When I draw, I prefer real pencils to mechanical. I'll use either, but the thick-thin variation to be found in a real honest-to-goodness wood pencil adds a lot to the feel when I draw. I use a common method of working whereby I sit down before drawing and sharpen a bunch of pencils up-front. Then I start drawing. If I need a sharper point than my current pencil becomes capable of, I switch to another, then another. When they are all dull and I need a sharp point again I sharpen them all again. It's not so much a time-saver since it probably shaves off only a couple minutes during a drawing. It's a hassle saver really, and ultimately more a ritual than anything else.
This means that my pencils tend to wear pretty evenly and, as a result, they all die as they served--together.
Recently I put to bed a squad of pencils that have served me well.
Goodbye, lil' guys
It occurred to me that they actually look pretty long still. At least, I remember when I was a kid that I could really wear these things down to about 2" long before discarding them. But, being 6'2", at this size they don't rest in my grip anymore and slip about with my big ol' monkey hands. These pencils served me well on countless illustrations and all the pencil figure drawing posts that used them. I'm back to mechanical until I get to the store to replace them.
