With a hexagonal shaft made of hard cedar painted dark blue, the pencils in this soft-grade set of four range from HB to 6B. Purchase: Tombow Mono Drawing Pencil Set, 12-Pack, $14.93 on AmazonĪnother Option: General’s Semi-Hex Graphite Drawing Pencils This set contains 12 pencils in degrees from a soft 6B to a hard 4H. Cedar wood is hard, so it shaves away cleanly and smoothly, exposing a sharp point. From Japanese artist supply company Tombow, these pencils feature precisely centered lead cores that are adhered to the cedar wood barrel. If you’ve ever known the special, quiet frustration that accompanies a pencil that won’t sharpen evenly, you’ll appreciate the inverse joy of finding a pencil that does. Both sets below come with a sharpener and eraser.ĪRTnews Recommends: Tombow Mono Drawing Pencil Set Wooden or mechanical, soft lead or hard, pencils are vital components of any artist’s arsenal. Purchase: Canson XL Series Mix Media Pad, 9 x 12 in, 60 sheets, $29.95 for two pads on Amazon You have to exercise more caution, though, with wet media such as watercolors and ink, as the surface can warp with too much liquid. Purchase: Strathmore 500 Series Heavyweight Mixed Media Pads, $10.79–$24.16 on Dick Blickīudget Pick: Canson XL Series Mix Media Padīright white and thick, Canson’s mixed-media paper takes dry media, from pencils to charcoal, very well. Each gluebound pad contains 12 sheets of natural white paper. A good mixed-media pad is the most versatile and comes in handy in most situations.ĪRTnews Recommends: Strathmore 500 Series Heavyweight Mixed Media PadsĪcid- and lignin-free, this 100% cotton paper has a slightly textured vellum surface.

Smooth-surfaced processed paper is probably the best for sketching with pen or pencil. There are innumerable types of artists’ papers on the market. A Mysterious Tomb was Unearthed in Armenia, Containing a Couple Who Died at the Same Time

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