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Drawing

Working with Charcoal


Charcoal has a long and distinguished legacy as a drawing medium used extensively by professional and
student artists alike. Since it is so versatile and offers a diversity of line and tone, it remains a basic and
indispensable tool for drawing and sketching.
Charcoal is composed of graphite, a crystallized form of carbon. Traditionally, burnt grapevine sticks were
used as a form of natural charcoal called vine charcoal. This type of charcoal is made by slowly baking
segmented grapevines or willow dowels (or other types of wood until they are reduced to almost pure
carbon.
!ine charcoal is a fine"#uality charcoal because it has the ability to produce lines and tones of infinite
subtlety as well as robust painterly effects. $t is also valuable for the ease with which marks can be corrected
by being dusted, or even blown, from the surface.
%ther types of charcoal are made by wetting graphite, blending it with ground clay, and then baking it into
dried sticks, where the more clay added, the softer the stick. &ith this process, a useful variety of hardnesses
and textures can be produced.
Compressed charcoal is made by combining powder"ground charcoal and a binding agent in a process that
results in shorter, break"resistant sticks. These are also available in pencil form, and both types of
manufactured charcoal are available in various shapes, sizes, and hardnesses.
The pencil form of compressed charcoal has an outer wrapping of wood or rolled paper for cleaner handling.
These can be sharpened to a very fine point, which makes them well suited for meticulous detail. This type of
charcoal produces very dense blacks that are convenient to handle but not easily erased.
&ith charcoal, preliminary outlines can be laid down and then either removed or later painted over. 'recise
marks can be produced by using the tip of a stick, while larger tonal areas come from using a broad side
stroke. (dditional tonal effects can be created by crosshatching or smudging with a stump, a kneaded eraser
(putty rubber, or a brush dipped in clean water. ( kneaded eraser is also effective for lifting out highlights.
)uch like pencils, charcoal is also produced in a range of grades, and the different hardnesses can be utilized
for creating a variety of tones. &illow charcoal (among the most popular can be obtained in three or four
grades* extra soft, soft, medium, and hard. +ach type is available in two lengths* ,-mm (. in. and /-0mm (1
in.. They are also produced in a variety of diameters (of either round or rectangular sticks with the thickest
being about /2mm (/32 in.. !ine charcoal is most commonly sold in /-0mm lengths only.
Charcoal will produce a mark on most drawing surfaces, but best results come from using a paper with a
heavy tooth. 4ere, the crumbling consistency can be best exploited by picking up the grain of the surface and
producing a textured #uality to a drawing. The paper must also be able to withstand rubbing, blending, and
erasing without loosing its 5bite.5 Since there are so many different types of paper with different types of
tooth, choose the kind that will best represent the effect that you want to achieve.
6irect application of charcoal on paper will produce very soft, black lines. &hen applied lightly, it will pick
up the surface texture of almost any paper. 7arge shaded areas can be covered by gently rubbing the charcoal
and then further blending by using a cottonwood (absorbent cotton pad, a kneadable eraser, or your finger.
To produce lighter highlight areas, try using a kneadable eraser to lift out the grains of color or add lighter
values with white chalk.
( tortillon can also be used to blend the charcoal particles. ( tortillon is shaped like a pencil but is
constructed of compressed, absorbent fibers. To blend with this tool, lay down an area of charcoal and then
work it precisely with a tortillon, using a motion much like a pencil. %r (in a separate area shave off some
charcoal dust and use the tortillon to pick up the minute particles, and then spread them around in either broad
strokes or detailed spots or line. ( paper stump, which has points on both ends, can also be used for
smoothing and blending large areas of charcoal.
The fragility of charcoal does have disadvantages, however. )istakes can be easily removed but so can
intentional marks, so it is essential to fix a drawing immediately upon completion by using a thin coat of a
spray varnish called a fixative.
