Essential Supplies for Getting Started with Drawing
Accessible and versatile, drawing is often the first artistic technique people discover. Whether used to observe, imagine or prepare a more complex artwork, it helps explore shape, proportion, texture and contrast.
From quick sketches and detailed illustrations to portraits, observational drawing and creative sketchbooks, drawing offers endless possibilities for beginners and experienced artists alike.
Getting started requires only a few well-chosen tools. As your skills develop, you'll discover that every pencil, paper and medium opens up new possibilities for refining your technique and expressing your creativity.
Here are the essentials you need to start drawing with confidence and develop your skills, one line at a time.
1- Choosing Your Drawing Pencils
Before you begin, it's helpful to understand pencil grades so you can choose the ones that best suit your drawing style and creative projects. The ratio of graphite to clay determines the hardness of the lead, the darkness of the mark and how easily you can create lighter or darker values.
Drawing pencils are generally classified using a hardness scale.
H Pencils: H (Hard) pencils produce lighter, more precise lines thanks to their harder lead. They are especially well suited to preliminary sketches, technical drawing, fine details and construction lines.
HB Pencils: HB pencils offer an excellent balance between precision and darkness. Their versatility makes them an ideal choice for beginners, allowing you to create sketches, outlines and light shading.
B Pencils: B (Black) pencils produce darker, richer marks. They are ideal for creating shadows, increasing contrast and adding depth to your drawings.
To get started, a small selection of H, HB and B pencils is more than enough. It allows you to experiment with pressure, gradients and contrast before investing in a larger set.
Discover: Staedtler Mars Lumograph, Faber-Castell 9000 and DeSerres drawing pencils.
Tip: If you're just starting out, a set including HB, 2B and 4B pencils is an excellent foundation for most drawing exercises and beginner projects.
2- Exploring Different Drawing Media
Graphite is only one of many ways to draw. Charcoal, black chalk, sanguine, pastels and coloured pencils each offer unique textures, contrasts and artistic styles.
Charcoal: Charcoal produces deep blacks and dramatic contrast. Its soft, powdery texture makes it ideal for expressive shading, smooth gradients and spontaneous mark-making. It is especially popular for portraits, figure studies and observational drawing.
Black Chalk: Denser than graphite, black chalk creates rich, intense blacks while maintaining excellent control and precision.
Sanguine and Drawing Chalks: Recognizable by their warm earthy tones, sanguine and drawing chalks are often used for portraits and figure drawing, giving artwork a soft, natural atmosphere.
Coloured Pencils: Coloured pencils make it possible to build up multiple layers to create subtle colour transitions, gradients and textured effects. Professional-quality ranges stand out for their richer pigments and outstanding lightfastness.
Soft Pastels: With their rich texture and spontaneous application, soft pastels create vibrant colour effects and effortless blending directly on the paper.
Each medium offers a different creative experience. Trying several is the best way to discover the one that best matches your style and artistic interests.
Discover: Conté à Paris, Faber-Castell, Coates and Prismacolor.
Tip: Try several drawing media on the same sheet of paper. Comparing their textures and effects is one of the best ways to discover which one suits you best.
3- Choosing Your Drawing Paper
Paper plays just as important a role as the pencil itself. Its texture, weight and composition influence both the final result and the way each medium behaves on the surface.
Sketch Paper: Lightweight and affordable, sketch paper is ideal for practice, quick studies and everyday sketching. It encourages experimentation, spontaneous ideas and regular practice.
Drawing Paper: Heavier and more versatile, drawing paper is suitable for most dry media, including graphite, charcoal, black chalk and coloured pencils.
Specialty Papers: Some media perform best on specially designed papers:
- Pastel paper: Its textured surface grips pigment and makes layering easier.
- Marker paper: Designed to reduce bleed-through and produce smooth, even colour.
- Mixed media paper: Ideal for projects combining multiple drawing and painting techniques.
Paper texture also affects the final result.
Fine grain: A smooth surface that's especially well suited to detailed work and realistic drawings.
