Most "best drawing pencils" lists rank six brands you've already heard of and skip the thing that actually decides whether a pencil suits you: how its range behaves across grades. A pencil that's glorious at 2B can be a chalky letdown at 6B, and a hard grade that holds a needle point in one line will skate uselessly over cartridge paper in another. We catalogue the full grade ladder of every line below and draw with it, so this is a guide to which are genuinely good drawing pencils end to end — not which one flattering sample feels nice in a shop.
The short version. For the smoothest, darkest tonal drawing, the Japanese pencils — Mitsubishi Hi-uni and Tombow Mono 100 — are genuinely a step above, and worth it if you shade large areas.
For crisp line work, value and everyday reliability, the European workhorses — Staedtler Mars Lumograph 100 and Faber-Castell Castell 9000 — are the sensible choice and a fraction of the price.
Buying one pencil? Get a 2B from a good line. Starting properly? Buy a small set spanning 2H to 6B, not a 24-grade tin you'll half-use.
Which grades you actually need to start drawing
The graphite scale runs from H (hard) to B (black, soft), with HB in the middle and F a touch firmer than HB. Harder grades give a lighter, finer, more controllable line that resists smudging; softer grades lay down darker, faster, but blunt quickly and smear. Drawing — as opposed to technical draughting — lives mostly on the soft side.
You do not need the full ladder. A 24-pencil tin looks serious and mostly gathers dust; in practice the gaps between adjacent grades are subtle, and you'll reach for five or six of them. A genuinely useful starting kit is:
- 2H — light construction lines and under-drawing you'll later cover.
- HB — general line work and mid-light tone.
- 2B — the everyday drawing grade; dark enough to read, controllable enough to detail.
- 4B — building mid-to-dark tone and shadow.
- 6B — your darkest accents and deep shadow.
If you want it even leaner: HB, 2B and 4B will carry a surprising amount of work. Add the 2H and 6B only when you find yourself wanting a lighter touch or a heavier dark. Paper matters as much as the pencil here — a slightly toothed cartridge or drawing paper grips graphite and pulls darker values out of every grade; smooth printer paper makes even a 6B look grey.
The best drawing pencils, by what they're actually good at
All six lines below are excellent — there are no duds at this level. The differences are about feel, darkness, point retention and price, and which of those you should pay for depends on what you draw.
Mitsubishi Hi-uni
Japan · 22 grades, 10H–10B (we hold the full range) · premium price
Hi-uni is the pencil people mean when they talk about graphite being "creamy". Mitsubishi mills it from unusually fine, evenly graded graphite, and you feel it as a low-grit, almost frictionless lay-down and a tonal step between grades that's smoother than any European line. At 22 grades it also has the widest ladder we hold — 10H to 10B — so a Hi-uni-only kit takes you from a whisper-light 4H to a near-black 10B without ever changing brand or feel. If you shade large tonal areas — portraits, still life, anything with deep continuous shadow — this is where the money goes.
The catch is cost and availability: it's the dearest of the six and not always on UK shelves. If you mostly draw lines, you're paying for smoothness you won't fully use.
See price & buy the Hi-uni 2B ›Tombow Mono 100
Japan · 17 grades, 9H–6B (we hold the full range) · premium price
The Mono 100 is Hi-uni's great rival and the better pick if you value precision over outright softness. It's just as smooth but lays down a fraction cleaner and firmer — it holds a point longer and smudges noticeably less, which matters if your hand drags across the work or you want detail to stay crisp. Its range stops at 6B rather than 10B, so it's marginally less suited to the very darkest tonal work, but for line-led drawing, hatching and tight detail it's arguably the most satisfying pencil here, and the lacquer, capping and core centring are about as good as wood-cased pencils get.
See price & buy the Mono 100 2B ›Staedtler Mars Lumograph 100
Germany · 24 grades, 12B–10H (we hold the tin of 24, 12B–10H) · mid price
The Lumograph is the European workhorse and the line we'd hand most people who ask where to start. It feels harder and cleaner than the Japanese pencils — less buttery, more in control — which makes it superb for crisp lines, crosshatching and technical or architectural drawing. Staedtler bonds the lead so it resists breakage and survives sharpening and the odd drop better than most, and the range is huge: a 12B at one end, all the way to a 10H at the other (24 grades in all). It's widely stocked across the UK and costs a fraction of the Hi-uni. If you only ever own one brand, this is the safe, brilliant default.
See price & buy the Lumograph 100 2B ›Faber-Castell Castell 9000
Germany · 16 grades, 8B–6H (we hold the full range) · budget–mid price
The 9000 is the most quietly dependable pencil in graphite — in production since 1905, consistent batch to batch, and cheap enough to buy by the handful. Faber-Castell's SV bonding makes the lead resist breakage, it sharpens to a clean point, and it has a smooth, faintly waxy feel that many prefer for fine work. It won't lay down the velvety darks of a Hi-uni and its range stops at 8B, but for sketchbooks, study work and anyone who'd rather not baby an expensive pencil, it's the obvious sensible buy.
