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I am sure that there are people out there like me, people who are passionate about art. Be it painting,drawing,acting,sculpting etc. I like drawing in which I mostly use charcoal medium and sometimes use pastels to give a touch of color. I have used acrylics and oils as well but I liked charcoal medium to be the best.

If you are an aspiring artist , a beginner or someone who just enjoys doing this for a hobby, I just have one word of advice and that is Never Give Up. Keep on doing what you are and you will get better at it day by day. Now let’s go back to the topic that why I started writing this article. Today I am going to give you some tips for drawing with charcoal and the techniques  which you can apply to it to make your piece realistic. Since most of you who deal with drawing know that besides sketching ,shading is the most important aspect that can make or break your drawing. So you would want to know what things or materials you can use to make your piece one of a kind.

Choosing The Paper:

Once you have decided what you want to draw. Next comes the kind of paper that you can use. There are rough and smooth varieties available and you can use the depending on your taste.

Charcoal Pencils:

Usually the darkest values in a drawing are shadows, and, if you are trying to render a subject as realistically as possible, the last thing you want is a shadow that reflects more light than the subject. I use both charcoal and graphite pencil in different areas of my drawings. I mostly use charcoal pencils for

Wood, Bark, fur, hair, eyelashes, pupil of the eye, dark line between the lips, nostrils, coarse fabrics, – like denim, leather, cast shadows

and graphite pencils for

Skin tones, Shading in the white of the eye, Glass, Porcelain, Light values in shiny metal, Smooth fabrics – like silk, Light shading on paper objects- like playing cards.

Blending:

Next comes blending and how you can blend the charcoal into colors that fow into one another,rather than standing out.

Blending stump – These are wood paper sticks that are pointed at the end so you can blend the charcoal easily in small areas. They are very helping you achieve that perfect look for your drawing without the hassle of your painting looking smeared.

Felt pad – You can find these at the arts and crafts stores.they are good at providing textures to your drawing.

Chamois – To imitate smooth surfaces like skin tones and reflective surfaces like glass. You can also use it as an eraser for a large area or lighten the tone. It definitely creates smooth look on your work.

Tip: Try not to use your fingers for blending as the oil from your skin could ruin your work. It won’t create a smooth and even tone look and you would risk leaving your imprints on the paper.

One last word of advice  is that always remember to use fixative so that your work can be as fresh looking as the day you made it. You can find  fixative for charcoal drawings at arts and crafts store.

I hope that you find this article useful. Now let your imagination run wild and make a piece that your family and friends will you for and best of all you are doing something that you love to do. Best of luck.