For artists and doodlers who like to sketch and shade at extreme angles, bendy pencils provide the versatile solution you’ve been seeking. With a flexible pencil body that can bend and flex as you draw, new creative possibilities open up to bring your art to life.
Keep reading as we dive into what makes bendy pencils unique, their key benefits for artists, and how to select the best options for your sketching needs. Discover how a little flexibility can go a long way for spontaneous drawing and shading from any angle you desire.
What Are Bendy Pencils?
Bendy pencils, also called flexible pencils, have a plastic body that allows you to bend and shape the pencil to any angle as you draw. The internal graphite core and wood casing stay straight and rigid while the external plastic sleeve bends and flexes.
This allows the lead tip to maintain its shape and drawing precision, even when bending the pencil body dramatically backward or to the side. Once pressure is released, the pencil rebounds back to its straight form.
They function like normal pencils for writing, but their bendability unleashes creativity for shading and detail work from unique vantage points. You can sketch from the side, overhead, or other obscure angles that rigid pencils prevent.
Benefits of Bendy Pencils
As an artist who likes to draw outside the lines, you’ll appreciate these advantages:
- Draw at Extreme Angles – Flex the pencil up to 90 degrees to shade and sketch from creative perspectives.
- No Shape Distortion – The internal wood casing prevents warping or flattening when bent.
- Comfortable Grip – The textured body provides a comfortable grip for long drawing sessions.
- Enhanced Control – Bendability allows greater control over pencil direction for detail work.
- Wide Graphite Range – Bendy pencils come in all graphite grades from 6B to 4H for versatility.
- Erasable – The graphite core can be erased like traditional pencils.
- Lightweight – Weighing about the same as regular pencils, they are easy to handle.
As you can see, the bendy design unlocks a world of possibilities while maintaining the familiarity of traditional sketching pencils.
Tips for Drawing with Bendy Pencils
Bendy pencils require a slightly different technique than stiff wooden pencils. Here are some tips to create phenomenal drawings with their flexible form:
- Get a feel for the bend radius as you start drawing to avoid breaking.
- Grip closer to the tip when bending to reduce stress on the body.
- Draw smooth, flowing lines by flexing your wrist rather than small finger movements.
- Shade from sharp angles by bending only the end of the pencil.
- Outline complex shapes and objects by bending around them.
- Switch directions and bend back and forth for crosshatching.
- Rotate the pencil while bent to utilize the shifted tip angle.
- Lessen pressure when straightening back to resting position.
With practice, you’ll master leveraging the pencil’s flexibility for artistic magic. Draw on-the-go by easily slipping bendy pencils into any bag or purse.
Choosing the Best Bendy Pencils
When selecting flexible pencils for drawing, here are key factors to look for:
- Maximum Flexibility – The more the pencil can bend, the more creative you can get with angles.
- Secure Core – A firmly fixed core prevents lead breakage or wobbling.
- Soft Grip – A textured body improves handling for long sketching sessions.
- Graphite Range – Having various graphite grades and hardness allows shading versatility.
- Vibrant Colors – Colorful pencils make your drawings pop visually.
- Smooth Performance – The pencil should glide across paper with minimal dragging.
- Strong Body – Durability to avoid cracking is vital for the flexible plastic casing.
Leading brands known for bendy pencils include Staedtler, Faber-Castell, and Stabilo. Products like the Staedtler Noris bendy pencil and Stabilo Flex pencil receive top marks across the board.
Game-Changing Drawing Techniques
Once you’ve mastered the unique aspects of flexible pencils, they enable you to draw in ways never before possible. Here are some game-changing techniques to try:
- Orbiting – Bend the pencil into a U-shape to sketch curves and circular objects from their natural contour.
- Offset Shading – Shade using the pencil’s edge rather than the tip for new textures and gradients.
- Overhead Sketching – Bend the pencil straight down to sketch objects from directly above.
- Sideways Sketching – Hold the pencil vertically and bend the tip to draw from the side.
- Wrapping – Bend the pencil around complex shapes to profile and outline them.
- Extreme Angles – Bend past 90 degrees for unique top-down or bottom-up perspectives.
- Pressure Shading – Leverage the pencil’s natural springiness by shading while bending and releasing.
Let your imagination run wild with how to exploit the flexibility. Bendy pencils remove artistic limitations so you can Draw outside the box.
Unleash Your Creativity with Bendy Pencils
For anyone who finds standard pencils restrictive for sketching, bendy pencils open up new dimensions of creative possibilities. Now you can capture the world from unconventional perspectives and angles that reveal hidden contours and details. One of the best places to buy Bendy Pencils is ASM PICK, a global electronic store where you can buy high-quality bendy Pencils and lots of other useful products.
Flex those creative muscles by bending, twisting, and maneuvering as you draw. The flexible body enables you to trace smooth curves, orbit around objects, and shade at extreme angles. Choose from colored bendy pencils for added visual pop.
Don’t be limited by rigid tools – grab a set of bendy pencils and start drafting your next masterpiece from any vantage point you can imagine. Let your inner artist run wild and completely reshape how you use the familiar pencil. With just a hint of flexibility, begin bending the rules of drawing and discover what you can create.