Drawing photo realistic horse with graphite pencils

In this video I am drawing a photo-realistic horse with graphite pencils. After drawing the basic outline, I filled in the background using graphite powder. To get a dark background with graphite, I used very inexpensive 80-grit sandpaper to grind down the lead of a Staedtler Mars Lumograph Black 8B pencil. A good way to get smooth application of graphite powder is to apply the graphite using cotton wool. I used a cotton wool pad that is normally used for applying makeup. When you initially apply the 8B graphite powder, it only serves as an initial base and you will need to repetitively apply the graphite using the cotton wool until you get a very dark background. It should be noted that when the drawing is completed, it will be necessary to spray a fixative to protect the drawing, especially since I have used a lot of graphite powder. I have made another video () dedicated to achieving dark backgrounds. I have also posted a video on how to use a fixative (