It sounds odd doesn't it? Well, I'm here to tell you that you can actually paint with graphite and achieve "color" in your artwork. To start with, you must get familiar with how colors register to black and white. For example, take a color photo or use an existing one, up-load it to your computer and print it using the effects feature in your editing software, change it from color to black and white. By studying the difference between the color and black and white images and comparing their values from light to dark, you will be able to achieve a more realistic and rich finished artwork than you ever did before. Blondes and brunettes, blues, greens, browns, reds, eyes, lipstick, etc...All these colors will be made available to you by simply understanding their palette from color to black and white. More often than not, I see really good portraits being created by artists everywhere, unfortunately, they all lack one important key factor to make them outstanding - CONTRAST. The shadows, midtones and highlights are too closely related to create the visual impact required to make them "lifelike". So, go ahead and give this homework a try out, more likely than not, you will learn something that in the end will make your artwork not only more beautiful, but also more professional. Any questions, feel free to contact me. Thanks