Exploring edges

I experimented yesterday afternoon with line and shading to delineate edges, mainly with graphite sticks, on 10 cm squares of cream watercolour paper, each square showing the effect with a circle and a straight line.

The first  trio shows the results of edging the shapes heavily with: a 6B graphite stick, with a light touch from a Derwent blending stick over the edge of a circular mask, and with a 4B graphite stick.

In the second, the edges were delineated with: needle holes pushed through from the reverse to create tiny shadows, with an HB pencil only and, lastly, with an HB pencil and a narrow blending of 6B graphite.

In the first three images and the last, the shapes were blended out softly with a Derwent blending stick. All were drawn or blended round a small cardboard circle.