[Pencils & Prejudice] Little Angel & Little Merman
My wife keeps nagging me about buying too many pencils and stuffing the house full of them, so I have to write a reviewâotherwise she wonât let me buy any more pencils, which would be very inconvenient (?).
*This review is pure bias, zero objectivity.* The Little Angel pencilâexcept itâs the 2B version. Sentimental value: 100 points.
Libertyâs leads seem to have improved a lot. They feel way better than I remember, honestly XD
Sticking to the ânothing is forbiddenâ philosophy: even though these arenât sketching or drafting pencils, I still had to try drawing with them.
The wood is relatively soft, and sometimes the fibers affect sharpening and make it uneven. But it has that ancestral, perfume-like smell, so the nostalgia is strong.
I originally shaded the background using Roxy, then did one pass of gentle blending with cotton and layered it again. It finally got dark enough (but get graphite shine, which we don't want), but the impurities also scratched the paper. So I took out the Little Angel pencil and cheated by using it as a kind of burnishing/blending pencil. I think next time I have areas this dark, Iâll probably use another brand.
Here, the Little Angel was used on the Little Merman. It really brought back the feeling of using Little Angel pencils as a kidâitâs like the Little Merman and I were childhood friends (?). It actually feels pretty fitting. I used to seriously doubt the meaning of âritual,â but I guess this kind of emotion or mental state guided by an object in the moment might be what ritual is about (maybe?).
That said, since itâs not a drafting pencil, it doesnât layer or hatch well with other pencilsâgraphite doesnât really stick (including with itself). It might be more suitable for line work, or maybe it should just be used for writing.
Still, I think the next time I draw childlike characters, Iâll probably want to take it out again (or maybe just leave it on the desk?).
Lastly, as expected, highlights still have to rely on correction fluid (X).












