Drawing is the most primitive form of artistic expression. Even writing has its origins in signs that, in fact, are drawings. A piece of coal was the first drawing medium and this was and is a single-color medium. Black on white is the simplest form of artistic expression and is the nucleus from which this book sets out.
Charcoal and pencil are the two fundamental drawing materials. Almost all drawing other materials derive from them. It can even be said that, by mastering these two materials, artists can cover most drawing techniques. Apart from charcoal and pencil drawing, this section studies drawing in sanguine and India ink, two classic materials that are just as widely practiced as the other two.
The following pages exhaustively cover these basic materials, their history, origins, and manufacture, along with all their varieties, paying special attention to the many different results that artists can achieve by using them.