Join me on the exploration of different charcoals on various surfaces!
About Charcoal
According to Mary Hafeli, author of Exploring Studio Materials, charcoal as a drawing medium goes back as early as prehistoric times. Charcoal is charred wood, created by heating different types of wood in an airtight kiln. Vine charcoal can range from extra soft to hard, compressed charcoal is strongest and can even come in the form of wooden pencils, and carbon pencils are a mixture of carbon and graphite that also range in pigment (32).
MATERIALS
Winsor & Newton Vine Charcoal Soft 3 ct. ($ 3.11)
General's Compressed Charcoal 4 ct.
($ 3.66)
General's Charcoal Drawing Pencils Set of 7 ($ 8.02)
Cretacolor Charcoal Powder 175g ($ 18.39)
Sofft 4 Knives with 8 Covers ($ 10.12)
Art Alternatives Stumps & Tortillons 10 Piece Set ($ 6.95)
Kneaded Eraser Large ($ 0.98)
Tombow Mono Zero Eraser Round 2.3mm ($ 4.46)
Royal & Langnickel Artist Chamois ($ 3.59) (optional)
Pacific Arc White Plastic Eraser ($ 0.72)
Paint brushes (or old makeup brushes!)
Water (for the brushes)
Strathmore 400 Series Drawing Pad Medium Surface 18" x 24" ($ 23.32)
Strathmore Mixed Media Pad Vellum Surface ($ 9.88 - $ 25.32 depending on size)
Plaza Newsprint Pad Rough Surface 18"x 24" ($ 8.99)
Price Commentary
Charcoal sticks and pencils are generally affordable materials, with charcoal powder being most costly. All papers and materials were bought at Plaza Art and the prices I listed are with an educator/student discount. Otherwise, they would be more expensive. Keep that in mind!
About the Materials
Despite the different types, charcoal is not toxic, although the powder must be used with care because it can get everywhere. For the purpose of this blog, I will explore these types of charcoals while testing on various papers, then I will show a little tutorial for using them.
Strathmore Mixed Media Pad (vellum surface)
Charcoal Pencils:
The paper allowed for nice blending of this type of charcoal, although using the finger and water allowed for the marks to show through. The paper stump is best for blending when wanting to retain original saturation, unlike the knives that kind of "lift" the charcoal off (these last two statements go for all types of charcoal).
Compressed Charcoal:
These were the darkest marks. Blending with water also let the marks show through.
Vine Soft Charcoal
Soft and "wispy" charcoal. These showed the second lightest on the paper, but nice and easy to blend even with water.
Charcoal Powder
Very soft and light powder, not very pigmented. It showed the lightest on the paper, but blending with paper stumps and water allowed for a more saturated effect.
Strathmore Drawing Pad (Medium Surface)
Charcoal Pencils:
The paper was BEST for greatest retainment of the charcoal. Even when blending with the knives, the original darkness stayed.
Compressed Charcoal:
The paper allowed for the darkest marks possible. However, because of the tooth of the paper, blending with fingers is very hard. I would recommend using stumps, knives, or water.
Vine Soft Charcoal
The paper didn't allow for the soft charcoal to blend well. Since it's already pretty light, I would use it as a soft base for any drawing without necessarily blending.
Charcoal Powder
The paper allowed for the charcoal to appear a bit darker, perhaps due to its tooth. Blending-wise, they all looked about the same, with the finger giving most texture.
Plaza Newsprint Pad (Rough Surface)
Charcoal Pencils:
The paper caused the stump and finger blending to be very hard due to its tooth. However, the water was smooth.
Compressed Charcoal:
The paper also caused blending to be hard, though water was smooth as well. Blending with paper stumps also let the texture through.
Vine Soft Charcoal
The paper didn't allow for the soft charcoal to blend well either. All the blending looks about the same, with water being most smooth and pigmented.
Charcoal Powder
The paper allowed for the charcoal to appear a bit darker, perhaps due to its rough tooth. Blending-wise, they all looked about the same, with the finger giving most texture and water bringing the most pigment.
Charcoal Techniques
There are so many techniques you can use when it comes to charcoal! I explored hatching, "under"-etching, blending, eraser-lifting, different types of dry mark-making and wet mark-making, painting with the brush dipped in the charcoal then in water and vice versa, dry brush, wet on wet, etc. Please read my notes in the images to see what techniques match with which marks, and what type of charcoal was used. Compressed charcoal and pencils were best for dark spots and thin/thick line-work, vine was best for soft layers and for when needing to erase, and the powder was perfect for mixing with water and painting. Paper stumps and knives are also great tools for smoothing the charcoal and blending.
The last picture shows a drawing I made when I was exploring mark-making with charcoal and water. I loved hatching and making lines with the mono eraser to lift the charcoal off and leave thin marks.
How to Use Different Types of Charcoal in A Drawing
Step 1
Draw an outline with a pencil.
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Overall...
Age appropriateness: Because charcoal is very messy, I would prefer to use it with middle schoolers and high schoolers. High schoolers tend to be most responsible, therefore I would only allow them to use the charcoal powder under supervision because it can be extremely messy. Middle schoolers could have lessons focused on using charcoal to create texture, whereas high schoolers could use the charcoal painting technique to add creative mark-making to their drawings.
Strengths: Personally, I love the powder the most. It is extremely versatile, for it can be used to cover large areas in a drawing, or made into a paste and diluted to make a painting. Charcoal sticks and pencils are also great for pattern-making, shading, blending, and details.
Limitations: Charcoal powder is very messy, and if the powder is inhaled it may cause coughing. Charcoal sticks are also messy and easily breakable, especially the soft vine, therefore the grip your students have on them is important. If they grip too hard, the sticks may break, and if they're small pieces they can get lost.
Comfort Level: I feel very comfortable teaching with charcoal, for it is my favorite medium and the one I work with most/know most about. However, I would still like to expand on the techniques of blending and pattern making if I were to teach older children, as well as what prompts to give them.
Possible health or safety concerns: Charcoal itself is not toxic, but because it's messy and powdery (even the sticks), I would only feel comfortable teaching older students how to use it. Younger kids might swallow them or break them easily, but middle schoolers and up would probably be most careful. Charcoal powder can also get everywhere, so I don't want my students to cough if it gets in their nose, therefore I would supervise my high schoolers just in case.
Happy Drawing! :)
Reference:
Hafeli, Mary Claire. Exploring Studio Materials: Teaching Creative Art Making to Children. Oxford University Press, 2015.
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