Learn to draw with charcoal.






Getting started with charcoal can be a daunting task. Charcoal can be dirty, and there are many different types of charcoal to choose from. Where to start? Which paper should you use? In this post, you will find the best way to easily create beautifully detailed charcoal drawings by following a few simple guidelines and working with the right charcoal material from scratch.


Where to start?


Charcoal requires more teeth than a graphite pencil, so you need to get some paper that has a deep texture (teeth). I recommend that you buy a large sheet of paper specially designed for use with charcoal. An 18-inch by 24-inch pad is a great size for charcoal drawing.


Draw the first major elements, drawing the details as the last.




The workflow of charcoal will be like a graphite pencil in which you have to work in both technique and material from light to dark. In other words, you should not only print lightly at the beginning of the drawing but also choose a variety of charcoal that will help you limit the range of darkness within the drawing. You should also focus on the major elements of the topic and think about the details later. For example, if you're working on a self-portrait, you won't get a detailed look unless you lightly sketch all face parts in charcoal. When you are sure that the elements will not move, is it time to start drawing details in your charcoal drawing.


Bell and willow charcoal


Each charcoal drawing should begin with a light mark drawn with a bell or willow. However, technically different materials, coal, and willow are both soft, velvety charcoal that allows you to easily modify your first drawing. You should also be prepared to raise more hands when using charcoal, literally. I want you to push, smear and mix the charcoal around the paper with your fingers. You can also use a tissue or paper towel to press the charcoal powder evenly for very large areas.


Compressed charcoal


If your drawing is moving forward and you realize you no longer need to make any major adjustments, it's time to use some compressed charcoal. Compressed charcoal is usually made of rectangular bricks and is incredibly black. This is the darkest material you'll ever encounter and the last game you accidentally want to break into your bedroom carpet, so be careful. Compressed charcoal should almost always be used on top of existing vine or willow cabbage layers. This will help it blend in with your drawing and will not stand out and look like it does not go with the rest of the drawing. However, compressed charcoal is essential for achieving those beautiful, dark colors that have a lighter quality inside your highlight drawings.


Charcoal refiners


Since charcoal drawings are easy to fade, you may want to use sticky gum. Glue wipes work differently from rubber or plastic wipes and will not leave small wipes on your paper. A powdered safi works by absorbing pieces of charcoal into the safe. You will notice that the waxy scrub turns black when you wipe it. This is because it absorbs charcoal particles. You can shape the eraser to get a clean area to erase. If the gums get dirty, you can buy a cleaner and put it back together. This will give your wiper a much longer life and should be done when your wiper is covered with charcoal. However, because the mold carrier carries charcoal, there comes the point where the mold cleaner can no longer be cleaned and needs to be replaced. Under the normal amount of deletion, you will need a lot of drawings before you reach this point.


Glue scrub is great for most of your charcoal work, but it fails when you try to remove it on a small scale. I always have a gum stick that works like a mechanical pencil. You click on the top to remove a thin white vinyl glue. This gum will leave pieces and fragments on your paper and is very aggressive for the paper, so use it only for extreme details when your drawing is almost complete.


Charcoal pencil



You can use a charcoal pencil when it is time to add some small details to your charcoal drawing. Charcoal pencils look like ordinary pencils but contain compressed charcoal. Knowing that they contain compressed charcoal and are sharp to a point, it would be wise to save them for details only at the end of a fully prepared drawing. Otherwise, a charcoal pencil can scratch the lines on your paper and leave marks.