Mark making

Holding a pencil is something I have not done for years. Most of my drawing has been done with a long handled paintbrush, or a knife, at an easel.
It felt very restrictive at first, drawing so small and after holding the pencil like a brush, I then held it like a pen and it still felt odd.
Charcoal felt more familiar as did pastel.
I found I could get far more variation from the charcoal and could see the potential for much more emotional work. It also had the best range of tone.
Ink could well have more use for experimenting. I found that dripping it from the pipette and then blowing it created some interesting movement.
Pencil seems to work really well for cross hatching, Dots or stippling seemed to me to be going against my nature. No movement and not much variation. For me, far too slow to create anything with any life to it.
Soft pastels ( difference in quality was noticeable) have great potential for mixing, smudging and using with ink. Putty rubber did not work. Only on charcoal or pencil.
The oil pastels were the biggest disappointment. Apart from the feel of them, they seemed inflexible. Most uncomfortable and felt like a fork on a window pane. Fine to convey frenzy but not pleasant to use.
On the whole a fascinating exercise which I would not have done if I were not given the instructions.
Charcoal and pastel by far the most enjoyable.