#4B graphite stick #4B drawing pencil and white plastic eraser? Im new to

[xxlil_leeper23xx]

the drawing art scene and need help? So i got "the new drawing on the right side of the brain" book from ebay the other day and i was looking at the supply list i need for it and im confused lol
it says i need a #4B graphite stick is this it??
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat173844&PRODID=xprd222762
then it said i need a #4B drawing pencil whats the difference and where can i find one?
and also where can i find a "pink pearl" white plastic eraser?
thank you!!!

[Vernon K]

ok hey. you have to know the difference between these two tools. A 4B pencil is a drawing tool one such as the normal pencil. It is made out of wood and on the inside you have the load. A 4B graphite stick is 100% only the load that is inside the pencil. i think it's in some way cheaper even though normal pencils are less pricey. Most artist use Graphite stick. Basically they're the same.

[Rachael]

Yes, that's the graphite stick in the link.

The difference between a graphite stick and a drawing pencil is that a pencil is a piece of graphite encased in wood and a graphite stick is like a pencil made entirely of graphite. The difference is that a graphite stick has a larger surface that can be used for mark-making. They're good for shading large areas and you can use a knife to shape the point into a wedge for more versatility. A pencil is less versatile, but won't break into 5 pieces if you drop it on a tile floor. Normally you would use pencils to sketch in your subject and then graphite sticks to work out the shading.

A pink pearl eraser is often also called a "graphic eraser" and can be found at any art supply store (Michael's is the big chain around here and I know they sell them). It's a flexible, rectangular eraser. The best kind of eraser for pencil and charcoal drawing is a kneaded rubber eraser. They are gray and have the consistency of hard clay. You can shape them however you want, tear them into smaller pieces and even put a tiny dab on the tip of a pencil to make an "eraser pencil" for picking out fine highlights (like for hair or animal fur).

4B refers to the hardness of the lead. the higher the number, the softer the lead and the darker and smudgier the mark. Conversely "H" is for "hard" leads. A 2H pencil makes a very fine, light, fim line that is difficult to erase or smudge.

Most art supply stores sell a "drawing kit" that has a decent selection of pencils, a couple of different erasers and probably a tiny pencil sharpener in a nice carrying case. They're usually a better deal than buying the pencils individually.