Almost every "best drawing pencils" list opens with a premium Japanese tin you don't need yet. If you're just starting out, that's the wrong advice. You'll learn faster, and waste less money, by buying a handful of cheap-but-honest pencils and actually wearing them down. Here's the short version of what to buy, and why.
What pencils should a beginner buy?
Two things matter when you're new, and neither is the pencil. The first is pressure control — learning that a light hand and a heavy hand on the same pencil give you most of your tonal range. The second is mileage — the sheer number of marks you make. A beginner improves by drawing a lot, not by owning better graphite. So the right first purchase is the one that gets you marking paper today without you feeling precious about it.
That points to a cheap, reliable graphite pencil in a couple of grades. The two Indian-made workhorses — Camlin (made by Kokuyo Camlin) and Apsara (Hindustan Pencils) — are the obvious starting point. They cost a fraction of the German and Japanese names, lay down a clean, even tone, and both ranges run from hard H grades down to a properly dark 10B, so you can buy exactly the few you want. They aren't as consistent grade-to-grade as a Lumograph, and the cores aren't always perfectly centred, but for learning the difference is irrelevant. Don't overthink the first set.
How many grades do I need to start?
Three. Not twelve, not twenty-four. The big tins look reassuring on a desk, but a beginner uses four or five grades at most and leaves the rest in the box. Start with:
- HB — your default. Mid-tone, holds a point, forgiving. Most of your early drawing and sketching happens here.
- 2B — a touch softer and darker. Better for expressive line work and the first layers of shading, without smudging everywhere.
- 4B — your dark grade. This is what gives a drawing depth: shadow, contrast, the blackest accents. Soft enough to feel different from HB, controllable enough not to be a mess.
That spread — one mid, one soft, one softer — covers the full range of values a beginner actually needs. Add grades later, with intent: a 6B or 8B when you want truly deep blacks (our guide to the darkest pencils shows how far that goes), and a hard 2H if you move into precise, technical line work where you need faint guidelines that won't smear. If you want to see every grade side by side, browse the full graphite range; for now, HB, 2B and 4B is all you need to commit to memory.
Do I need expensive pencils to learn?
No. This is the single most over-sold idea in art supplies. A £1 pencil and a £3 pencil both make a graphite mark, and as a beginner you can't yet exploit the difference between them.
What you're paying for in a premium pencil is real, but it's refinement, not capability: tightly consistent gradation (an HB is reliably an HB, every pencil, every batch), graphite free of grit so you never get a scratchy inclusion dragging across the paper, cores bonded and centred so they sharpen cleanly and resist snapping, and a smoother lay-down. Those things start to matter once your technique is good enough to be let down by your materials — usually months in, not on day one.
So the honest order is: learn on cheap pencils, then upgrade when a specific frustration tells you to. If you find yourself fighting inconsistent darkness or breaking points, that's your cue to spend more — not before.
Is a set or individual grades better for beginners?
It depends on how decisive you want to be. Both are fine; here's the trade-off.
A small set (six to twelve grades) is the lower-faff option and usually the better value per pencil. Everything is the same brand, so the gradation is consistent, and you've got room to experiment with grades you wouldn't have thought to buy. The catch is that you'll genuinely only use a few of them at first, so you're paying for some pencils that sit idle.
Individual grades let you buy precisely the HB, 2B and 4B you'll actually use, spend less up front, and replace the ones you wear down without rebuying a whole tin. The downside is slightly more faff, and you miss the "try everything" benefit of a set.
Our steer: if you like a tidy ready-made kit, buy a small set (six grades, not twenty-four). If you'd rather spend the absolute minimum and stay in control, buy three loose pencils. What we'd avoid early is a giant 24-grade tin — it's lovely, but two-thirds of it will gather dust while you're still learning the basics.
The best beginner sets, ranked by what you need
Cheapest sensible start — Camlin / Apsara drawing pencils
If the goal is "spend the least and start now", these are the answer. Both Camlin and Apsara drawing pencils are sold cheaply as singles and in big assorted packs, cover a wide range from the hard H grades down to 10B, and are perfectly capable for sketching and shading practice. Buy an HB, a 2B and a 4B and you've got a complete starter kit for a couple of pounds. Treat them as consumables and wear them down without a second thought.
