>>3237376You need the right ingredients first.
A good range of pencils, 4h - 8b, depending on what you're doing (most people I know seem to love Derwent, I'm personally a fan of Faber-Castell). Good smooth paper, you don't need much tooth on it if you're using good pencils. The best paper I've ever used is Strathmore 500 series, it's expensive, but it's absolutely amazing.
Don't be afraid to use tortillons or paper stumps to blend, they're like a secret weapon (they will destroy any detail, so it's best to use them to get a good base layer down, and then render your fine details over the top). Always have some good plastic erasers on hand, as well and kneaded erasers. I recently started using an electric eraser for really fine highlights, like hair, it's godlike. Makes it so easy and less time consuming. Pic related. I also keep a clean paint brush on hand to remove dust, hair, eraser shavings. Generally you want to touch the paper as little as possible, and always with clean hands. Minimize the amount of oil/finger grease that gets on it, that kind of damage is irreparable.
Generally it's a good idea to keep your pencil nice and sharp. When you're rendering a large area or putting down a base layer (if you do, not everyone uses a layering technique) it's a good idea to turn the pencil so it's at a very low angle to the paper. This will expose as much graphite as possible, and will not only allow you to render a large area faster, but will help you stay consistent.
The biggest thing though it to just have patience. I've noticed my biggest mistakes always happen when I'm impatient with myself. Once you get up past about 2B, you can still erase, but you can never get it completely white again, there will always be some graphite left. Don't make mistakes when you're drawing with dark values!
