Drawing With Charcoal: Tips And Drawing Techniques

Charcoal is the classical medium in the art of drawing. Amateur artists seem to prefer pencil or pen drawing which is quicker and easier to learn than drawing with charcoal. However charcoal is probably the most simple and cheap and durable black and white medium with the most fascinating potential in expression and variation. INTRO

Charcoal is organic carbon and therefore something different than graphite material. Charcoal is produced from heated wood under the exclusion of oxygen. What remains in the process is more or less pure carbon. WHAT IS CHARCOAL AND WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC PROPERTIES AND ADVANTAGES AS DRAWING MEDIUM ?

You can get charcoal as pressed stalk charcoal pieces or so called artists charcoal. This charcoal is produced in pyrolysis process from pieces of beech, vine or willow trees. The charcoal pieces can be obtained in different sizes, lengths and diameters and in different hardness. Softer charcoal is often darker than the harder variations. The charcoal pieces tend to break easily therefore it is convenient to break the charcoal into smaller pieces already before starting the drawing and to use shorter pieces. The carbon powder is also offered in compressed form in other drawing tools like pressed pieces or in form of carbon pencils which can be handled similar to graphite pencils.

1. you can create shades of black in endless variations and gradations 2. the charcoal powder will change its appearance depending on the paper you use. On papers with some "tooth" i.e. open and irregular surface one can create wonderful, subtle structures and values in light and dark 3. it is possible to draw very quickly with charcoal too, so it is a very good medium for quick sketches 4. charcoal allows to work in small and very big formats 5. charcoal is very durable, there is almost no aging or fading effect on the black of charcoal works. THE OUTSTANDING PROPERTIES OF CHARCOAL ARE:

Natural charcoal sticks are my favorite charcoal medium in combination with soft kneaded erasers and a soft cotton towl (or a chamois) to wipe out wrong lines if necessary. Charcoal pencils tend to break when you want to sharpen them. In order to sharpen a charcoal pencil you need to use an exacto knife. CHARCOAL AND KNEADED ERASERS THE BASIC DRAWING TOOLS

CHARCOAL TIME LAPSE