How to Draw With Charcoal

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Drawing with charcoal is a popular medium that can create amazing works of art that are dimensional and versatile. Whether you are new to the world of art or exploring other mediums, drawing with charcoal can take some time to get the hang of, but can end up helping you master other art forms.

It’s as easy as selecting your materials, learning how to hold the charcoal, and creating your drawing.

1 Select a variety of hard and soft charcoal. Just like any other art mediums, charcoal comes in many varieties. However, each type of charcoal is categorized by whether it is hard or soft. Harder charcoals produce lighter cleaner edges, while softer charcoals are better for blending and making deeper lines.^[1]
- The compressed charcoal stick is a hard charcoal that is great for making darker lines. Compressed charcoal also comes in white to help with highlighting.^[2]
- Soft charcoals are great for blending and creating smudges throughout your piece. However, these are some of the messiest charcoals to work with.^[3]
- Use powdered charcoal for a lighter look and if you are toning larger areas. However, it is generally very messy.^[4]
2 Choose plain white paper, charcoal paper, or toned paper. When it comes to paper, there is a wide variety to choose from. Choosing the right paper for your piece may take some trial and error. Experiment with a few different paper styles and charcoal hardness to pick what works well for you.^[5]
- Plain white paper, newsprint, bristol board, and illustration board are good choices for a drawing with smooth lines.
  Plain white paper also creates natural highlights easily because the…