Charcoal pencil - introduction to hobby painting

Painting with the charcoal pencil

Kategorien: Hobby

The perfect drawing method even for laymen. Next to paint and pencil, the charcoal pencil is probably the best known method in art. If you want to start painting in your free time, charcoal might be an interesting idea for you, because it offers a variety of possibilities even for beginners.
© belchonock / depositphotos

What is charcoal and what can I paint with it?
A charcoal pencil is made from charred wood. For this purpose, either powder is pressed into stick form or naturally grown wooden sticks are charred. Charcoal is a rather cheap material and can even be produced by yourself. Looking back, painting with charcoal is probably the oldest drawing method of all. Already the old cave paintings in the stone age were made with charred wood. Later the material was only used for sketches and received little attention.

It was not until the Middle Ages that handicraft gained more respect again and charcoal became more interesting. Today, drawing with charcoal is a nice hobby in leisure time. This material is often used for portraits and sketches, but also works wonderfully for still lifes and nudes. Charcoal is especially good for creating dark shadows and accents, even if you paint with other pens and chalks.

The effect of painting with a charcoal pencil
With charcoal you can create an expressive, powerful atmosphere for your painting. Although drawing charcoal is mainly known for its wiping technique, it can also be used to draw very clear and strong lines. For even more detail and clarity, you can also sharpen the pen normally. Your new hobby will soon show you that interesting and distinctive results can be achieved with charcoal with just a few strokes.

The charcoal pencil produces an amazingly varied colour palette with black, grey and anthracite, so that even painting in black and white will never be boring. With charcoal, however, you should make few corrections, but simply draw, otherwise the picture may look weak. Just like pencils, charcoal pencils can also be purchased in different hardnesses. It is also best to buy different degrees of hardness for painting in your free time. With hard pencils you can create clear and strong lines, but they are also more fragile. A soft pencil is better for smudging, but it may also smear.

Typical in charcoal painting: the smudging
Painting with the charcoal pencil is very well known for the typical wiping technique. That this can be used is due to the dusty consistency of the material. The charcoal pigments only lie loosely on the paper or canvas, which makes them easier to blur. This way great shadows and colour nuances, but also a special depth for the picture can be created.

Methods like charcoal painting are also called "loose drawing technique". So with the charcoal pencil you can create great shades of grey and black. However, if you want to use blurring as a technique, you should make sure that you also introduce clear and distinct lines into the picture. This serves as a contrast and prevents your painting from looking spongy. Clear and strong lines are typical for charcoal drawings and give your painting a unique character.

What you need additionally for your new hobby
If you spend your free time with charcoal painting, you will probably ask yourself what else you need in addition to paper and a charcoal pencil. For the wiping technique described above you can also use your fingers or a cotton swab, but many people use estompes. These are rolled up pieces of leather or paper for wiping, running and blurring.
© gvictoria / depositphotos

If you wish, you can use colours in addition to charcoal, for example coloured chalks. Here conté chalks are very suitable. These are similar to pastel chalks and are available in the shades red, black, sepia, grey and white. So you can add some colour to your hobby. Finally, you need a fixing spray to spray on. This sticks the loosely applied carbon to the surface and ensures a longer durability. So your painting will remain for a long time.