Why Is Charcoal A Limited Drawing Medium?

Charcoal is a popular cartoon medium, thanks to its versatility and ease of use. Merely did you know that there are actually diverse charcoal products available for drawing?

When you become to an art shop, you tin buy different types of drawing charcoal. And then what to choose?

What for case is the deviation between willow charcoal and vine charcoal? Or what exactly is compressed charcoal? And is white charcoal actually charcoal at all?

In my online portrait class The Many Faces of Charcoal we're going to utilise several different types of charcoal. And then allow'due south have a closer look at what kinds of cartoon charcoal are available and what they're used for.

Willow and vine charcoal

The nearly basic form of drawing charcoal is made of willow branches or sections of grape vine. By heating the forest in a kiln without whatsoever oxygen, the flammable gasses and water that are contained in the wood are removed. What remains are carbonized wooden sticks that can be used for cartoon.

These willow or vine charcoal sticks are very breakable and powdery, because they don't contain any binder. Yous only draw with the sticks on a slice of newspaper, and the powdery substance is being transferred onto the paper and kept into the fibers of the newspaper. In that location is no binding agent that 'glues' the charcoal onto the newspaper. This means that the charcoal can be hands smoothed out and erased, which is one of the primary advantages of charcoal every bit a drawing medium. You tin can blend the charcoal using different tools, in order to create a range of tonal values and all kinds of beautiful textures.

The fact that willow and vine charcoal don't contain whatsoever binder, nevertheless, also ways that the drawing isn't protected from any unwanted smudging. For this reason people sometimes utilise a fixative to bind the charcoal to the paper. The drawback even so of using fixative is that it will besides usually darken the drawing. Personally I avoid using fixative if I can. Instead, when I store my drawings I protect them with a sheet of glassine paper, or if I want to hang them somewhere I frame them behind glass.

What's the difference between willow and vine charcoal? In general you can say that vine charcoal is a bit lighter (greyer) than willow charcoal. In my experience though, the difference is non that great. Too, it'southward proficient to be aware that willow and vine charcoal are natural products and their properties (color, tonal value) can differ from brand to brand, and even from batch to batch. So it's e'er good to try out different pieces from dissimilar brands and experiment with them to run across what you like.

Charcoal powder

Charcoal powder is made from willow or vine charcoal that is grinded into a powder substance. Yous can apply it with a brush or all kinds of other tools, to create a beautiful soft look or to tone larger areas of your drawing.

Charcoal powder tin exist bought prepare-made in art stores, or you can make your own past grinding some willow or vine sticks using a mesh grate or kitchen grinder. It'south a practiced way to apply upwards the tiny pieces of willow or vine charcoal that are left over. You can also make a piffling pulverization by rubbing your willow or charcoal sticks over a piece of sandpaper.

Compressed charcoal

Compressed charcoal are sticks made from charcoal powder and a bounden agent – usually gum or wax. This mixture of charcoal powder and binder is then shaped into a mold, to create a stick grade. You tin can apply the stick like a type of crayon.

Compressed charcoal ranges from hard to soft, depending on the ratio of charcoal powder to binder. The more folder, the harder the compressed charcoal. And the degree of hardness in plow determines how light or dark the compressed charcoal is: the harder the charcoal stick, the less charcoal powder and hence the lighter the tonal value.

In most cases though, compressed charcoal is darker than regular willow and vine charcoal. The binder in the compressed charcoal also makes the stick harder and less prone to breaking than regular charcoal. You tin use compressed charcoal on its side, to draw broader strokes, or utilise the tip to create lines.

Due to the folder in compressed charcoal, information technology adheres better to the paper than regular willow or vine charcoal. So that's why information technology'due south harder to smoothen out or erase compressed charcoal than regular charcoal. This belongings has its pros and cons. You don't really take to worry nigh accidentally smudging your cartoon, considering that doesn't happen as easily. But it's too harder to create soft gradations and transitions with this charcoal variety.

Charcoal pencils

Charcoal pencils are comparable to compressed charcoal, in the sense that most charcoal pencils are made from charcoal powder and a binder. And just similar compressed charcoal they usually come in a range from hard to soft. The difference with compressed charcoal is that pencils are thinner, then that you can describe thinner lines with them.

It's best non to acuminate charcoal pencils with a regular pencil sharpener, but rather with a pocketknife or bract. This style it's easier not to intermission them. After sharpening the pencil with a knife, you tin optionally create an even sharper tip by sanding it with sandpaper.

White charcoal

At that place are also pencils and compressed sticks available that are sold nether the proper noun of 'white charcoal'. These pencils and sticks tin can exist used merely like regular charcoal pencils and compressed charcoal sticks, but they are white instead of black or greyness.

Calling these supplies 'charcoal' is a fleck misleading, considering they don't contain any charcoal. Nearly often they are fabricated with some kind of chalk. They are comparable with white pastel pencils and pastel crayons, but reverse to the pastels the white 'charcoal' supplies don't contain whatsoever white paint – merely chalk.

In any instance, these white charcoal pencils and sticks are called 'white charcoal', and since they can be very well combined with regular charcoal I am okay calling them charcoal. Even when they strictly aren't… 😉

Tinted charcoal

Lastly I want to mention tinted charcoal. These are but like regular charcoal pencils and compressed charcoal sticks, just the mix of charcoal powder and binder is tinted with a little bit of colour pigment. The colors that they produce are adequately subtle and muted, since they are based on the night greyness and blackness tones of the regular charcoal powder. We are not going to use these tinted charcoal supplies in The Many Faces of Charcoal, but information technology's certainly worth to give them a try.