Skip buying the whole pack of pencils when you can get all the shades you need with just these 3 pencils!

2H - Hard lead, lightest shade.

Used for refining and fine detail.

Bad for drawing outlines and scaring paper.

2B - Softer lead, medium is shade.

Used for outlines and shading lighter values.

Bad for dark values.

8B - Softest lead, darkest shade.

Used for dark shading and softer textures.

Bad for smudging and fine detail.

Shading is all about getting a range of values so the contrast is high. These 3 pencils cover all of them. Practise your value scale using each of these pencils and you can see for yourself what they all do!