctly. The harder the pencil the lighter the line in general. You can use whatever you like best. There is no set rule for it. But a 2B would be easier to shade with since it will be softer.
I’d love to see some of your sketches! Feel free to share.

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I very much recommend getting a prismacolor black pencil and seeing how you like it for sketch. It’s oil based so you can vary how “sketchy” it looks, and you can use a clear blender prismacolor, or a terpenoid to blend it if you want a smoother look! Otherwise, I agree with what the other two commenters have said.

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Thank you for all the suggestions, it helped me to decide! :slight_smile:

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What did you end up with?