Mechanical Pencils

[nakirush]

Hey,

I'm not really sure this is in the right area even, but I was wondering what mechanical pencils you recommend?

I love mech pencils, they're my absolute favourite, but the problem is the lead smears so easily it's not even funny.

Please, if you have a great pencil to recommend let me know.

Thanks in advance,

-Naki

[Pixeldragoon]

They are pretty much the same, the only difference I am aware of is the durability. Now LEAD sizes, that's different. Most artists I know prefer .5, because you can get tighter rendering, and you pick up less texture from the paper. .7 will do you in most cases though. .7 also has a pretty heavy feel, so if you like drawing light, I'd suggest the smaller leads.

[nakirush]

Hmm, okay. Do you happen to know what leads smear less by any chance?

Thanks again,

-Naki

[Kumori]

To tell you the truth, I've found that mechanical pencils smear just as much, if not more, as normal pencils :nohope: . For me the only difference of how easy it smears is how hard the pencil lead is (4B 2B HB 2H 4H etc).

I don't think it's ability to smear is changed by the fact that it's in a mechanical pencil cause it's still a piece of lead. However, if you get the harder leads like 2H or higher, it smears a bit less than the softer lead types (well..it just seems that way to me :P, someone correct me if i'm wrong).

[HunterKiller_]

Buy the good quality leads, they don't break so easyily and probably won't smudge so much... but that may be dependent on the paper.

[Pixeldragoon]

uhh


If you care that much, get page protectors, and don't put your wrist on the paper. Looking for pencil lead that doesn't smudge is like looking for ice cream that doesn't melt... In the right conditions, it won't melt, but in most cases, you want to eat it while it's melting.

AKA

Used in a certain way, it won't smudge, no matter what you have (Lead doesn't just SMUDGE), but in most cases, smudging is what happens when you use lead.

[zuez]

Just get a plain piece of A4 paper and keep it under your wrist when you draw, simple :).

[Denny]

Speaking of protection. Any other tips than a piece of A4 under your wrist? Wristband? Gloves? :D

[Insect666]

The problem with smearing lead with a bare hand is that the grease from the skin makes the smudged area virtually unerasable.

Buy a pair of cheap fabric gloves. Cut off all fingers except the pinkie from the glove of your preferred hand (some people hold the pencil so that both the pinkie and the ring-finger touch the paper, in that case leave them both). Try it. It's even handy for ink since you can clean your nib against the back of the glove quickly. :) I use a faber-castell 0.5mm 2B almost all of the time and rarely have the problem of smudging, even on glossy paper. And if it does smudge with the glove or paper-under-wrist approach - the resulting smudge is quite easy to erase and could even be used as an advantage (erasing out highlights?).

[White Rose]

.......geeze....

i didnt know it was like that...
to be frankly honest.. mechanical or not....
its based on how hard the led is .. like Kumori said...
the harder the lead..the less likely it will smudge..when you draw.
so take a trip to an artstore..and test out the pencils for yourself.
cause its not going to be..whats the best pencil...
its going to be with what you feel comfortable with.... I know for me. I enjoy using F pencil. I never knew it existed. and its in the middle of the hard and soft lead.


good luck to you....

[the_allejo05]

not to smear..keep your hand in the air..(sometimes i rest my pinky on the paper only)as if your painting with a brush...it works for me sometimes although still is hard to control but sometimes it works.... draw from up to down.. i dont like using a paper because i need to see the whole image as im drawing... draw in a 45 degree angle or sometimes 90..hmm try some sanguine ,black chalks and use your fingers..it is the most sensible way to draw in my opinion.. like the old gurus..:)..you can vary your line very easy..

[twistedink13]

I use 3mm pencil with H lead and it works great a lot neater than normal lead....

[Jabo]

Mechanical pencils are great, but not the fine ones. They smear, break, scratch... I use a TK-9400 from Faber-Castell. It's a mech. pencil but with falling-leads. Means they fall down when you press the button instead of being pushed out step by step. You have to sharpen them with a special sharpener. So it's probably not as comfortable as your usual mech-pencil, but it's still easier to sharpen than a wooden pencil anyway. And they don't smear. I use 2H/3H leads, but HB is just fine.

[Mr. Visions]

I personally love the Zebra prand, nice grip, stainless steel, pretty cheap, and you can get 'em with one trip to Wal-Mart. Lead is to your own preference, I go back in forth with 2B or F -

And just to let you know, there are other threads like this, one in particular asking what kinda pencils people use, and there were a lot of responses, so do a search. Good luck -

- Visions

[FlameRaven]

The previous commenters are right; it's the hardness of the lead that leads to smudging, not the specific brand of pencil. Me, I use super-cheap Bic pencils at 0.7mm lead, #2 (which is 2B). It works just fine for sketching, which is all I ever use it for.

It is possible to get different leads for mechanical pencils, you just have to look a bit harder.

Or you can just use the glove/paper under hand tips, that will work too.

[Pixeldragoon]

Speaking of protection. Any other tips than a piece of A4 under your wrist? Wristband? Gloves? :D


Again, as was said; keep your wrist above your paper. I had this problem so much, I just focused on keeping my wrist up. Now I have the ability to do that when rendering, but when drawing, I just draw upper left to lower right, so my hand never really touches the pencil. If it must, I make sure to keep my hand above.

Guys, it's really easy to not smudge... It just takes a few days of practice and it's no prob. It's funny because I don't really care whether somethin is smudged or not, and unless it's a Fine Art drawing (like some of Steaktron's) or something for a client (which even still shouldn't matter THAT much I would think), I don't know why it matters whether it smudges or not. Do people love their sketches that much? Nothin' wrong with gettin a little down and dirty if you ask me.