Medium or textured grain: A more textured surface that holds more pigment and enhances expressive mark-making.
For beginners, a versatile drawing paper is an excellent choice. It allows you to experiment with different techniques before selecting specialty papers that best suit your artistic practice.
Discover: Canson, Clairefontaine, Strathmore and Fabriano papers.
Tip: Keep a few different types of paper on hand and compare how the same drawing looks on each one. You'll quickly discover your favourite surfaces.
4- Choosing Erasers and Blending Tools
Erasers aren't only for correcting mistakes. Used creatively, they become valuable drawing tools for lifting highlights, softening areas and refining contrast.
White Eraser: Versatile and easy to use, a white eraser cleanly removes graphite marks, making it ideal for correcting sketches and small adjustments.
Kneaded Eraser: Soft and flexible, a kneaded eraser gently lifts graphite without damaging the paper. It's perfect for creating smooth gradients, lightening selected areas and revealing highlights in both graphite and charcoal drawings.
Electric Eraser: Its precise tip allows for highly controlled erasing, making it ideal for fine details, textures and localized corrections.
Blending stumps and tortillons are also essential drawing tools. They help soften shadows, blend transitions and create smoother gradients.
Discover: Staedtler, Faber-Castell and Tombow erasers, along with drawing accessories.
Tip: Instead of completely erasing a line, try lightening it first. A faint sketch is often easier to refine than starting over.
5- Precision Tools and Helpful Accessories
Beyond pencils and paper, a few accessories can make drawing more enjoyable while improving precision and supporting your artistic progress.
Pencil Sharpeners: A quality sharpener helps maintain the ideal point for every drawing technique, making it easy to switch between detailed work and broader shading.
Rulers and Measuring Tools: Rulers, set squares and perspective tools are especially useful for technical drawing, architecture and carefully constructed compositions.
Mechanical Pencils: Mechanical pencils provide a consistent line width and are particularly well suited to technical drawing, precise sketches and detailed work.
Sketchbooks: Always within reach, a sketchbook is the perfect companion for drawing regularly, recording ideas or fitting in a few minutes of practice whenever inspiration strikes. Over time, it also becomes a valuable record of your artistic progress.
For everyday use, choose a sketchbook suited to your preferred medium, with smooth paper for fine detail or a more textured surface for charcoal and pastel.
Discove: Staedtler products, Art Talens sketchbooks and Faber-Castell pencil sharpeners.
Tip: Keep a small sketchbook and pencil with you wherever you go. Inspiration often appears when you least expect it.
6- Start Drawing
Before tackling a more detailed drawing, spend some time exploring the fundamentals of line, value and proportion. A few simple exercises are all it takes to strengthen your observation skills, build confidence and better understand how to construct an image.
Some great beginner exercises include:
Explore Lines and Textures: Vary pencil pressure, stroke direction and hatching techniques to discover how a single shape can produce many different visual effects.
Practice Values: The relationship between light and dark areas creates depth and volume. Drawing value scales is an excellent exercise for learning to control pencil pressure.
Build Simple Forms: Start with cubes, spheres and cylinders to better understand volume, light, shadow and perspective before moving on to more complex subjects.
Create Sketches: A light graphite sketch helps establish the composition, proportions and overall structure before gradually adding details.
Keeping a sketchbook is also an excellent way to experiment, preserve ideas and observe your progress over time. Every page becomes an opportunity to explore, make mistakes and improve. Instructional books and practice workbooks are valuable companions for beginners, helping you learn new techniques and progress at your own pace.
Tip: Draw for a few minutes every day instead of spending hours only occasionally. Consistency is often the best way to improve.
Start Your Drawing Journey
Learning to draw means learning to observe, interpret and express ideas through line. Every sketch is an opportunity to explore shape, texture and contrast while gradually developing your artistic eye.
With a few well-chosen tools and the enjoyment of regular practice, all that's left is to let your ideas take shape, one line at a time. So grab a pencil and start drawing.
Continue your creative journey by exploring our articles on acrylic painting, personalizing back-to-school accessories and organizing your creative workspace.