What are some projects for charcoal art pencils?

Question

What are good projects/activities for a beginner who wants to learn how to draw with charcoal pencils? I'm getting quite good at pencil drawings, and now I want to add some more life/colour to my pictures so you don't have to have your face two centimeters away to see the picture! I draw very lightly. I just want to know how to do it because I have the pencils, and the paper and the drawings, but no idea how to use the charcoal. Or if you know any sites, that would be good. Thanks!

Answer 1

Charcoal is fantastic to explore negative/positive space. Although it can be messy, you can learn more about shading by using charcoal and it can eventually slide you into pastels-both oil and chalk. Also if you are looking for new mediums try colored pencils especially the student grade Prismacolor set. They are a great way to take your pencil skills to the next level and are very easy to blend by overlapping.
Good luck :) and have fun!!!

Answer 2

You can usd charcoal pencils the same way you use graphite pencils. But you can get a blending stick or a smudge stick to blend in the texture and tones into your drawing, You can also use your fingers. What is really good is to get plain charcoal without the wood wrapping and experiment with shape and volume with the charcoal sticks. You can use the long end to fill area and make shapes and you can get a gummy eraser, it is gray and you can mold it into any shape, to lift and pick up any color, working between the two the mediums becomes two tool, one that brings light the other that brings in dark, to create a composition with depth and definiton.

Answer 3

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