How to Do Charcoal Paintings

Vine charcoal is obtained by burning wooden sticks.

Charcoal is a material that contains carbon residue and in art, charcoal is used to draw sketches or make paintings and drawings. Charcoal is typically obtained by burning wood, also known as vine charcoal, or by mixing powdered charcoal with a gum binder to obtain pressed charcoal. Charcoal comes in many variants including soft,medium and hard, allowing the artist to create different effects, achieve a wide range of tonal values and soft transitions from black to white.

Things You'll Need

• Canvas, wooden board, cardboard or paper
• Gesso
• Cutter
• Eraser
• Piece of cloth or tissue paper
• Paintbrush
• Fixative or hair spray

Instructions

1. Select the surface on which you want to work. Charcoal is a suitable medium for paper, canvas, wood, cardboard or even ceramic surfaces. If working on canvas, wood or a ceramic surface, apply two to five layers of gesso, so the charcoal sticks to the surface.

2. Use a soft piece of charcoal to sketch the main elements of your composition. Soft charcoal leaves light traces that can be easily covered with darker lines or medium or hard charcoal.

3. Trace outlines using the tip of the charcoal. If you need to trace thin lines, sharpen the piece of charcoal with a cutter.

4. Cover large areas of your painting with side strokes. Charcoal can be broken into smaller pieces, so use these pieces for the side strokes. The intensity of the shade depends on the consistency of the charcoal and how hard you press on the charcoal.

5. Remove charcoal using an eraser. You can also use the eraser to create white lines or highlights on dark backgrounds.

6. Add details and accents using hard charcoal.

7. Create transparent effects by rubbing an area covered in charcoal with a clean piece of cloth or tissue paper. If you want to create washes on your painting, drip a few drops of water onto the painting and spread it with a paintbrush.

8. Protect your painting by spraying fixative or hair-spray on the finished piece.

Tips & Warnings

• Before you start to work on your painting, test the types of charcoal by covering a paper surface and varying the intensity with which you press the charcoal. If working on paper, create textured effects by placing the paper on a textured surface, such as the pavement and covering the paper with charcoal strokes. To avoid using fixative, frame the painting under a piece of glass, which protects the colors from smudging. Create mixed-media paintings by mixing charcoal with water- or oil-based paints.

• Work in a well-ventilated space when applying the fixative and wear a mask. Avoid breathing in the residue that results while working with charcoal. To be safe, wear a mask while working with charcoal.

References

• Ethnic Paintings: Charcoal Paintings
• Learn to Draw Expressively.com: Charcoal Drawing Techniques