I finally broke down and bought a mechanical pencil. No, I’ve never even used one. I’ve always just used regular pencils.
And you know what? There’s no way in hell I’m going back to regular pencils.
I got regular pencils all over the place. Hundreds of them. Yes, literally.
But, for when I do anything serious, I’m using mechanical pencils from here on out.
Mechanical pencils vs regular pencils
Mechanical pencils have some key advantages over regular pencils. First, convenience. You never have to sharpen a mechanical pencil.
Second, comfort. Regular pencils are made for bulk. They’re not uncomfortable since we’ve grown up using them.
However, once you’ve used a mechanical pencil, you’ll see exactly what I mean. A decent mechanical pencil is simply more comfortable than a regular pencil.
Third, even if you have a good pencil sharpener, you get to pick the tip size of the mechanical pencil. I intentionally pick 0.5. Personal preference.
The thing is, I’ll always have a 0.5 tip. With a regular pencil, it’s harder than hell to continually get the right size tip. Once again, that’s even if you have a pretty good pencil sharpener.
Plus, have you ever broken the tip off a regular pencil? Of course you have! You’ve done it way too many times. You’ll never have to worry about doing that ever again with a mechanical pencil.
Why else it matters
Whether you do oils, acrylics, or watercolors, you’re going to be drawing a lot.
Heck, I’m always drawing. In fact, drawing is the most important part of pinup art anyways. And that’s what I do – fantasy pinup art. If I don’t get the drawing perfect, then it doesn’t matter what I do with the paint. It simply won’t look good.
That’s the thing. Why make it even harder on myself? I want to make things as simple as possible.
And with a mechanical pencil, that’s one less thing to worry about. I got the perfect tool for drawing that gets me the perfect lines. It’s the perfect precursor to inking my watercolors.
So yes, highly recommend. You won’t regret it!
