Pencils

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Pencils


Blick carries a wide variety of pencils for drawing, sketching, design, illustration, and writing. From graphite pencils for kids and classrooms, to entry-level, intermediate, and professional-quality colored pencils, to watersoluble colored pencils for creating watercolor washes and effects, Blick has the most popular brands, many in convenient pencil sets.


Looking for a Drawing or Sketching pencil? Blick offers some comparisons and great tips on how to choose a drawing pencil.


Love working with charcoal or pastels? High-quality charcoal pencils and pastel pencils are cleaner and neater to use. Choose from our wide range of mechanical pencils for sketching, drafting, technical drawing, and note-taking.


Don't forget the sharpener! You'll be sure to find just the right electric, manual, or handheld pencil sharpener for any classroom, studio, classroom, or home setting, plus pencil cases and pouches so you'll always have your favorite drawing pencils and tools close at hand.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is there a difference between writing pencils and drawing pencils?

    Generally, writing pencils will have eraser tops, and have hardness grades like No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 (No. 2 being the grade most commonly available). Graphite pencils for drawing typically do not have eraser tops, and they have hardness grades ranging from 9H (very hard) through HB (equivalent to a No. 2) and on to B grades like B (somewhat soft), 6B (very soft), or higher. Please note that hardness grades are not standardized, so the softness of a pencil, even of the same grade, will vary by manufacturer.

  • How do I choose a sharpener to go with the pencils I buy?

    For delicate cores such as those found in pastel, charcoal, and colored pencils, we generally recommend a handheld sharpener. We do offer some electric and battery-operated sharpeners that are compatible with colored pencils—just remember to occasionally sharpen a graphite pencil to keep wax from gumming up the sharpener. These types of pencils may also have a larger-than-standard diameter, so it's important to make sure the sharpener you choose will accommodate the pencils you have.

    For graphite pencils, almost any sharpener will be appropriate, including so-called "long-point" sharpeners. These provide very sharp points on slim-cored graphite pencils that quickly become unwieldy on thicker-cored color, pastel, or charcoal cores.