well basically I first start with a very light outlining of the whole sketch..which in itself is hard for me since im used to pressing into paper hard with pencil..but then I loosely shade in the sketch..first layer will be a bit thin..then I use a q-tip to blend it O_o..and actually once the q-tip head gets really black from all the graphite...then you can use it to add muted shadows here and there. Well anyway I just continue to layer the shadows on..working them in slowly until they become more concrete and bold where I need them to be...and last step outline the whole sketch with a pencil..this time making the lines more pronounced.