1. Generally, the B pencil is good for medium to light shading. The 2B is nice for medium to dark shading. You should be able to get a good range of tone (value) out of both, from quite light through a nice dark. Try each on scrap paper to see which suits you best.

2. Quality Drawing Pencils. We'll start off with the most obvious essential – quality drawing pencils. ...

A Sketchbook. A sketchbook is one of the most important things an artist can have. ...

Quality Drawing Surfaces. ...

Variety of Erasers. ...

A Good Pencil Sharpener. ...

Charcoal or Conté ...

Drawing Pens / Ink. ...

Blending Stumps / Tortillions.

3. While the softer B pencils are generally considered the best for shading, there's no reason to discount the harder H pencils. The HB and H are good choices for fine, light, even shading. However, they too have drawbacks. Pencil grades from HB through H, 2H to 5H get progressively harder and are easier to keep sharp.

4. Razor blades and sandpaper are useful for sharpening pencils. Many artists like to use chamois and stumps to blend charcoal, pastel and graphite for even tones.

5. Mr. Pen- Sketch Pencils for Drawing, 14 Pack, Drawing Pencils, Art Pencils, Graphite Pencils, Graphite Pencils for Drawing, Art Pencils for Drawing and Shading, Shading Pencils for Sketching.