Graphite & Charcoal
Exploring Graphite and Charcoal
Graphite and charcoal are timeless mediums, offering artists a range of expression, from soft, subtle shading to bold, dramatic contrasts. Their versatility makes them essential tools for artists exploring value, texture, and form.
Charcoal is a versatile drawing medium that offers a range of tones and textures, from deep blacks to soft grays, making it perfect for sketching, shading, and expressive works. Here’s a brief guide to help you navigate different types of charcoal and how to use them effectively.
Charcoal Pencils
Description: Encased in wood, like traditional pencils, these offer more control and precision.
Uses: Great for detailed work, outlines, or adding fine lines. Ideal for beginners or those who prefer more control.
Produces dark, rich marks.
Balanced for both shading and details.
Lighter marks, good for fine details or light shading.
Vine Charcoal
Description: Made from burned grape vines, this type is soft, fragile, and easily smudges.
Uses: Best for light sketches, preliminary drawings, or creating soft tonal backgrounds. It’s easy to erase and adjust but doesn’t offer deep blacks.
Tip: Use a kneaded eraser for lifting vine charcoal marks to create highlights.
Willow Charcoal
Description: Similar to vine charcoal but tends to be softer and comes in a range of thicknesses.
Uses: Produces smooth, delicate lines and is excellent for gestural sketches and softer tones. Like vine charcoal, it smudges easily and erases well.
Compressed Charcoal
Description: Charcoal powder compressed into sticks, with a binder added for strength. It is darker and denser than vine or willow charcoal.
Uses: Great for bold, dark lines and rich textures. It’s less fragile but harder to erase than vine or willow.
Available in stick form or pencil form.
Powdered Charcoal
Description: Charcoal in powdered form, typically used for broad areas or to create a soft, atmospheric background.
Uses: Ideal for covering large areas quickly, creating a subtle gradient, or blending with brushes or cloth.
Tip: Apply with a brush, cloth, or even your hands for more organic blending.
Techniques for Working with Charcoal
Shading and Blending
Stumps & Tortillons: Use paper stumps or tortillons to blend and soften edges for smooth shading.
Fingers: You can also use your fingers to smudge and blend charcoal but be cautious of oils from your skin.
Erasers: Kneaded erasers can be molded into various shapes and used to lift charcoal, creating highlights or correcting mistakes.
Layering
Begin with light layers and gradually build up tones. Use vine or willow charcoal for the initial sketch, then transition to compressed charcoal for deeper, darker values.
Lifting for Highlights
Use a kneaded eraser to carefully lift away charcoal for highlights. This method works particularly well with vine and willow charcoal.
Mark Making
Experiment with different tools (pencils, sticks, powder) to create a range of textures. Use the side of a stick for broader strokes or the tip for sharp, precise lines.
Fixatives
Charcoal can easily smudge, so use a workable fixative to set the layers in place. A final fixative spray can be applied when your artwork is finished to protect it from smudging over time.
Charcoal Exploration
How to Start
Concept: Choose a subject, such as still life, portraits, or landscapes. For these experiments, the focus was on texture and light interplay.
Sketch: Begin with a light outline using graphite or vine charcoal.
Layer and Shade: Build values gradually with graphite or charcoal, starting with light layers and deepening tones.
Blend: Use a tissue, blending stump, or your fingers to create smooth gradients.
Add Highlights: Use an eraser to lift graphite or charcoal, adding light and dimension.
For Classroom
Younger students: Focus on basic shapes and simple shading.
Advanced students: Introduce techniques like chiaroscuro and subtractive drawing.
Safety Tips: Use charcoal in a well-ventilated area to minimize dust inhalation.
Artists to Explore
Graphite:
Kelvin Okafor: Renowned for hyper-realistic graphite portraits.
Dirk Dzimirsky: Known for detailed graphite drawings with rich textures.
Charcoal:
Casey Baugh: Combines charcoal and other mediums for atmospheric portraits.
Robert Longo: Creates dramatic charcoal works, often on a large scale.
Personal Reflections
Graphite and charcoal allows to explore light and shadow in ways that feels intuitive and expressive. The precision of graphite pencils contrasted beautifully with the bold, expressive strokes of charcoal. Combining these mediums encouraged experimentation, and I enjoyed the process of pushing and pulling the values to bring my subjects to life. Finally, it's simplistic, accessible, and there isn't much friction to start.
Reference:
Okafor, Kelvin. The Beauty of Pencil Art. Tate Publishing, 2015.