While I was always proficient with a simple pencil i aimed ot develop my skills by experimenting with greater scale and with ink and pieces of graphite as well. The challenge always is to be so sure of the forms, planes and shadows of the face and the figure that one can use a technique that cannot be easily modified once on paper.
This permanency is what drew me to try and develop my skills in figure and portrait drawing with pens and ink at the time.