Charcoal remains the essential basic life drawing material. It is capable of making the softest and gentlest of marks, yet also able to be strong and powerful. Charcoal was probably the first drawing material used more than 100,000 years ago. It is still with us because it is a wonderfully flexible material. A good average thickness for charcoal is about 5mm.
Always get Willow Charcoal and avoid 'compressed charcoal' which is a synthetic product that lacks the subtlety of the natural charcoal.
As a general rule German manufacturers make the best pencils. Their pencils are consistently smooth and delightful to draw with.
My favourites are Staedtler tradition, available from any newsagency, and as good as any pencils on the market. For most purposes 2B is as soft as anyone needs. It was Lloyd Ree's favourite grade for all those wonderful drawings of his. It is hard to go past a recommendation like that.
The best eraser for artists is usually a 'kneaded eraser' also called a 'knetgummi' in german. I tell you that because the very best one is also the cheapest one, and is sold in most newsagents. It is a blue-grey colour (although it is starting to be made in other colours) and is labeled simply 'Faber Castell Knetgummi Art Eraser'. This is a case where the expensive offerings from company's like Winsor and Newton are unfortunately no where near as good to use.
Faber Castell also make the traditional classical artists chalks in pencil form. The colours are Sanguine (red chalk), Sepia (brown chalk), Black and white. The label on these excellent materials is 'Pitt'. Just be careful not to get the 'oil-base' versions which are niether traditional, nor particularly strong in colour, or pleasant to use.
Back in the renaissance these hard chalks were used sharpened and clamped to the ends of pencil-like wooden handles, so the Pitt pencils are very close to the look and 'feel' of traditional chalks over the centuries.
Pencils should always be sharpened with a knife where possible. I recommend a simple plastic 'stanley knife' style. With a knife the pencil point gives a far more interesting line than the perfectly conical point made with a sharpener. However knives cannot be taken aboard airplanes and so on, so sharpeners are recommended when travelling.
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