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How To Draw With Charcoal – An Introduction
With all the technological advancement in the arts and design, a nice charcoal drawing still never fails to impress. Just like black and white photographs, it will probably never lose its timeless charm. Color is nice to look at, but the stillness of a black and white drawing can evoke a different set of emotions which are nevertheless powerful. Besides, all artists should start from the basics, and using a simple piece of charcoal to bring light and shade into form is one of the most basic skills any artist has to master.
Although you can use just any piece of charcoal to draw, it might be easier to use charcoal sticks which are meant for drawing. There are two types of drawing charcoal sticks; those which are made out of charred vine or willow wood and those which are made out of compressed charcoal and graphite. Just like pencils, which can also be considered as a kind of charcoal drawing implement, these charcoal sticks come in different grades; the softer the stick, the easier it is to smudge. It is said that wood charcoal sticks are of higher quality but are much more expensive.
You can also draw on any kind of paper, but the one which produces the best results would be, of course, charcoal paper! Charcoal paper has a more textured or “toothed” surface compared to normal paper. A toothed surface catches the charcoal particles much better. Just like charcoal sticks, charcoal paper come in different grades and the amount of roughness depends on the artist’s preference.
When doing a charcoal drawing, you are practically using the paper as an abrasive which erodes charcoal material from your stick. This can get quite messy and you don’t want to ruin your drawing with smudges of dirt here and there. This is why you need a clean workspace. Put newspapers or any kind of covering over your table to prevent it from getting dirty. You should also have a damp rag within reach so that you can clean your hands and fingers occasionally. You will be using your fingers and in some cases, your palms, to smudge the charcoal on the papers so you can expect them to be dirty.
There are actually two ways you can start a drawing. You can use the charcoal like a pencil to draw the lines and the shades, but did you know that you can use your eraser to draw? That’s right, what you need to do is to blacken your paper with charcoal from top to bottom, don’t leave any white spots. Then, take your eraser and start erasing to create the light parts of your drawing, leaving the shades behind. This is a really good way to study the relationship between light and shade and how these two elements form the shape, depth and perspective of your subject. This can be quite difficult at first, and for beginners it is advisable to start with objects with simple shapes and surfaces like fruits.
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Vine Charcoal Landscape (in the making)
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