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The article offers extensive information on several drawing materials and their uses including graphite, charcoal and colored pencils. Particular focus is given to the techniques behind mastering these materials as well as to how to choose the best-quality supplies. Several images of drawn artworks are also presented by contemporary artists including Terry Miller, Jos. A. Smith and Jason Polins.

The article discusses the modeling of form in drawing to depict realistic objects. The author advises depicting cubes before drawing more complicated solids and discusses the importance of value scales. Topics covered include the gradation of color and shading in drawing, outlines of objects and contour lines in drawing, and the depiction of intersecting planes in drawing. Also discussed are materials used for drawing, including graphite pencils, charcoal pencils, and kneaded erasers.

Traces the history of the wood-case pencil. Implication of the Educational Testing Service's announcement that it will replace pencil and paper with computers; Comments on the discovery that pencil lead was actually a form of carbon; Involvement of writer Henry David Thoreau's family in the pencil business; Exhaustion of sources of graphite and red cedar, which are the raw materials for pencil.

The article discusses 19th-century German draftsman Adolph Menzel, who used the medium of graphite to create drawings. The author discusses Menzel's use of a sketchbook to draw his surroundings and describes his education and the development of his career. Other topics addressed include Menzel's use of the carpenter's pencil, the use of tone and line in his work, and abstract drawings from the end of his career.

The article features American artist Julio Reyes. Reyes partly draws from memory while incorporating something out of the context of his subject in reality and depicts it in its environment. He works with a large selection of art materials depending on how he decides to proceed including oil paint, sculpting clay or drawing materials as well as chunks of graphite, a lithographic pen and oil or watercolor. The creative process of Reyes is based on experiences and memories.