Thanks Mrthe, Gert and SE, appreciate the kind comments
Mrthe, all you really need to try scrim is something with a sharp point (like a needle in a pin vise), some plastic silverware, some napkins or rags and some black ink (oh and spit to, is usually readily available and very cheap
. Just take your sharp instrument start poking on some plastic silverware rub ink over it and then wipe the ink off and see what you got, that's really all there is to it. I attached a pic of some beginners work done by a student of mine on some plastic knives, these are his very first efforts after some basic technique lessons. The student thinks they are terrible and is probably gonna give me heck for showing them but I am proud of him and think for first efforts they are very well done.
SE, Achieving lots of detail has to do with patience and putting in the effort. Some of my peers don't think it is worth the time/effort because you can't see all the detail with the naked eye. For me that's what it is all about, it's like a cool little surprise or secret you find the closer you look at a piece. As for technique to achieve detail it's mostly about dot size and spacing (the shading study pic on the plastic knife kinda shows this). For example Take the strands of hair, you start out pushing hard and making big dark dots then you lessen the pressure used to make the dots and slowly start spacing them out a little more with each one, you are trying to make it "fade away".
Alright I could go on and on here but I better get to work and finish getting ready for the holiday. Merry Xmas everyone!