Spray fixatives are used to protect drawings against smudging and abrasion. The aerosol deposits a fine
transparent film of lac#uer on the drawing surface to hold any loose particles of charcoal in place. Some
fixatives can also be used to protect dry transfer products against scratches. &hen using these aerosols,
always hold the drawing upright and spray lightly and evenly. Coating too heavily will spot or stain the work
and can also over"darken the tonal #uality. 6o not inhale the mist and always work in a well"ventilated room.
6rawings from subtle tonal line and shades to those of great starkness and contrast can be created by using
charcoal on paper of various surface grains and color. 8or those who sketch before they paint, charcoal is
invaluable for roughing out the initial image on canvas. &hatever the individual need or choice, charcoal
remains an indispensable drawing tool that still faithfully serves many artistic applications.
Source* http*33www.arttalk.com3archives3vol"093artv090,"/.htm
What are Charcoal Pencils?
Artists charcoal comes in various forms, including charcoal pencils. To understand the place of charcoal pencils in an artists
repertoire, it is important to put them in context.
Vine and Willow Sticks. Vine and willow charcoal sticks, which are long and thin, are one of the main media for
uncompressed charcoal. The vine variety is dark gray, while willow charcoal is black. Willow charcoal is available in a range of
widths, which may be indicated by names such as thin, medium, thick, and jumbo, ranging from to !" mm #$.%%&$.'" in.(.
Willow charcoal is used in classrooms) by professional artists, architects, and draftsmen) and by painters for their preliminary
canvas sketches.
Compressed Charcoal. *ompressed charcoal, when sold in sticks, is usually shaped into larger sticks than uncompressed
charcoal. *ompressed charcoal may be sharpened to a point and is less messy than uncompressed charcoal. *ompressed
charcoal is rated for hardness, and is sold in extra soft, soft, medium, and hard varieties. +ome manufacturers use the range
for art pencils, from ", to -, . very soft to hard. +ome compressed charcoal can be heat fixed at !/012 #%!%1*(.
Other Forms of Charcoal. There are several other forms in which charcoal is sold. *ompressed charcoal is sold by the 3 o4.
#$.! kg( chunk. Another variation is sticks of white compressed charcoal, for which there is special black charcoal paper.
5ncompressed willow charcoal is sold in blocks. The charcoal crayon, made of compressed charcoal with little or no binder,
was developed in the %'th century. *harcoal crayons are often used by caricaturists. 2inally, there is charcoal powder, which
is used for pattern work and pouncing, a method of transferring patterns used, for example, in bis6ue pottery.
Charcoal Pencils. *harcoal pencils are sold individually and in sets, often in cedar casings. They have a more developed
rating system than compressed charcoal, using the 7uropean pencil hardness schema that is used for graphite drawing
pencils. There are twenty ratings of drawing pencils in the full range, though charcoal pencils are only offered in certain of the
softer ratings. The pencils are rated for hardness #-( and blackness #,(. The harder the pencil, the less black, and vice versa.
:; 9; ,; 1; -; <; .; 2; ; 4; 8 4 24 .4 <4 -4 14 ,4 94 :4
*harcoal pencils are found in -, -,, ,, !,, ,, ",, /,, and 8,. +ometimes ", charcoal pencils are sold as 9carbon sketch
pencils.: There are a couple of special charcoal pencils. ;ne charcoal pencil to which the blackness rating does not apply is
the white charcoal pencil. A less common charcoal pencil is wrapped in paper rather than cedar, like a grease pencil.
Paper. Although charcoal works well on vellum newsprint and multi<media drawing paper, there is special charcoal paper in
white, gray, black, and a range of other colors. *harcoal paper is available with more or less tooth, depending on the artists
preference. =arger and heavier charcoal products . like the block or the chunk . are likely to re6uire more robust paper.
Accessories. >atte and gloss fixatives are both available for charcoal products. >atte fixative can be erased, and in some
cases, products with this ability are labeled 9workable,: whereas permanent fixatives are styled 9non<workable.: Stumps and
tortillons are spiral<wound gray paper used for smoothing and blending charcoal, as well as pastels. ?neaded erasers are
popular for cleanup.
+ource@ http@AAwww.wisegeek.comAwhat<are<charcoal<pencils.htm

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