Staedtler 12 Mars Lumograph pencils

Twelve Mars Lumograph EE pencils give you an intensely dark, matte black line for serious shading and tonal work.

• Box of 12 Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils, all in the special EE grade
• EE is an extra-dark graphite blend that lays down a deep matte black with no shine
• Mars Lumograph pencils use bonded lead built to resist breaking and crumbling
• Smooth, even flow across paper with good smudge resistance for such a dark grade
• Best suited to shading, tonal rendering and observational drawing
• A full dozen means you always have a fresh pencil on hand

Where standard soft pencils like 8B or 9B lay down a glossy, waxy black, the EE grade's graphite blend gives a richer, non-reflective black that reads as true dark tone on paper. That makes it a favourite with artists who need deep, even shading without the sheen that regular soft pencils can leave behind.

EE was largely phased out of Staedtler's main Mars Lumograph line when grading was standardised in the late 1990s, so pencils in this exact grade are harder to find than common H to 8B pencils, which is part of why artists who prefer it tend to buy it in bulk when they can. Because the pack has all twelve pencils in the same EE grade, it suits students and artists who go through a lot of dark pencil during long shading sessions, life drawing practice or detailed graphite artwork, without having to buy pencils one at a time.