Compact clutch sketching pencils

For a compact sketching kit, a short lead holder (around 4" long) can be the ideal tool coupled with a small Moleskine sketchbook or a Hand Book Artist Journal (especially the 3½" × 5½" format). The Lamy Scribble with a 3.15 mm 4B graphite lead is an elegant and easy-to-hold choice with substantial heft for its size. It also comes in a deluxe version with palladium fittings, and both can usually be found through online retailers in the USA. Its refills come packaged in silver cardboard sleeves with three 2 5/16" leads each (see top of second photo below).
A couple of more affordable alternatives: the short Graffiti Scribbler natural wood lead holder (on the left of the Lamy Scribble in the picture below) with its larger 5.6 mm lead size and large selection of drawing leads to choose from, and the WÖRTHER SHORTY black (on the right) drawing pencil with its 3.15 mm 7B graphite lead are usually easier to find in stores and through online vendors. The former has the potential disadvantages that the wooden barrel gets easily soiled with graphite and charcoal smudges, and that it tends to roll off drafting tables given its round profile. Its chubby shape is so comfortable to grasp, that my 2-years old niece wouldn't let go of it when she got a hold of it. I had to let her doodle a bit under close supervision before she relinquished it. It is a good tool for shading large areas quickly espcially when using 6B graphite or soft Nero leads. The WÖRTHER SHORTY is a sturdy feather-light choice with an easy-to-grip heaxagonal profile which prevents it from rolling around the working surfaces. It's 3/4" shorter than the Scribble, and travels well inside a pocket clipped to the cover of a Moleskine sketchbook.
While 3.15 mm wide leads can be kept sharp with a sandpaper pad (so long as you have a trash can nearby to collect the graphite powder), sometimes is nice to restore their original connical shape with a more practical self-contained lead pointer. I've had the compact 2-hole blue Staedtler model for decades now, and the 2 mm blade is now pretty dull (but the 3 mm blade still yields a nice sharp point). Recently, I found the nifty red KUM lead pointer that can accomodate 2 and 3.15 mm leads and provides a convenient sponge for cleaning pencil points and a mini sandpaper pad to touch up slightly blunt points. The Staedtler rotary lead pointer can be convenient and efficient for technical drawing, but it only works with 2 mm leads. Since I tend to use rubber grips or tennis wrap around the barrels of many of my 2 mm lead holders, my rotary model does not get used much lately.
Couple of sketches of potential characters for the kid's book idea featuring their animal sidekicks.