Charcoal drawing is one of the oldest techniques for depicting composition and fixation. important events. Ancient people used burnt tree branches to imprint scenes from life on the stone vaults of their dwellings. And at present, charcoal 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 figure out what kind of coal you can create artistic images. This material as a graphic tool is a burnt stick or charcoal pencil. The stick is made by hermetic roasting of grape, willow or beech twigs in a special kiln. This tool is similar to a regular pencil, but inside it has a charcoal lead that has different degrees of hardness (from hard to soft).

There is also compressed charcoal. It is produced from residues after the coal processing process. The resulting coal chips are pressed and mixed with a vegetable-based adhesive. Charcoal sticks created in this way differ 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 charcoal is a special paper that has a rough surface. You can also use watercolor sheets, even plain wrapping paper. Smooth paper is not suitable, as the charcoal will crumble actively. As a result, the picture will become faded and inexpressive.

How to draw with charcoal step by step

To begin with, it should be noted that charcoal drawing requires additional items. These include a nag and a retainer. A klyachka is a special eraser with which excess coal is removed from a sheet. Instead of a nag, you can use a regular bread crumb or a soft cloth. A fixer is a special spray for fixing a pattern. For these purposes, you can use a regular hairspray with a strong hold.

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, one more important nuance should be noted. This is the left hand rule. 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 inadvertently spoil the composition.

How to draw with charcoal? Create a composition follows, as with an ordinary pencil. From the whole to the particular, and from the particular to the whole. Charcoal is convenient in that, with varying degrees of pressure, it is possible to make interesting semitones and transitions. There are two main techniques for this process.

Charcoal painting techniques

The first one is very suitable for introducing children to charcoal. It lies in the fact that a sheet of paper is completely shaded with a charcoal stick. Next, a drawing is made with a nag. After that, the main elements are highlighted with a charcoal pencil or charcoal stick. A striking example of this technique is a painting depicting frosty patterns on a dark window or drawing a winter landscape against the night sky.

The essence of this technique is very simple. The working plane should be carefully shaded with a charcoal stick. After that, rub the coal dust with a soft cloth. The result is a solid dark background. Further, with a nag, you can display the silhouettes of snow-covered trees, stars, snowflakes. If there is no nag, then you can use a regular eraser. In the same way, you can depict a frosty window, a night river with a moonlit road, a mountain landscape, and much more.

If desired, in addition to coal, in drawing winter scenery you can use ordinary white chalk, which put down highlights and make accents. The combination of chalk and charcoal gives a special contrast to the picture, allowing you to highlight the compositional center. When we draw with charcoal with children, it should be remembered that this working tool tends 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 sleeves.

line drawing technique

When performing work in this technique, charcoal is used first as a pencil, and then shading is performed with it. The drawing is applied in the usual way. Here 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 penumbra can be done using the shading technique. Depth of tone is easier to achieve using charcoal sticks. Drawing details and nuances is better when using pressed charcoal. The texture of the depicted object is preferably done with a charcoal pencil. In this technique, you can draw with both charcoal and chalk, which is ideal for creating bright highlights.

Coal is one of the oldest art materials, which in our time is used to create both sketches and independent work. Read on - and you will learn how to draw with charcoal if you are completely unfamiliar with this material. By the way, what types of coal are used in drawing?

Types of coal for drawing

• Coal sticks. They are made from willow, beech or grape twigs, which are fired in a sealed oven at high temperature. When shading, creating gradient transitions, toning large areas, it is easier to use soft types of charcoal, and when drawing small details, clear lines - hard ones.

• Charcoal pencils. They are also made of wood, but they look like graphite pencils, only with a charcoal lead inside. The advantages of such pencils over sticks are that they do not get their hands dirty and it is easier to draw with them, especially small parts. But wide shading with them will not succeed.

• Pressed charcoal. In its production, not solid wood is used, but coal chips and vegetable glue, which are mixed and pressed. They are produced both in the form of sticks and in the form of pencils. They leave very deep, rich black lines that are difficult to remove from paper.

