I have a tendency to use a regular pencil for my drawings. I figure if I do an elaborate portrait or something like that, I can use the different types of art pencils (HB, 2B, etc.). For some drawings though, I just use a pencil like you would use for writing. I especially do that if I'm doing something like a cartoon drawing. I've recently thought about using darker leads though. I've noticed when I draw in my sketchbook with a regular pencil, it seems like it maybe doesn't show up quite as dark as I'd like. One type of pencil that I like is the one that doesn't have any wood around it. It's pretty much just graphite. With that type of pencil, you have more graphite when you use the pencil on its side. I also do some colored pencil drawings. I've used that technique with them as well. It can keep your pencil sharp without using a pencil sharpener. There are many different types of pencils you can use, and there are different techniques to use them.