When shopping for pencil for drawing you’ll discover that the hardness of lead is categorized into two types: H and B. H is an abbreviation for hard and B stands for blackness. Lead categorized as H is more densely packed and contains more fillers, making it produce the thinnest lines as only a small amount of graphite is released when the pencil is used. On the other hand, B lead is softer and contains fewer fillers, resulting in darker marks.

Using pencils from the B category on the pencil hardness scale, you can create darker lines with much less pressure than is needed for pencils from the H category. The graphite in B-category pencils is less tightly compressed and contains fewer fillers, resulting in softer leads that give off more graphite as you draw. This means you can get a darker mark without having to apply much force.