How to draw with a Charcoal

 Charcoal Drawing

Charcoal drawing is a well recognized skill. very professional looking black and white images can be drawn just with a little chunk of charcoal and eraser. it is like making abstract photos without using a computer. charcoal is also a good way of learning gray gradients and lighting techniques. Many people wonder how these images are made to look so cool with just a piece of charcoal.

Steps:  

1) Set up your workplace: Charcoal can be used on almost any type of paper meant for drawing. Remember, though that coal is also very messy. It comes of your skin very easily, but to avoid your table becoming all black put some newspapers or that papers under your workspace.

2) Take a charcoal crayon and fill an entire paper up with black. Do not leave any blank white spots.*note it is not mandatory to shade an entire blank sheet of paper with charcoal and use an eraser to draw* charcoal can be used the same way you would use a drawing pencil.

3) Find a good black and white photo: Try a portrait, even if you are a beginner. put it in front of you and turn it upside down. if you do that , you do not have exact imagination of what you are drawing and your image will be unique. Aim for some basic highlights of the human face. you do not need to copy the image exactly.

4) Take a piece of eraser and erase out the outline of head. that is right you will be drawing with an eraser. It is not mandatory to shade an entire blank sheet of paper with charcoal and use an eraser to draw. charcoal can be used in the same way you would use a drawing pencil.

5) Start with the eyes, since they are whitest spots on your face: Do not place them all the way on top of the image, since that is where you will draw hair. Also, consider eyeballs and the shines, once you have the basic eye outline, take eraser and slightly make a rounded line inside of the eye ball.Now your eyes really look realistic.

6) Look at the photo and start finding the areas that are lightest: Now take your eraser, erase that areas out. apply less and less pressure as you go out of the lighted areas. Now, take your finger and rub those areas that blends the gradient and makes it more realistic.

7) Start working on the details: You might want to take the charcoal again and some outlines also, you can take eraser and  erase other additional areas out.

8) Try to shape the hair: Take eraser and make lines along the black area that is supposed to be hair. Now, take the coal and make the lines thinner. Be sure to follow , patterns shown on the photo.

9) Erase the black background: Take eraser and erase everything besides the portrait. Then take a charcoal and fill in the outline that used to be white. Make the outline thin.

10) Turn the portrait over and admire: But realize that was just a start up exercise. your image is probably not the best and looks nothing like the photo (but it looks like human) if you want to , you can start all over again to get more practice. once you think you have mastered making grey gradients you can move on.

11) Draw a still life: Take some fruit and place them all on a chair or table. pay close attention to lighting and shading and use same technique as you used in portrait to bring the image to your paper.

12) Move on to even harder stuff: Look out your window and draw what you see. Trees , streets, houses. again, notice all the shading and lighting, Try to learn new techniques.

13) When finished with a drawing spray fix it with a fixative to prevent smudging. You may also try hair spray, but in some cases this may ruin the piece.