Holy Moly, it's a cast drawing!

Here's cast drawing from my once a week class at the Schuler School of fine arts.  I'm getting used to the academic approach to drawing.  I'm a firm believer in developing drawing skills that trains the eye to see. Most of the great artists like Picasso, could draw well. What is a great insight or revelation to me is how abstract the beginning of the cast drawings are in the definitions of light and dark shapes. The process reminds me of an abstract ink block image where animals and fantastic creatures reside. If you get the masses of light and dark defined, then pulling out highlights and furthering the details is easier.  Oh and another amazement is the fact this is drawn using twig or vine charcoal.  Years back in college, I used vine charcoal to sketch on canvas prior to a painting, but not creating detailed renderings.