Step 01 First off I have the rough idea in my head. In this case I'm bringing in a bit of organic feel to the robot which may not function if technically speaking but looks workable, I'll quickly scribble down the shapes while it's still fresh in my memory.

I know there will be quite a number of complicated parts and they might not stand out so clearly from a white background. So from judging the pose of the "Junkbot", I've created a box to help it read better and also act as a frame to keep the "parts" together. Since this will be in grey scale, it lets me keep in focus on the values, negative/ positive space and composition.

*I'm working on a 11.5" X 8.5", 80g/m² paper.

*I use a 2B pencil for this initial sketch.

*The darker parts were rendered with a 6B pencil.

Step 02 Details are slowly added in and working with more form. Keeping in mind the overall shape and silhouette. It's always good to think in terms of negative and positive space. This way you'll know whether your overall design/element can be easily recognized/ read.

* Varying the designs/ shapes makes it more interesting. I try to avoid boring and repetitive shapes.

Step 03 Slowly the details are added in. The details need to be considered properly before laying it down. I'll try to balance the very detailed parts with a much simpler shape next to it. So things won't look too messy and cluttered. This way it'll also provide a very interesting transition between the parts.

* I always try to break the rigid form by bringing in more curve shapes/ elements especially where it meets straight lines so it would also form some kind of visual connection to other elements.

* The rules is vertical over horizontal. Hard over soft, soft over hard, detailed against not detailed etc.

Step 04 I consistently flip the paper over against some light source to get a new perspective of the drawing. It always looks different somehow. This makes it easier for me to decide what needs to be adjusted to achieve a balance composition. I've made some amendments to the perspective of the body, it was looking weird before.

*I try to bring in depth by using overlaps, interlock, light and shade and gradations.

*I try to be careful not to overlap a part/ shape with another shape that obscures it.

Step 05 More adjustments, I always keep in mind to have the values balance throughout the compositon. I've moved back its right arm so its right leg will overlap it slightly. it will look a little more natural since it's body slightly angled as in a walking position. I added some shadows of the wires on the frame to give it some depth.

* The rule is light in front of dark, dark in front of light.

* In order to achieve the darkest possible grey that my pencil can render out, I would spray a layer of fixative over the rendered area before rendering on top a second time. This way this way the paper will be able to hold the graphite better, thus retaining its darkness. Make sure to cover up the unfinished parts before spraying. Usually I'll do this at the end until everything is completely rendered. This works for normal smooth paper as they are harder to hold graphite.

 

Final Minor adjustments and touchups to the details and cleaning up any unnecessary smudges before spraying a couple of layers of fixative before I call it done!

* Keep a distance when spraying the fixative about 12" away. Some people like to spray a thick coat at one go. It's recommended to do a few rounds with thin coats each. I usually do 3-4 light coating depending on how much graphite the paper is holding. I prefer a matte finish fixative. The matte quality of the spray does not change the character of the drawing.