How to Draw With Coal

Drawing coal, or charcoal, allows for a variety of value shading, lending itself to realistic drawing

Coal, sometimes referred to as charcoal, can be used in soft form to draw and shade. Carbon products, like coal, are available at any art supply store. Drawing coal will usually be found will charcoal pencils and other graphite products. Drawing coal can be used on a variety of paper textures but will look best and blend best on a paper made for charcoal or one with a heavy texture. Drawing coal functions much like graphite and other charcoal products.

Things You'll Need

• Black drawing coal
• Charcoal paper
• Kneaded eraser
• Blending stub
• Shammy
• Rubber eraser

Instructions

How to draw with coal

1. Draw a basic layout sketch. Use the piece of coal, in whatever form has been selected, and draw a light layout sketch. This will help decide placement and a general idea of where to layout value and shading.

2. Lay in value. Use a blunt portion of the charcoal stick to lay in value tone. Focus on the darkest areas first and then lay in the lightest, or leave them the tone of the paper.

3. Use the shammy and blending stick to blend the dark areas and light areas together. Use the rubber eraser to erase large light areas.

4. Use the kneaded eraser to form a pointed tip to "tighten up" the areas that need erasing. Use the piece of charcoal to redraw any significant lines that have accidentally been erased.

5. Use a fixative spray to ensure that your drawing does not smudge while being stored or displayed.

Tips & Warnings

• Place a piece of paper between your drawing hand and the drawing surface. This will help prevent unnecessary smudging of charcoal that is already on the paper.

• When using a fixative spray to "seal" your drawing, test the spray on a blank piece of paper first. Fixative sprays often become clogged and can cause unwanted spatters on your drawing.

References

• "Zindy Zone" Coal Tutorial
• Charcoalandpencildrawing.com: Homepage