Value

the artist can never hope to replicate the many tones,values, and colors of nature which are infinite. we must be content to represent nature with the meager means available to us. In the case of graphite pencil that means reducing nature's glory down to a finite number of tones. the darkest value you can make with the pencil to represent the darkest value you see in your subject and the white of the paper to represent the lightest value you see in your subject. Typically, ten values are considered, ten being the white of the paper and zero being the darkest tone you can make, but you can use any number of values you wish, say three for example.

the darkest tone is made by coloring a square with the softest pencil in your set and then using a harder lead to go over that. the harder lead will press the softer lead into the paper making it darker. be sure to keep your pencils sharp and don't press so hard that you flatten the texture of the paper.