Additional Tools

The paper on which it is best to draw with charcoal should be rough - a smooth surface will not hold particles of material, and it will crumble. There is a special paper for charcoal, but you can draw on pastel or watercolor. In extreme cases, you can use drawing paper if you rub the sheet with emery.

What else is remarkable about the charcoal graphics: the charcoal is quite easy to remove. In this case, for example, a kneaded eraser, a rag, or even a crumb of bread is used. The coal footprint will remain, but it will be enough to correct something. However, if the charcoal stripes are rubbed, then dark spots may remain on the paper, so you need to draw with charcoal without touching the sheet with your hand.

Pictures with charcoal should be treated on top with a special agent - a fixative-fixer, which creates a thin film on the surface of the paper, and the work can be stored without fear that the charcoal will crumble.

Charcoal drawing technique: main features

If you are just starting to draw, then it will be easier for you to try drawing with pencils. An ordinary graphite pencil allows you to draw even the thinnest lines and details, it is erased with an ordinary rubber band, the drawings do not need to be further processed during storage, and you can draw with a pencil on ordinary paper itself.

To the same graphics, although it is mastered faster, you still need to be able to adapt. When drawing, you need to constantly monitor the degree of pressure, vary it if necessary, and alternate it all the time with shading certain areas. This material rarely draws straight lines, it is more used when toning, creating a gradient.

When drawing, free movements are used, from simple to complex - first a sketch of the composition is created, which is then carefully drawn. You can control the thickness of the hatching when drawing with charcoal sticks by changing the angle of their inclination.

In addition to the usual method of drawing with black charcoal on light paper, there is a reverse method, when the sheet is completely painted over, and they begin to “draw” on it with an eraser, wiping the charcoal areas in the right places. Additionally, white pastel or crayons can be used.

Charcoal graphics: master class

And now we will look at how to draw with charcoal such an interesting drawing - a realistic imitation of a notebook sheet glued to a tree trunk. It is not performed too quickly, but it is exciting, and allows you to work out the main details of this technique.

You will need the following tools:

• charcoal paper (or watercolor, pastel);
• self-adhesive paper;
• perforated paper;
• hard pressed coal;
• charcoal;
• nag eraser;
• cotton pads and sticks;
• sharpened pencil;
• fixative for coal.

How to draw with charcoal: getting started

Take a sheet of paper and secure it to some kind of solid surface so that it doesn't move as you draw.

Cut out pieces of self-adhesive paper the size of a future sheet glued to a tree, and the adhesive tape on which it is held. Separate the self-adhesive from the protective backing and stick it on the paper in the right place.

Now take the charcoal and shade the leaf completely, then blend the resulting volume with a cotton pad to achieve a soft and uniform background.

In order not to smear anything and blow it off the sheet, fix the result. This is usually done with a special fixative, but if you don't have one, try using regular hairspray in several layers - although this method may darken your drawing.

Next, you should transfer the texture and texture of the wooden surface on paper. You need to draw with charcoal on the shaded surface, only this time not filling the entire area, but creating vertical lines with side strokes.

Subsequently, these stripes need to be shaded, but not entirely, so that they are clearly visible on paper.

Now use compressed charcoal and draw darker strokes for more detail on the bark.

Lightly blend the resulting strokes, and then paint and blend them again until the wood surface looks realistic. Use the nag to erase the charcoal marks and leave white streaks, helping to add dimension to the design.

The first part of the drawing is finished, now you know how to draw a wood texture with charcoal.

Drawing with charcoal: toning

The future leaf from the notebook is hanging on a tree, and therefore should create a shadow falling on the trunk. Decide on the area that will be the shadow, and glue it on all sides with paper. Shade the remaining strip with pressed charcoal and blend.

Peel off the self-adhesive paper from the drawing. Take a sharpened pencil and use a ruler to trace around the areas that will be the "adhesive tape".

Then you should give realism to the drawn tape. Attach the self-adhesive to the drawing so that it isolates the "adhesive tape" from the rest of the drawing. Paint over the tape with the charcoal residue on the cotton pad you used earlier, giving the strip of paper a gray tone.

