When we speak of drawing as an art form, we are referring mainly to an artist's use of line to make a picture. However, the definition of drawing can be expanded to include the use of color, shading, and other elements in addition to line.

Drawings can be made as finished works of art. But they are also made for other reasons. One of the first main functions of drawing has been as a first step in the preparation of a work of art in another medium. These mediums include painting, sculpture, or architecture. The study of drawing has also served as the basic form of training for work in all of the arts.

The history of drawing is as old as the history of humankind. People drew pictures even before they learned how to write. Like other art forms, drawing has changed and developed through history. Each new style grew out of the style that came before it. This evolution of drawing styles closely parallels the development of painting. As drawing styles changed, so did drawing materials.

Early History
The earliest known drawings date from 30,000 to 10,000 B.C.. They were found on the walls of caves in France and Spain. Other examples of early drawing are designs that were scratched, carved, or painted on the surfaces of primitive tools.

Ancient Egyptians (beginning about 3000 B.C.) decorated the walls of their temples and tombs with scenes of daily life. These drawings had a flat, linear style. Texts written on papyrus (an early form of paper) were illustrated with similar designs in pen and ink.

Nearly all that survives to show the drawing and painting skills of the ancient Greeks are their decorated pottery vases. These great works of art show the Greeks' ability to draw graceful figures and decorative lines.

The Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, from about the 400's to the 1400's, art was produced mainly to glorify God and to teach religion. Painting and drawing merged in the illustration of Bibles and prayer books produced by monks. These beautifully decorated manuscripts were hand-lettered on vellum (calfskin), or later, on paper. Those made for royalty contained miniature paintings ornamented with gold. Those made for less wealthy persons were decorated with pen-and-ink drawings. The flat, linear forms often resembled the ornamental patterns made by metalworkers.

Drawings were used in the preparatory stages of a work of art during the Middle Ages, but few survive. Paper was not made in Europe until the 1100's, and at first it was expensive and difficult to obtain. Artists sometimes drew on prepared animal skins such as parchment or vellum. But these were also expensive. For centuries, artists made their preparatory drawings on tablets made of slate, wood, or wax. These tablets were thrown away or reused. Some painters made their preparatory drawings directly on the panel or wall that was to be painted. These were covered in the final stage of painting.

Drawings had another important function during the Middle Ages. They helped artists keep a r