Natural charcoal pencils are the oldest sketching and drawing materials in the world. The gray-blue hue glides smoothly over the paper, allowing for easy blending and smudging, effortless erasing, and layering again and again. Their bluish tone has always held great fascination, even for the old masters. The charcoal pencils leave a much darker line. Compressed charcoal with soot and clay gives the pencils their deep black color and can be produced in various hardness levels.