素描

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 素描(そびょう) is drawing focused on line and shading with materials such as pencil or charcoal, or a work made in this way.
• Basic usage: It applies to drawings exhibited in a museum and to sketching scenery in pencil while traveling.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A drawing versus the preparatory 下絵
  • 下絵(したえ) is a preliminary drawing for another work. 素描 focuses on the mode of expression, so it may be preparatory or may itself be the work viewed, as in the first example.