I hate inking. I actually prefer the way my pencil art comes out to how it looks after I've maimed it with ink. If you ever skim through my gallery, you can tell which pictures have been inked because they have nasty thick lines and less detail or shading than my pencil work does.

I only really ink things so I can color them-- though I can actually color things whether the image is inked or not, just as long as my scanner can pick up the lines.

--Also, to let you know: I use mechanical pencil almost all the time when I draw AND shade. I have sketch pencils but I only use them for when I want to fill in a space with heavier shading.

If you're having issues with pencil, just get a few different kinds of eraser to work with alongside your pencils.

I have:

a pencil/ink eraser (has a grey end that looks kinda rough),
a gum eraser,
a vinyl eraser (I use this one for cleaning up after inking with microns because it's super soft without falling apart),
my "eraser stick pens" (those pencil-ish things with a long retractable eraser in it),
and kneaded eraser, which is one of the awesomest creations ever-- except for the fact they start smelling like Doritos after awhile and can be a pain to clean up between heavy use.

Thanks for the suggestions! ^^
I'll look into getting some other kinds of erasers.
I know we had this piece of rolled up paper in art class in high school, which we used to smooth out the shading. I'll look into finding one of those too.

Now that I know what I'm better at I've started working on improving my pencil art.
(I kind of like coloring pencil art, it makes the end result look softer than with inked art.)

Blending sticks. I have a couple of those. I prefer the more solid/compressed kind over the one that you can tell is just rolled-up paper. They're awesome for smoothing out shading.

I almost never ink, mostly because inking doesn't work with the stuff I do.

I agree with *demonictwinkie- blending sticks are awesome! I'm also a big fan of q-tips, just because they're cheap and I can use 100 a day, practically.

--
"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him." - Mark Twain

Non Serva Sum.

Personally, I find the best erasers out there to be Staedtler (?) Mars Plastic, white rectangular ones in blue paperboard.

But yeah, oftentimes the freedom and flow of pencil works is lost when inked, as well as the spontaneity.

--
"Can a dream not be as real as the world?"

hmmmm...i do prefer pencil art, its more easy

--
protecting loved ones, never giving up, always willing to help, that's my Nindo, my ninja way.......

I want to figure out my past,

I feel I don't know something that i should know,I want to know what I don't know.

..mother.....

I like doing traditional art myself,because I'm so used to it. That and I like the look of pencil marks,I don't know why. It's always a challange to ink and color,but I'm up for it!

I'm afraid to get a tablet because I don't know how that works,frankly. XD; So over all,I like my good ol' mechanical pencil.

I always use a mechanical pencil with a soft eraser,Bic brand pencils are the best. They almost never smudge! But that's just me. XD;

I love your drawings,inked or not! ^^