What it Takes to do This ?

I get many comments and questions when I post a drawing. I thought it might be helpful to give a short tutorial on my materials and how I do it.
     I prefer smooth Bristol for my style which is very detailed, a full range of Derwent  and/or  Staedlter drawing pencils usually starting with a B or 2B.  To achieve the darks going  right on up to a 7B..  Tortillon stump for blending or my finger, and of course my trusty kneaded eraser. I can form that eraser to make extremely fine lines..  I prefer it although  I have a small electric eraser. Theres a lot of negative drawing. Taking away 'the lights' as well as putting  in the dark strokes.   The most important aspect of drawing realistic pencil art is  lights and darks.. You cannot show light without darks.. Very much like painting.. My strokes can be anything that suits the area, crosshatch, diagonals, anything that works in that particular space. Pencil is a real challenge, you have nothing more than pencil and paper. There is no color to fall back on., not a whole lot of tricks or techniques as in watercolor .  When I'm sure its all finished , nothing else can happen to it,  I'm then just beginning ..I take it to yet another level and will do that again and again.  I'm not sketching here,  I'm trying to do a realistic detailed piece . The challenge stays on and on. What  does it take?  Patience , .  and then more patience. It never ends !
  So thats what I use,  how I go about it and hope that answers some of your questions.  Above of course is Gracie, whose  grandfather Stephen is an excellent photograhper and I had his permission to do it a few years ago.