There is nothing like the feel of a proper mechanical pencil. Most artist today prefer regular pencils, instead of mechanical pencils. Still, I find it easier to draw with it. For starters, the point is always sharp. You do not need to bother with getting the point just right, when drawing with mechanical pencils. I can also angle the pencil a bit, to make the point a bit angled. It is useful when doing fancy shadings and the like. A lot of my early anime drawings were done with the humble mechanical pencil. I also in high school one of my Maite friends used to draw with mechanical pencils. I think the one she used was the one offered by Leda Art Supply. I personally prefer the mechanical pencils made by Paper Mate. As far as lead is concerned, I like Bazic. Bazic has plenty of replacement leads at really cheap prices. I have been using the same set for quite a couple of years. The Bazic lead is made of ceramics, and so it is stronger than the average leads. All in all, Mechanical Pencils are great. They are also pretty green. As long as you took good care of that pencil, all you would need is replacement leads. Once pencils get used up, you need a new one. This is bad for the poor trees and all that. So, if you ask me, Mechanical Pencils are greener than the average pencils.