subject: Understanding Drawing Charcoal Basics [print this page] Drawing charcoal is a versatile medium, often enabling artists to create much more dramatic pieces than a simple pencil alone. When searching for the perfect charcoals, you will find that they are available in a wide variety of sizes, each with varying degrees of firmness. The ideal charcoal(s) for your given artists needs, will depend upon the type of work you are producing and the techniques you intend to utilize.
Primary Charcoal Types
When searching for the drawing charcoal, you will note that it is available in a variety of forms and sizes, including:
Compressed Sticks- These are often labeled as hard and are used to produce darker shades
Soft Charcoals- Perfect for smudging techniques
Pressed Charcoal Pencils- This is the ideal charcoal for drawing as these pencils can be sharpened to a fine point
Willow or Vine Charcoals- These long, cylindrical sticks can be used to produce velvety gray tones perfect for both drawing and smudging
Most artists prefer to keep a variety of charcoal types and sizes with varying degrees of softness and hardness for the widest array of design options during the creative process. Among the leading charcoal brands is Nitram Charcoal, offering soft and hard pencils as well as a variety of sizes.
Charcoal Drawing Techniques
When drawing with charcoal, artists have a number of techniques available for their disposal. Some of the primary techniques include:
Hatching- Dark values can be built through layering of thin, parallel lines. To darken specific areas of your drawing, you can go back over the previous lines with the same drawing charcoal. To perfect this technique requires practice and a steady artistic hand.
Cross Hatching- This technique can be described as layering multiple hatched lines, crossing each other at angles. To add more visual interest, you can use this technique in combination with basic hatching. To perfect this technique requires pressure control when manipulating the drawing charcoals.
Stumping- This technique involves utilizing the point of an edge of paper as a stick to smudge the charcoal lines on your piece.
Veiling- To accomplish the look of faint lines on your piece, drag your drawing charcoal lightly across the papers grain. This technique is commonly used to create a smoother appearance. Success when using the veiling technique is largely dependent upon the sharpness of your charcoal.
Complimentary Tools for Drawing Charcoals
In addition to choosing the right drawing charcoals for your projects requirements, you will also want to select several complimentary tools to achieve the desired end appearance. Ink brushes can help soften and even out the textures of your charcoal drawings. Kneaded erasers can help model tones and to remove unwanted charcoal marks or smudges on your piece.
Packing your tool kit with a variety of charcoal drawing tools will enable you to design and implement virtually any piece you can imagine. When searching for the perfect charcoals, be sure to review the current product selection offered by Nitram Charcoals, an industry leader in traditional charcoals for drawing.