Check price · Camlin Drawing Pencils → Check price · Apsara Drawing Pencils →
Best "buy once" small set — Faber-Castell 9000 Tin of 6
When you're sure you're carrying on, this is the upgrade we'd reach for first. The Faber-Castell 9000 tin of six packs almost exactly the spread a developing beginner wants — 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, 6B and 8B — so you get a clean light grade for guidelines, a mid, and a proper run of darks in one box. The Castell 9000 is a genuine student-to-professional workhorse: German-made, with break-resistant bonded leads that sharpen to a reliable point. One tin will see you well past the beginner stage.
Check price · Faber-Castell 9000 Tin of 6 →
Best fuller set if you want range — Derwent Graphic Medium Set of 12
If you'd rather have the whole working range in one tin, the British-made Derwent Graphic Medium set of 12 runs from a hard 4H to a soft 6B — the "medium" band that suits general drawing better than the very hard or very soft extremes. It's the most useful single tin for someone who wants to explore grades properly without jumping to a 24-pencil set. Derwent also offer a softer 12-set and a full 24-tin if you later decide you want the extremes.
Check price · Derwent Graphic Medium Set of 12 →
The benchmark to build a kit around — Staedtler Mars Lumograph 100
The Staedtler Mars Lumograph 100 is the reference-standard drawing pencil for a lot of artists, and it's available in a wide range of individual grades — which makes it the ideal pencil to build a kit around rather than buy by the tin. German-made, with consistent gradation and clean, even lay-down, it's the pencil to graduate to once you can feel what a good pencil gives you. Our recommendation: buy it as singles — an HB, a 2B and a 6B — and add grades as your work demands them.
Check price · Staedtler Mars Lumograph 100 →
A simple buying plan
- Spend the least: Camlin or Apsara — one each of HB, 2B, 4B.
- Best value upgrade: Faber-Castell 9000 Tin of 6 (2H–8B).
- Want the full range: Derwent Graphic Medium Set of 12 (4H–6B).
- Building a serious kit: Staedtler Lumograph singles — HB, 2B, 6B to start.
What else you actually need
Pencils are the cheap part. Three things make more difference to a beginner's results than spending more on graphite:
- Paper with a little tooth. Cheap printer paper is too smooth to hold shading. Any inexpensive cartridge or sketch pad gives the surface the graphite needs to grip.
- A kneadable (putty) eraser. It lifts graphite gently and can be shaped to a point to pull out highlights — far more useful for drawing than a hard plastic eraser.
- A decent sharpener (or a craft knife). A long, clean point is what lets you vary your line. A blunt cheap sharpener that chews soft leads will frustrate you more than any pencil.
FAQ
What's the single best pencil to start with?
An HB. It's the most balanced grade — dark enough to see, light enough to control, and it holds a point. If you buy only one pencil, buy an HB; add a 2B and a 4B as soon as you can.
Are cheap pencils actually fine, or is that just to save money?
Fine for learning. Cheap pencils like Camlin and Apsara make clean graphite marks and cover the grades you need. You'll outgrow them eventually, but the difference only shows once your technique is advanced enough to be limited by the pencil — which isn't on day one.
What grades come in the Faber-Castell 9000 Tin of 6?
2H, HB, 2B, 4B, 6B and 8B — a light grade for guidelines, a mid, and a run of darks. It's close to the ideal beginner spread in a single box.
Should I get a 24-pencil tin to be safe?
No. A beginner uses four or five grades at most. A big tin is a lovely thing to own later, but early on most of it sits unused. Start with three grades or a small six-pencil set.
Do I need coloured drawing pencils or charcoal too?
Not to begin with. Graphite alone teaches you value, line and pressure — the foundations everything else builds on. Add charcoal or colour once you're comfortable, not before.
House of Graphite catalogues every grade across every major pencil brand, so our recommendations come from comparing the whole field rather than one tin. Prices and stock are checked on the linked product pages.