Better skills / Brighter art
Learn to draw with pencil.
Honest pencil reviews, clear technique guides and free tools for coloured pencil and graphite artists.
Curated by a working artist
- ◆Derwent Art Prize 2026 - shortlisted
- ◆British Art Prize 2025 - shortlisted
- ◆CCA Galleries Emerging Artist Award - shortlisted
- ◆Visual Arts Open 2025 - longlisted
Explore by topic
Everything a pencil artist needs to know.
30 guides
Coloured Pencils
Reviews, comparisons and buying guides
41 guides
How to Draw
Step-by-step lessons for beginners
19 guides
Paper & Surfaces
Choose the right surface for the drawing
20 guides
Drawing Techniques
Layering, blending, burnishing and realism
16 guides
Colour Theory
Choose colours with confidence
20 guides
Graphite & Charcoal
Tone, shading and monochrome mastery
15 guides
Books & Courses
Structured ways to improve faster
12 guides
The Art World
Competitions, galleries and getting seen
8 free tools
The Artist's Toolkit
Grid, value, colour, frame and paper utilities - free, in your browser.
Start here
Most-read guides
Free tools
Built for the drawing desk.
No sign-up, no fees. Everything runs in your browser - your reference photos never leave your device.
From the studio
See how a drawing comes together.
The fastest way to understand technique is to watch it build. Each of these shows one drawing in stages.
Meet the artist
Advice from someone who draws for a living.
Michael Brace draws in coloured pencil and graphite and has done since childhood. A Fine Art graduate of Coventry University, he has been shortlisted for the Derwent Art Prize (2026) and the British Art Prize (2025), shortlisted for the CCA Galleries Emerging Artist Award, longlisted for the Visual Arts Open (2025) and has exhibited in London.