Hi @klynic thanks for commenting, I would recommend starting with a very light background, be liberal with the pencil and build your confidence slowly. Don't rush.
Draw from reference and look at where the dark parts are, get those in first but only very lightly and build on them.
I would also get some blending sticks, they are very cheap and incredibly easy to use. they are essentially a paper pencil that you use to smudge out your lines, you can also use them to add faint shadows once they have a bit of pencil on them.
Let me know if this helps, if you have any more specific questions please give me a shout.
Thanks