Shading Techniques with Pencil
Once you have mastered the basic pencil drawing techniques from the last tutorial, these can then be used to create different shading techniques within pencil drawings.
This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating different shades and a shading guide in which you will be able to refer to throughout this tutorial.
A shading guide when learning to draw is a useful tool to have, as you will be able to assess which shade is appropriate for different parts of the pencil portrait before executing it.
In time, as you become more familiar with the different shades you can create, you will be able to ditch the shading guide and execute shading as though it is completely natural to you.
Pencil Sets vs A Single Pencil?
When you were back at the process of choosing your art supplies, you would have made a decision on whether to purchase a set of drawing pencils in different grades, or just one single pencil in a versatile grade.
Again, this is a personal preference, and different people prefer different things.
The process of learning shading techniques with pencil is very similar in both situations, so don’t fret. You will just have a little more work to do here if you opted for the set, as you will have more gradients to experiment with.
What Are The Different Grades In Pencil Drawing?
The twenty most used and common grades of pencil are illustrated in the diagram on the right.
The ten on the left of the diagram are the most common for pencil portrait drawing.
The numbers and letters are part of the grading system to signal the type of lead that is inside.
The letter ‘H’ means ‘hard’. This kind of lead is hard, which doesn’t add a lot of lead to the paper, keeping the shading very light. The number next to the letter tells you how hard the lead is with 9 being the hardest and lightest.
Pencils with an ‘H’ gradient are generally unused in pencil portraiture, simply because the lead is too hard to manipulate on the paper.
The letter ‘B’ means ‘bold’ or ‘black’, and signals a soft lead in the pencil, which adds a lot of lead to the paper, creating darker shades. Similar to ‘H’ grades, the number next to the letter signals how soft the lead is, with 9B being the softest, and therefore darkest.
These are the most common in pencil portraiture.
The ‘F’ grade means ‘Fine point’. These pencils are still relatively hard, but have a very fine, sharpened point. Again, these are uncommon in pencil portraiture.
And finally, the good ol’ ‘HB‘ we all doodled over our text books with in nipper school. This is half-way between hard and soft, and is neither here nor there. Some pencil artists may use this pencil for crating lighter shades, though I personally find it still a little too hard.
If you did choose a set, then odds are you will have a good portion of the grades set out above in the diagram.
If, like me, you have opted to use the one versatile grade, this usually being 2B, you will still be able to create the softer graded shades using drawing techniques set out in the previous tutorial, Basic Pencil Drawing Techniques.
To create the shading guide and for the duration of the tutorial, and so not to confuse you all, we will use a 2B pencil. Those of you who own a set of different gradients can also repeat the same process for all the gradients you wish to use for your shading guide, and then refer to this throughout the tutorial.
Creating A Shading Guide
For this you will need;
- A Sheet of Paper
- Your 2B Pencil
- A Ruler
1.) In a light outline using your pencil and ruler, draw a 20cm x 2cm rectangle.
2.) Mark off every 2cm along the 20×2 rectangle.
3.) Draw a line from each 2cm mark to create 10 seperate blocks.
4.) Number each block 1-10 starting from the left.
5.) Block One will be left untouched, as this is the lightest part. So, using your preferred technique from the previous tutorial, fill in the Block Two a shade darker than the first. This will be the lightest shade you can do with a pencil.
6.) Then move onto Block Three. Remember to use techniques such as cross-hatching or scumbling to get the shade a little darker than Block Two. You can also increase the pressure put onto the canvas slightly.
7.) Repeat the process for the remaining blocks, making each block a shade darker than the previous block by using pencil techniques and increasing the pressure slightly.
8.) By the time you reach Block Ten, the shading should be very dark. Almost black.
And there you have it, all the different shades laid out in front of you for you to refer to.
You can practice this as much as you like to get the shades as you like, and I suggest you do as it will help during your pencil portrait drawing.
In the next tutorial, we will use another one of these shading guides to learn how to blend pencil, so make sure you don’t throw any of your practice ones in the bin.
This is a really good tuts!
Everyone who wants to be an artist should read this!
Thankyou for your tuts!
Thanks Wanda, and what a fantastic name that is. I love it! 🙂
Please i appreciate your work of art
Thanks Emmanuel, very kind 🙂
Realy helpful information. Thanks.
