Provides lessons on essential drawing skill using a pencil, pen, or charcoal to create still-life drawings and portraits.;Introduction. Starting out -- How to use this book -- Supplies -- 1. Seeing to draw -- Recording edges : contour drawing -- Exercise : wire drawing -- Recording shapes upside down -- Exercise : upside-down drawing -- Seeing as an artist -- 2. Turning edges into objects -- Look before you leap -- Problem solvers -- Re-viewing your 3D drawings -- Locating what's good -- Claiming your success -- 3. Adding accuracy -- A time and place to draw -- Previewing -- Exercise : pretzel preview -- Exercise : gesture writing your name -- Exercise : horizontal and vertical lines -- Exercise : circles and larger circles -- Plumblines and levels -- Exercise : ellipse -- Exercise : cylinder -- Exercise : bowl -- Underdrawing -- Exercise : bottle -- Drawing asymmetrical objects -- Exercise : sketching irregular forms -- Exercise : wrapping your hand -- Additional accuracy tools -- Drawing angles -- Summary -- 4. Pencil values -- Sorting out values -- Exercise : value application pencil sampler -- Step-by-step value drawing -- Problem solvers -- Banish perfectionism -- Exercise : close at hand -- Studies -- 5. Expanding value technique : wash, pen, pencil -- Creating a wash -- Exercise : wash sampler -- Exercise : pencil studies with wash -- Pen techniques -- Exercise : pen sampler -- Exercise : rounded/irregular shapes sampler -- Adding pen to pencil and wash -- Using pencil with pen and wash -- 6. Expanding value technique : charcoal -- Nature's best models -- Exercise : charcoal sampler -- Shadow sketches -- Step-by-step charcoal study -- More complex subjects -- Improving your charcoal drawing -- Additional tools -- 7. Drawing the face, frontal view -- Studying the face : start with your own -- Exercise : blocking in -- Exercise : developing individual features -- Exercise : blocking in the nose -- Exercise : shaping the face -- Exercise : creating dimension by adding values -- Facial expression -- 8. Drawing the face, profile view -- Observing the profile view -- Exercise : blocking in -- Exercise : developing features -- 9. Expanding value technique : Conté -- Exercise : Conté sampler -- Building Conté values gradually -- Exercise : Conté drawing of draped fabric -- Black and white Conté on gray paper -- 10. Still life -- Added tools for still life -- Drawing table angles -- Step-by-step still live -- Further refinement of your still life -- Making connections, creating harmony -- Exercise : thumbnail sketch -- Problems solvers -- Finishing up. Your inner aesthetic -- Exercise : finding yourself in your art.