Drawing Charcoal

Expert Tips For Charcoal-Loving Artists

Drawing with charcoal can be an amazing experience, but it does require a considerable amount of skill. Fortunately, we have compiled an overview with expert tips on how to draw with charcoal. So, if you need some additional pointers, be sure to read through our overview below.

What Is The First Tip To Draw With Charcoal?

The focus of your work is incredibly important when you draw with charcoal. A concept often referred to as "the essence" is even more important when it comes to charcoal drawing, as it can easily get lost in the mixed.

To ensure the essence of your work comes through in a charcoal drawing, any detailing you add should be used to strengthen that essence. While this does not necessarily mean you have to put the essence in the middle, it does mean you have to think about your focus and how you can strengthen it in your work.

What Is The Second Tip To Draw With Charcoal?

When you work with charcoal, it is essential to become familiar with concepts such as value. If you are a beginner, you might not be familiar with this concept just yet. The value of your work is nothing more than the graduation between light and dark. In the case of charcoal, this will be the graduation from white to black.

Working with values can feel daunting and complicated for beginners, but there is an easy way to start practicing. If you are making your first drawing, try to work from the centre outwards with your values. You should also select your darkest and lightest values carefully.

Values can also help you to make your subject clearer or more focussed. For example, you can use darker values for your essence and keep the surrounding details lighter. This is also the easiest way to experiment with values in the beginning. Nevertheless, you will surely develop other techniques as you become more proficient at drawing with charcoal.

What Is The Third Tip To Draw With Charcoal?

A lot of people struggle to get the initial shape right when it comes to working with charcoal, this is often caused by the fact that the subject of the drawing has lots of detail. When this occurs, it can help to squint your eyes.

Look at your subject with squinted eyes to detect the most important parts of your subject, which we will refer to as the outline. Create the shape with charcoal on paper and ignore some of the details at this point, this enables you to get the shape correctly before you start worrying about details.

What Is The Fourth Tip To Draw With Charcoal?

A common mistake among artists who draw with charcoal is that they do not experiment with line strengths. It is tempting to do you work in the same strokes and strengths, which leads to a less detailed result.

When you are ready to incorporate more detail into your work, start experimenting with line darkness, strength, and width. When you become more proficient at it, you will notice that it can add a lot of interesting features and mystique to your work. It simply makes your drawing come to life.

What Is The Fifth Tip To Draw With Charcoal?

Artists who work with charcoal will tell you that they love how easily charcoal can be manipulated. It is quite easy to remove charcoal in areas where you would like to see it removed, this means a tool such as an eraser will become valuable in your arsenal.

Erasers can be used in charcoal art for a variety of reasons. For example, you can use an eraser in places where you want to give the illusion of light falling on your subject. In addition to that, you can also correct mistakes or refine your work.

There are various erasers you can consider for charcoal drawings, but one of the most popular is a basic kneaded eraser. In addition to that, you should obtain a regular eraser as well, since kneaded erasers can have problems with darker and stronger lines.

Can I Get Supplies For Charcoal Drawing At Spotlight?

Spotlight provides a large range of art supplies, this includes useful supplies for charcoal drawing. Check out the range today and grab your deal.