You’re welcome Ismail. Thanks for the comment. 🙂
but how do you properly shade with the pencil that have a H
Ex: the pencil that has the 6H
Hi Kahlyn, the 6H is a very hard graphite, and so is often used sparingly in pencil drawing. I would recommend opting for a softer B gradient instead as you will have greater control of the shading. I use a 2B personally. 🙂
Hi, very nice tutorial, just now gone through 3 beginners tutorial, and practiced. Very nice to practice. Will practice regularly.
Great stuff Murali, thanks for your comment. Practice is very important. Feel free to share your finished portrait on the Facebook page if you like? 🙂
guy, can i use erase here, or if i make make mistake, i must do again with another rectangle (thank u for this turtorial)
If it is on the lighter end of the shading tool, then you should be able to get away with dabbing some putty rubber on the graphite to pull some away. If it is on the darker end though, I don’t think you will be able to take enough away without losing track.
Try not to over think it when shading; you can not really make a mistake if you concentrate more on the amount of pressure you are exerting and gradually increase that pressure as you get to the darker shades. 🙂
Very helpful tips. This has kept my interest in pencil drawing just because I can see what I intended to see. Thank you !
That’s good to hear, Nancy and you’re welcome! 🙂
It’s very Brliyant . It’s very nice
This was extremely helpful to me. But I’d like to know if a charcoal pencil is better than the 9B.
Charcoal and graphite are two different mediums, but what I would say is try it. It’s important you find the medium which works best for you. That may not be pencil, so try different ones.
Cheers for your comment! 🙂
¡muchas gracias! But how do I apply the procedure whilst drawing??
Good old fashioned practise, my friend. Take your time with the first portrait, referring to the tutorial back and to. Then when you come to do your second, third and fourth and so on you will find yourself referring to the tutorial less and less as you find your own way of working.
Cheers for your comment! 🙂
I used to sketch in my school days and college days..
had faded my interest in running behind the academics..
upon reading this article i am again pulled towards my interest..
thanks for the feed..
That’s great Sagar. Welcome back to the world of drawing and thanks for your comment! 🙂
quite nice!
HI !! very useful site , but i want to know regarding shading technique with higher grades of B as i find it difficult to do shading with a 8B pencil. It usually get smudged and
the strokes are not clear . Thanks !
Hi Srishti, thanks for stopping by. I am not sure exactly what the problem is you are having, but I will try and help below…
The tutorial is demonstrated using a 2B graphite, as I am a one pencil artist. However, an 8B pencil would usually be used for shading the darkest areas as it is a very soft graphite and used sparingly similar to the way a graphite stick is used.
Try shaving a little of the end on to a separate sheet of waste paper using scissors ( or ask an adult to help if you are young ) and then dabbing a spare blending stump in to transfer the dust before blending. You could also try holding the pencil at an angle and shading with minimal pressure.
I hope this helps! 🙂
i want 2 knw can i use HB…???
You can, if you really have to but you may find difficulty getting the tones as you want.
I would recommend something softer, but this shouldn’t stop you from starting. 🙂
So helpful
That’s very kind, glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This was so helpful I can finally be an good drawer. Thanks a lot!
Hey Caitlin that’s very kind, glad you enjoyed it! Happy Drawing 🙂
Awesome!
This is just what I needed.
Hey, glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
How many shading guides should we draw. After drawing my first it seemed fine to me . It was diff. than yours but seemed okay.
also pls tell me if scumling technique is imp as i am not much comfortable with it. also it gives a totally diff. look to shading if compared to cross hatching or others as other are basically only straight lines.am i right in this????
by the way thanks for this tutorial. I am totally new to pencil sketching
Hey Vaibhav, the shading guides are used for practice and reference, and since everybody has different strokes of pressure – it is always going to be likely that yours would appear somewhat different to mine and that’s O.K. – What you should ensure though, is that each shade is only slightly darker (going from light to dark) than the shade before so that when you have completed the guide – the shades (or tones) flow naturally into each other and there is no sharp contrast between each shade. Therefore, you can and should draw as many guides as you want for practice until you are satisfied you have a good point of reference and understanding.
As for the pencil techniques you adopt, and your question about scumbling – again, you use whichever technique you feel most comfortable with. There is no right or wrong here; only YOU and YOUR preference. Don’t overthink drawing. Relax and enjoy!
Hope that helps, and thanks for the comment. 🙂