Drawing & Sketching(0)
Drawing is where most artists begin, and where plenty of them stay. Our range covers graphite and charcoal, coloured pencils, soft and oil pastels, crayons, drawing inks, fineliners, brush pens and calligraphy sets - plus the erasers, blenders, sharpeners and fixatives that do the quiet work in between..
Graphite, charcoal and the grade scale
Graphite pencils run from hard (H) to soft (B), with HB in the middle. Hard grades give you light, precise, controlled lines that hold a point — ideal for construction lines and technical work. Soft grades lay down dark, rich tone and smudge easily for blending. A set spanning 2H to 6B covers almost everything, which is why it's the standard starting kit.
Charcoal goes darker and looser than graphite. Willow charcoal is soft and readily lifted with a kneadable eraser, making it forgiving for gestural work and large-scale studies. Compressed charcoal is denser and blacker, and it commits — expect it to stay where you put it. Both benefit from a light spray of fixative once the drawing is finished.
Colour: pencils, pastels and crayons
Coloured pencils layer and burnish for controlled, detailed colour work. Watercolour pencils do the same until you add water, at which point they behave like a wash — a genuinely useful bridge between drawing and painting.
Soft pastels are almost pure pigment. They blend with a fingertip and produce colour of a saturation that's hard to match, though they need fixing and careful storage. Oil pastels are creamier and more resistant to smudging, and can be blended with a solvent for a painterly result.
Pens, markers and calligraphy
Fineliners give consistent line weight for illustration, hatching and technical drawing. Brush pens flex under pressure to vary a line the way a brush would, which makes them the go-to for lettering and expressive linework. Alcohol markers blend into each other for smooth, even colour and are the standard for design, comics and concept work. For calligraphy, we stock dip pens, nibs, inks and complete starter sets covering the traditional hands.
Sketchbooks and accessories
Match your paper to your medium — smooth for pen and detailed pencil, toothed for charcoal and pastel, heavier stock for anything wet. Round it out with a kneadable eraser for lifting graphite without damaging the paper, blending stumps for smooth gradients, a decent sharpener and fixative to protect the finished piece.
FAQs
What pencils should I buy to start drawing? A graphite set spanning roughly 2H to 6B gives you the full tonal range in one purchase. Add a kneadable eraser, a sharpener and a sketchpad and you have a complete kit for well under the price of a single tube of artist oil paint.
What does HB, 2B and 4H mean on a pencil? H stands for hard and B for black (soft). Higher H numbers are harder and lighter; higher B numbers are softer and darker. HB sits in the middle and is the standard writing grade.
What's the difference between soft and oil pastels? Soft pastels are pigment bound with a small amount of gum — highly blendable, very vivid, and prone to dust and smudging. Oil pastels use an oil and wax binder, so they're creamier, less messy and won't need fixative, but they blend differently and won't achieve the same powdery softness.
Do I need fixative for pencil drawings? For graphite it's optional, though a light coat helps prevent smudging on work you'll handle or transport. For charcoal and soft pastel it's strongly recommended. Always spray in thin layers in a well-ventilated space.