What is drawing and what are its purposes? Can anyone do it? With the answers established, those who have barely put pencil to paper will be gently guided through the basics, developing their skills. Those who already have experience should be inspired to go further and explore more advanced techniques and subject matter. Good drawing forms the basis of all art - and is art in its own right. This book takes an in-depth look at drawing, exploring the many varieties of line and mark possible in different media, and comparing different styles. Areas such as tone and colour, structure, scale, format and exploration of a subject are covered in turn, and in relation to the different genres of drawing, from life and from the imagination. It also shows readers how to hone their observational skills to achieve convincing and satisfying results. Pictures from student works to those of contemporary artists and past masters are used to illustrate particular media and principles, as well as in a series of case studies which explore the artist's motivations, decision processes and choices of material, as well as who the work was intended for.