See price & buy the Castell 9000 2B ›Caran d'Ache Grafwood 775
Switzerland · 15 grades, 9B–4H (we hold the tin of 15, 9B–4H) · premium price
The Grafwood is the most physically pleasing pencil on this list. The barrel is a thick hexagon finished in a graduated matte lacquer — pale grey for the hard grades, deepening to near-black for the soft — so you can read the grade at a glance, and the heft sits beautifully in the hand. The graphite is smooth and lays down genuinely dark, close to the Japanese pencils for tonal work, with Swiss finishing to match the price. Its range tops out at 4H, so it's less of a technical-drawing tool than the German lines, but for expressive tonal drawing it's a joy. Buy it because you want the nicest object, not because it's the cheapest route to a good drawing.
See price & buy the Grafwood 775 2B ›Derwent Graphic
British brand, long made in Cumbria · 20 grades, 9H–9B · budget price
Derwent Graphic is the pencil a great many British artists started on, and it remains the easiest first recommendation: cheap, everywhere, made in Cumbria, and available across a full 20-grade range from 9H to 9B. It feels a shade firmer and slightly grittier than the Japanese or Swiss pencils — you notice it more on smooth paper — but it's reliable, sharpens cleanly and takes a beating in a school or studio bag. As a first tin to learn the grades on before you decide what you actually like, nothing here is better value.
See price & buy the Derwent Graphic 2B ›The picks side by side
| Line | Origin | Grade range (degrees we hold) | Feel | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hi-uni | Japan | 10H–10B (22) | Smoothest, creamy | Dark tonal work, full-range kit | £££ |
| Mono 100 | Japan | 9H–6B (17) | Smooth but clean, holds a point | Controlled, detailed work | £££ |
| Lumograph 100 | Germany | 12B–10H (24) | Harder, crisp | Line & technical, all-round value | ££ |
| Castell 9000 | Germany | 8B–6H (16) | Firm, slightly waxy | Everyday sketching, value | £–££ |
| Grafwood 775 | Switzerland | 9B–4H (15) | Smooth, dark, weighty | Expressive tonal work, best object | £££ |
| Derwent Graphic | England | 9H–9B (20) | Firm, a touch grittier | First set, schools, value | £ |
Grade counts are the degrees we stock and have drawn with; the Lumograph and Grafwood figures are taken from the full tins (12B–10H and 9B–4H respectively). Where a brand also manufactures outside its home country we've listed the brand's origin, not the factory.
Are expensive drawing pencils worth it?
Honestly: it depends entirely on what you draw, and the answer is "no" more often than the marketing suggests.
For line work, technical drawing, sketching and learning, an inexpensive Castell 9000 or Derwent Graphic does everything a beginner or even a competent draughtsperson needs. Past a certain point you're paying for refinement you won't see in the finished drawing.
Where the premium Japanese pencils earn their price is tonal drawing — large areas of continuous shading, deep shadow, portrait skin. Their even particle load means less grit and scratch, a smoother gradient between values, and darker blacks laid down with fewer passes (less burnishing, less shine). If that's your work, a Hi-uni or Mono 100 is a real, felt upgrade. If it isn't, spend the difference on better paper, which changes your results more than the brand on the barrel ever will.
The single-pencil and single-set picks
If you can only buy one
Buy a 2B. It's the most versatile single grade to draw with — dark enough to read clearly, controllable enough to detail with. For the best possible experience, a Hi-uni 2B or Mono 100 2B. For the best value, a Lumograph 100 2B or Castell 9000 2B — you'll barely feel the difference for line work and you'll save enough to buy three more.
If you're buying a set
Skip the giant tins unless you specifically want them. A small set spanning roughly 2H to 6B covers real drawing; the extreme grades (9H, 12B) are specialist. The Lumograph tin is the sensible "one tin for life" if you want the whole ladder in a quality line; otherwise build your own kit of five or six loose grades from whichever line above suits how you draw.
FAQ
- What are the best pencils for drawing?
- For tonal drawing, the Mitsubishi Hi-uni and Tombow Mono 100 are the smoothest and lay down the darkest, cleanest values. For line work and everyday value, the Staedtler Mars Lumograph 100 and Faber-Castell Castell 9000 are excellent and far cheaper. The Caran d'Ache Grafwood 775 is the nicest pencil to hold, and the Derwent Graphic is the best-value first set.
- Which grades do I actually need to start drawing?
- Five cover almost everything: 2H, HB, 2B, 4B and 6B. If you want the absolute minimum, HB, 2B and 4B will carry a lot of work. You don't need a 24-grade tin to begin — the gaps between adjacent grades are subtle and you'll only reach for a handful.
- Are expensive drawing pencils worth it?
- For tonal and portrait work, yes — premium Japanese pencils give smoother gradients and darker blacks with less grit, which you can see in the finished piece. For line work, sketching and learning, no: a budget Castell 9000 or Derwent Graphic does the job, and better paper will improve your results more than a pricier brand.
- What's the best smooth pencil for dark values?
- The Mitsubishi Hi-uni. Its very even graphite lays down the smoothest, darkest tone of the lines we stock and runs all the way to 10B. If you want comparable darkness but a cleaner, less smudge-prone line, the Tombow Mono 100 is the alternative.
- What's the best single pencil if I can only buy one?
- A 2B. It's the most useful all-round drawing grade. Choose a Hi-uni or Mono 100 2B for the best feel, or a Lumograph 100 or Castell 9000 2B for near-identical line performance at a much lower price.
House of Graphite catalogues wood-cased graphite pencils and links to Amazon, where as an Amazon Associate we may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Prices and availability are shown on each product page. We hold and draw with the grades discussed above; where we couldn't verify a manufacturing detail we've described the brand's origin rather than the factory.