Re-glue the paper in such a way that it covers the corner of the leaf, which is, as it were, sealed with “adhesive tape”, and then tint the free area again.

On top of the stripes, draw again the outlines of the tree bark and blend them. This is done in order to give transparency to the "adhesive tape".

Now take a perforated piece of paper and attach it to the drawing - you need to paint over the holes through it, like through a stencil. Blend the filled holes with a cotton swab.

Draw lines on the paper. They should be even, with the same indentation, so make it easy for yourself and seal the margins on both sides with self-adhesive.

On the resulting leaf, you can draw some simple sketch. And do not forget about the final fixing of the picture with varnish.

Once you figure out how to do these charcoal drawings for beginners, you will be able to draw more complex paintings, such as still lifes and portraits. Such work is often done in combination, for example, sketching a portrait with a pencil, and then starting to draw on it with charcoal, as shown in the following video tutorial for children:

Julia Gavrilova

Drawing with charcoal is very attractive to children with its unusualness. In the process drawing the child feels the force of pressure, learns to convey the volume of the object, shadows and develops fine motor skills of the hands. Paint You can use charcoal sticks or a charcoal pencil. It is convenient to paint with your finger, rub with a napkin or cotton pad. The child is learning paint and convey the plot or subject in one color. paper that is better paint should be rough. Charcoal is easily removed with a kneaded eraser. Draw carefully. In order not to leave dark prints, you can learn with children rule: "the left hand is always clean." Completed paintings should be treated with hairspray. Then the coal will not crumble. Apart from the usual way drawing coal, there is a reverse way. The sheet is completely painted over, and " paint"They start with an eraser on it.

Creative success!

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Article from the artist's magazine, 1961. I. Isakson

One of the most popular materials for drawing is charcoal. They perform drawings-studies and sketches, sketches and preparatory drawings “under painting”. Often, using this technique, artists create easel works of independent significance. Such, for example, is the Hiroshima panel series by Japanese artists Toshiko Akamatsu and Iri Maruki, for which they were awarded the World Peace Prize. A significant part of these panels is made with charcoal, a few panels are made with charcoal combined with gouache and ink.

The popularity of this material is not accidental. Coal, as it were, combines the advantages of several different materials. With sharpened charcoal, you can draw a very thin "pencil" line, and at the same time, a charcoal placed on the edge gives a wide picturesque "stroke". Charcoal allows you to stroke, covering large areas with an even tone, or to write with free strokes. In terms of richness of tones, charcoal almost surpasses all other pictorial materials and in all gradations of the tone scale - from airy gray to the deepest black - is distinguished by the beauty and velvety of color.

Charcoal is very easy to work with, as it “lays down” well on paper or canvas, without requiring much physical effort from the artist: the slightest pressure already leaves a visible mark on the paper. This property of coal allows the draftsman to work quickly even when he has to cover large surfaces on paper (which is not at all easy to do, say, with a pencil).

The advantage of charcoal is also the fact that it makes it possible to amend the drawing, rearrange it entirely or redo it. Coal is very easily brushed off paper or soil, leaving almost no traces.

A great practical convenience for the artist is also the fact that almost any paper is suitable for working with charcoal.

There are few downsides to coal. Chief among them is that coal is easily lubricated. So that the drawing is not lost, it is necessary to fix it - fix it. The latter is, in particular, a serious obstacle to the use of coal when working in nature - the drawing must be fixed and dried immediately on the spot, otherwise it will hardly be possible to bring it home.

For young and for artists who are not demanding enough of themselves, the very beauty of the material, as well as the ease of using it, can become a disadvantage. Charcoal drawings often turn out to be very effective, and the combination of beautiful spots with a line or the “play” of chiaroscuro masks inaccuracies, gross misses in the drawing. Therefore, a novice artist can easily delude himself, considering those drawings complete and perfect in which the entire surface of the sheet is "shaded", but the drawing itself - a close study of the form - has not yet begun. To avoid this, one should not be limited only to charcoal drawings - no matter how tempting it may seem - it is necessary to intersperse charcoal drawings with graphite pencil drawings - a material more rigorous and less "deceptive" than coal.

