I start by loosely drawing basic shapes with a graphite pencil, H lead. Then I refine the contours of the shapes with a sharpened mechanical pencil (also H lead). Details are kept to a minimum because the lead pencil leaves a residue on the paper that can interfere with inking. The next stage is inking, and I start with the foreground, going from light to dark as it is best to build the lines in layers. Ink is permanent, so too many lines can make the drawing look murky and ruin the artwork.
