Charcoal drawing is one of the oldest techniques for depicting composition and capturing important events. Ancient people used burnt tree branches to capture scenes from life on the stone arches of their dwellings. And at present coal has not lost its relevance as a means of drawing.
Types of coal
How to draw with charcoal? To answer this question, you need to understand how coal can create artistic images. This material as a graphic tool is a burnt stick or charcoal pencil. The stick is made by tightly firing grape, willow or beech branches in a special oven. This tool is similar to an ordinary pencil, but inside it has a coal lead, which has different degrees of hardness (from hard to soft).
There is also pressed charcoal. It is made from residues after the process of processing coal. The resulting coal chips are pressed and mixed with plant-based glue. The carbon sticks created in this way are different from those made by firing in that they are denser. Drawing with such a tool is more accurate, less prone to shedding. The basis for drawing with all types of coal is special paper, which has a rough surface. You can also use watercolor sheets, even simple wrapping paper. Smooth paper is not suitable, as charcoal will actively crumble. As a result, the picture will become faded and inexpressive.
How to draw coal in stages?
To begin with, it should be noted that drawing with charcoal requires additional items. These include nag and latch. A nodule is a special eraser that removes excess charcoal from a sheet. Instead of a nag, you can use a regular bread crumb or a soft cloth. The clamp is a special spray for fixing the picture. For these purposes, you can use ordinary hairspray with strong fixation.
Thus, the first step is the preparation of tools: special paper, charcoal sticks, pressed charcoal, nag and fixative.
Drawing process
How to draw with charcoal? For beginners, another important nuance should be noted. This is the rule of the left hand. It says that when drawing with charcoal it is very easy to leave extra prints and dark spots on paper, so the left hand (the one that the artist does not work with) should always remain clean so as not to accidentally ruin the composition.
How to draw with charcoal? Create a composition should, like a regular pencil. From the whole to the particular, and from the particular to the whole. Coal is convenient in that with varying degrees of pressure it is possible to make interesting halftones and transitions. There are two main techniques for such a process.
Charcoal drawing techniques
The first is very suitable for exploring the charcoal of children. It consists in the fact that a sheet of paper is completely shaded with a carbon stick. Next, a nag is done. After that, the main elements are highlighted with a charcoal pencil or charcoal stick. A striking example of such a technique is a picture depicting frosty patterns on a dark window or drawing a winter landscape against a night sky.
The essence of this technique is very simple. The work plane should be carefully shaded with a carbon stick. After this, grind the coal dust with a soft cloth. The result is a solid dark background. Then with a nag you can display the silhouettes of snowy trees, stars, snowflakes. If there is no nagging, then you can use a regular eraser. In the same way, you can depict a frosty window, a night river with a lunar road, a mountain landscape and much more.
If desired, in addition to coal, in drawing winter landscapes you can use ordinary white chalk, which put glare and make accents. The combination of chalk and coal gives a special contrast to the drawing, allow you to highlight the compositional center. When we paint with charcoal with children, it should be remembered that this work tool has the ability to leave marks not only on the work surface, but also on hands and clothes. Therefore, it is better to create in a special apron and arm ruffles.
Line drawing technique
When performing work in this technique, coal is first used as a pencil, and after it, shading is also carried out. The drawing is applied in the usual way. It is better to combine the use of charcoal sticks, charcoal pencil and pressed charcoal. The drawing should start from the center of the composition so that the surface of the sheet is covered gradually and preferably in one layer. This is necessary to avoid unnecessary stains. Shadows and partial shades can be performed using the shading technique. Depths of tone are easier to achieve using charcoal sticks. The drawing of details and nuances works best when using pressed coal. The texture of the depicted object is preferably performed with a charcoal pencil. In this technique, you can draw with both charcoal and chalk, which is ideal for creating bright highlights.