The Best Pencils for Drawing Manga!

Our content may have affiliate links that can result in commissions for qualifying purchases, full details in our privacy policy.

In this article, we’ll be going over the best types of pencils for drawing manga, and the best attributes to look out for when selecting a pencil for drawing manga. There are several different types of pencils that you can use for drawing manga. These include colored pencils, graphite pencils, and white charcoal pencils. Which type of pencil you should use is largely dependent on your personal preferences and the type of artwork that you’re trying to create.

Which type of art you’re creating will largely determine which type of art supplies are needed. For example, if you want to draw a picture with watercolor paints then you will need watercolor paper and paintbrushes, not a canvas or a piece of paper with colored lines on it (unless these are your medium). Obviously, for drawing manga, you wouldn’t be using a watercolor pencil and such most likely. Anyway, let’s move on.

The Different Types Of Pencils For Drawing Manga

Now, in this article, we’ll be talking about the different types of pencils for drawing manga. Just as I said before, there are several types of pencils that you can use for drawing manga. These include colored pencils, graphite pencils, and white charcoal pencils. Let’s look at these in detail.

Colored Pencils

I usually only use colored pencils to outline. I really don’t like using them for shading so much because, in my experience, the color tends to yield a crayon-like look. Some people like this effect but I prefer not to use colored pencils for shading. Colored pencils are great for creating artwork with more muted tones and give the impression of watercolors when used sparingly. It’s also important when you’re drawing with colored pencils that you use higher quality ones, otherwise, your lines will be too smudged and it’ll be difficult to get a crisp and clean look.

Graphite Pencils

I think it’s really up to personal preference when it comes to graphite pencils. I personally don’t like using them much because they tend to create very stark-looking lines that can make your drawings look rough and unfinished. However, sometimes, I like using graphite pencils for outlines because they blend well with the other drawings and you get a nice clean crisp look. And, of course, graphite doesn’t smudge so you can get a more consistent line when drawing with them.

White Charcoal Pencils

White charcoal pencils are great for shading because they’re similar in texture to pencils but have the coloring of charcoal. Because they have a similar texture to graphite pencils, they also blend well with other drawings. However, this isn’t always the case and can result in some smudging if you’re not careful.

So, Which Should I Use for Drawing Manga?

As I mentioned before, it’s really up to your personal preference when it comes to using colored pencils and graphite pencils. Some artists don’t use white charcoal pencils because they feel that it’s difficult to get a range of tones that are as soft or as light as you might want them to be. However, if you use the right softness level then this is usually not a problem. Also, because they’re softer than graphite pencils and colored pencils (graphite is harder), you can get a wide range of tones out of them.

The Best Pencils For Drawing Manga

I’ll be going over each of the three types of pencils in detail. I’ll talk about how they’re used, what colors are available, and where I get them from. I recommend that you try out the different types to see which you like best. Let’s get started with the best types of pencils for drawing manga – colored pencils:

Colored Pencils Are Great For Outlining Colored pencils are great for outlining because they have a texture that is similar to graphite but with a color instead of black or gray. Because of this, they’re great for creating artwork that has a color outline. I really like the Prismacolor Colorsoft colored pencils because they come in a wide range of colors and they blend well with other colors. These are definitely some of my favorite types of colored pencils to use for drawing manga.

The Best Pencils For Drawing Manga: Prismacolor Col-Erase

Of course, these are probably the most popular colored pencils used for drawing manga. They’re also the best because of their wide range of colors.I chose to use the Colorsoft Prismacolor Col-Erase pencils because I wanted a fairly light-colored pencil that would work well with my watercolor journal drawings. These pencils are available in a wide variety of colors and are really affordable as well. I don’t usually use these for shading because I prefer to use the Prismacolor Verithins instead.

The Best Pencils For Drawing Manga: Prismacolor Verithins

I use the Prismacolor Verithins in a similar way that I used the Col-Erase pencils. The main differences between these two pencils are that the Col-Erase pencils are bigger and have wider strokes, whereas, the Verithins have a finer tip and offer more control. These types of colored pencils are great for creating artwork that has soft blurred tones that you’d get from Japanese-style drawings. The point is nice and thin so it’s easy to create lines with soft tones.

Which are the Best Pencils for Drawing Manga?

I use the Prismacolor Verithins pencils because I find them to be of great quality and they work well with my watercolor paper. Of course, you could use any colored pencils that you prefer to use for drawing manga. It’s all about personal preference so try out different types to see whether you like them or not before buying more expensive ones. These colored pencils are available in a wide range of colors and are affordable so you can try any color that you want.

Conclusion

I hope this article has helped you decide which pencils are the best ones for drawing manga. I know there are several types of pencils that you can use for drawing manga but I think that the three types I’ve listed here are some of the best and most popular ones to use. You could also try using chalk pastels as well, they come in a variety of colors and produce some unique effects. If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below and I’m happy to answer them.