 Charcoal is one of the earliest materials used by humans for drawing. It is made from various types of wood, such as willow, oak, or heather. Fine, porous branches without knots are selected and burned. By stopping the burning process before everything is completely reduced to ash, charred pieces are formed. Eventually, these pieces are shaped into charcoal sticks. Charcoal has been and is often used for making studies, quick sketches as preparation for the final work. |
 Charcoal is available in sticks, where the original branches are still visible, in various thicknesses. It is also encased in a wooden holder, similar to graphite pencils. This makes the material slightly less fragile and keeps you cleaner when using it.There are also sticks of different hardness available where the charcoal is compressed (Conté Siberian chalk). |
 Charcoal is used on various types of paper; however, the paper must have a slightly rough texture, or else it won't adhere properly. Like pastel chalk, charcoal also needs to be fixed to prevent smudging or staining. Charcoal can be smudged with fingers to achieve special effects. There are also blending stumps and tortillons available, which prevent you from getting very dirty hands and making stains on your own work. A regular cotton swab can also be used very effectively to smudge the charcoal. Charcoal drawings can be corrected with kneaded erasers. It's best to dab rather than rub over the drawing. |