Among the drawing materials, charcoal is the most picturesque. They can convey the relationship of different colors, their transparency and density, aerial perspective, chiaroscuro. You can start a drawing in the same way as painting, by placing large tonal masses on a sheet, “gradually refining and developing the form in detail so that the line and contour appear only at the end of the work. At the same time, taking advantage of the fact that coal is easily removed from the surface of the paper, the artist can begin work,

drawing large silhouettes, without any preliminary contouring. However, one should not be particularly fond of this method. I recommend that beginner artists at the beginning of work pay the main attention to a more rigid and constructive construction of the drawing.

Preparatory drawings for painting should also not be carried out in a purely pictorial way. It is better in this case to make a more rigid drawing with a pencil or hard charcoal, built not on a spot, but on a stroke and contour. This is important because, having developed a number of purely pictorial tasks in a charcoal drawing, the artist dooms himself - when working with paints directly on canvas - to repeating the solutions already found. In this way, he takes away from himself that joy of discovery, that immediacy, which constitute a significant part of the charm of working on a work of art.

Charcoal sketches can be made, just like drawings, with lines of different thicknesses, with a wide stroke, with a spot, and with a combination of a spot with a line. It's very useful to do quick sketches based on a power-ethnic spot made with feathered charcoal, and then fine-tune the details with a line along this spot. Such sketches are useful for educating a novice artist in understanding the silhouette in a drawing and the ability to convey movement.

COAL BLENDING AND ERASING.

You can shade the charcoal, smear a stroke or several strokes over the surface, turning it into a spot of the required intensity, with almost anything - the charcoal smears quite easily. But there are special shadings for this purpose. They are commercially available and easy to make yourself. To do this, roll a strip of paper tightly into a tube. One or both ends of this paper tube are tapered, like a sharpened pencil-dash.

Usually artists use shading only when making small drawings, when necessary.

achieve particularly fine tonal gradations. Most often, charcoal is shaded with a brush, cotton swab, cloth, or just fingers.

They brush off the charcoal with a shaker - they brush it off, not erase it, because when erasing it is not completely removed, but rubbed into the surface of the paper, creating a certain tone.

If, after brushing off the coal, traces remain on the surface of the paper, they are erased with a pencil eraser.

It is not necessary to wash greasy charcoal without first brushing it off with a rag: the gum gets dirty immediately, and it is very difficult to remove the stains left by it. By the end of the work, the paper is usually completely tinted with charcoal to some extent. The lightest places can be wiped with an elastic band, then they will become a little lighter than the overall tone of the picture.

FIXING.

As already mentioned, the drawings made with charcoal must be fixed - fixed. For this, a fixing liquid is sprayed on the surface of the paper. It is rarely sold, and usually artists do not use purchased fixatives, but prepare them themselves. The most practical fixative is skimmed milk slightly diluted with water. It leaves the surface of the coal matte, almost does not affect its color and fixes the coal quite firmly. You can also use sugar water, but this fixative is afraid of dampness. You can use a solution of rosin in denatured alcohol to fix.

The fixative solution is applied with a spray gun. To do this, the drawings are placed on the floor and sprayed from the spray gun, carefully making sure that the smallest “dew” evenly settles on the drawings, without forming puddles and large splashes. All coal should be impregnated with fixative. After drying, check the strength of the fixing by rubbing with a dry finger an insignificant place of the pattern, densely covered with charcoal. If the charcoal is poorly fixed, repeat spraying.

DRAWING for painting.

If the drawing for painting is not done with paint, then, as a rule, with charcoal. It easily lays down on a canvas, as well as on paper, and just as easily brushes off it. You can draw with charcoal oil painting and under tempera.

After the end of the drawing, all the contours necessary for further work are prescribed with a brush with a solvent - the best of them is varnish with turpentine, as it dries quickly. If the canvas is being prepared for tempera painting, the lines are drawn.

any one of the colors. After the thinner dries, the excess charcoal is brushed off, because, if left, it will heavily contaminate the lower layers of paint.

You can, of course, fix the drawing, but this is less desirable, since a weak fixative may not fix the charcoal, and a strong one will create an undesirable layer between the primer and the paint. Some painters who prime their own canvases prefer to apply another layer of liquid primer to the canvas after fixing the drawing to avoid contamination of the paints.

PAPER, COAL.

Any paper is suitable for working with charcoal, except smooth. Loose grades of paper are even preferable - charcoal is well absorbed into them and better fixed. Thick and not very rough drawing paper can be prepared for charcoal by wiping its entire surface with an elastic band before work.

Coal is sold ready-made, but you can easily learn how to cook it yourself.

They sharpen the charcoal by cutting the stick obliquely to one side - like a cut of a feather. Sharpened in this way, it makes it possible to draw lines and put strokes of different thicknesses and breaks less. It is better to sharpen more coals before starting work, so that later you will not be distracted by the need to sharpen them.

Coal is a material that does not change color, in this sense it is an eternal material. However, since even fixed charcoal is relatively easy to erase and smear, it is best to store it in a folder, shifting the drawings with smooth paper or tracing paper, so that one sheet rubs against another as little as possible.

It is not known when man first used charcoal material for drawing. But coal, taken out of an extinct fire, became one of the first artistic materials. The technique has a long history, but does not lose relevance and contemporary artists.

Charcoal drawing is often the first thing taught in art school or in courses. The first charcoal sketches are remembered for a long time. You will understand the technique of toning, general principles drawing and sketch. When working with this soft material, the student learns not to be distracted by minor details, but to perceive the drawing as a whole.

History of technology

The first mention of technology appeared in the XV century. Then they learned to fix the material on the sheet. At that time, artists used charcoal. The pressed look was invented in the 19th century. Even then they noticed that he was more black and fat. This means that it adheres more tightly to the paper.

From that moment on, many outstanding artists began to press coal to use it for future sketches. Although the technique is fragmentary, the masters have learned to create chic works of art.

Types of coal

• wood - grape or willow coal of different diameters and sizes;
• pressed - an artificial material made from powder.

Vegetable glue is added to the pressed charcoal, which helps it stay on paper longer.

What tools will be needed

Charcoal + paper. Is anything more than this needed? Yes. More tools and materials are needed so that the coal does not crumble. This means it will last much longer. Our teachers teach how to work with such materials.

What might be useful:

• rough paper or special paper. A smooth surface will not work - the coal chips will crumble;
• means for removal - an ordinary eraser or a cloth;
• fixatives - special means that fix the material on the surface of the paper under a thin film layer.

What are the techniques

In the first lessons, you will master the pencil drawing, and only then start working with charcoal. Although charcoal graphics are mastered faster, they require some skill. Different degrees of pressure, drawing individual details or shading - all this requires skills and clear actions.

Here are the basic techniques:

• rubbing - distributed over the paper with a finger or other devices;
• cross hatching - drawing in various directions;
• soft shading - distribution of color without the help of fingers or torchon.
• The instructors of our courses will tell you the details about the techniques. Tell, show, teach!

How to draw

Why is sketching important? Why compose a still life? How can you use breadcrumb when drawing? It is unlikely that even an adult will be able to figure out such issues on their own. Why, if there are experts?

To decide if you need drawing courses for beginners, it is important to know the process at least approximately:

1. Before painting a picture, the artist usually sketches and arranges it. This is necessary to understand the proportions of the object, its location on the sheet.
2. After the sketch is ready, the general outlines are transferred to paper. First - the outlines, then - painting over the dark parts, and then - applying light colors with pastels.
3. When the outlines are clearly visible, the artist draws individual details, objects, areas, background.
4. At the end, it is important to fix the drawing with varnish or other fixative, otherwise it may crumble.