Charcoal Drawing

Reductive Shading

A bit of history:

• The use of charcoal as an art material and the technological advancement of man go hand in hand.
• With the discovery of fire and development of charcoal, came the ability for man to melt and manipulate metal into tools.
• In addition, charred sticks, and later with the creation of charcoal, were used to record the lives of cavemen through charcoal cave drawings.
• Some early examples of charcoal cave drawings can be found in France.  

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A bit of history:

• As the human race progressed, so did their art making techniques.
• Charcoal was used to sketch out ideas, create the bases of paintings, frescos, and other works of art.
• By the 15^th century charcoal drawings as works of art gained popularity.

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A bit of history:

• When using charcoal you can easily smear the charcoal, making it easy to get even transitions from light to dark and a range of mid-tones.
• When a drawing is complete it must be “fixed” into place.
• Today, we have spray fixative. You simply spray it over the drawing, which creates a protective layer over the drawing and prevents further smearing.
• In the 15^th century drawings had to be dipped in baths of gum, a material that dried into a protective layer.

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A bit of history:

• Albrecht Durer was one of the first artists to use charcoal as a primary medium in his artwork.
• Although charcoal drawings have been produced for thousands of years, they weren’t viewed as their own art form until the 20^th century.
• Charcoal drawings are viewed as a traditional art making technique and is an important step to building the base of your art knowledge.

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Charcoal Supplies

• Vine charcoal: Grape vines, or similar, that have been burnt to specific levels of hardness. Typically used for base drawings.
• Compressed charcoal: Powdered charcoal mixed with binding agents. The amount of charcoal and binder can be changed to make it softer or harder. Used for deeper shades of black and can be filed into a point for detail.
• White charcoal: Used for highlights, if needed.
• Blending stumps: Paper tightly rolled and filed to a point. Used to blend charcoal from light to dark to create even mid-tones.
• Charcoal paper: A special type of paper created to hold charcoal better and allow darker values to be maintained and not rub away.
• Workable fixative: A type of spray to prevent smearing of charcoal, but still allow it to be erased and added to.
• Fixative: A spray used to set charcoal into place when a drawing is finished.
• Kneaded eraser: An eraser that can be pulled, stretched, and manipulated into large or small sections to erase large areas or small details. As the eraser is pulled and folded over, it cleans the eraser.

Reductive Drawing and Shading Technique:

• A process where you start with a charcoal covered sheet of paper. Highlights and midtowns are erased out to create the drawing, rather than drawn in.
• We will create a very traditional still life: a charcoal drawing of drapery.

Step One:

• Use vine charcoal and compressed charcoal to create a solid layer of charcoal on your sheet of paper.
• Use a paper towel or tissue to smooth out the charcoal.
• Dump any charcoal powder into the trash.

Step Two:

• Use your kneaded eraser to erase out highlights.
• Remember, if the eraser gets too covered in charcoal, pull it apart and fold it together to clean it.
• If using a standard eraser clean off the eraser by erasing on a scrap piece of paper.
• If you are erasing out a thin highlight, push the kneaded eraser into a smaller shape to get the detail.
• Erase your highlights slightly larger than they actually are. This allows space to blend the highlight to the mid-tone.

Step Three:

• Erase out larger areas next to your brightest highlight lines to get mid-tones.
• Continue to build in highlights and mid-tones and erase out a general shape.

Step Four:

• Use compressed charcoal to add the darkest values back in.
• Often the darkest darks are next to the lightest lights.
• Look at the drapery, where are the darkest values? Draw them in.
• Clean up your highlights by drawing in dark values next to them.

Step Five:

• Once you sketch in your darkest values, blend the charcoal into the midtones.
• Use your finger, a tissue, or a blending stump to blend the black into the midtone to create an even transition.

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Step Six:

• Continue to switch back and forth between erasing and adding back in (additive and reductive) to build your drawing up.
• It’s easy to accidentally smear areas. Make sure you keep punching up your highlights and deepening the shadows.

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Step Seven:

• Help punch up your drapery drawing by filling in background space with solid dark value.

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Step Eight:

• Finalize your drawing by going over the dark areas one more time, lightly blending them.
• Erase your brightest white one more time, press harder with your eraser, lessen pressure as you move to the midtones to blend the value
• Don’t be afraid of having marks in your final drawing, this shows your hand in your work of art.
• A crisp drawing is better than a fuzzy, over-blended drawing!

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TIPS:

• If needed, add white charcoal to the highlights to make them stand out even more.
• Make sure you focus on the shapes the highlights and shadows are creating, not the fact that you are drawing fabric. Draw what you see not what you think you see!
• Continue to push the contrast.
• When you are finished, spray your drawing with fixative.

Check out a timelapse of this drawing

• https://youtu.be/i-nDi34Vewk

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Check out videos on drawing with your eraser:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aLy5C7_-m0&list=PL1DdL0jXJe-wsdKc3XAa2tLl_-w3qtDdv
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJIPAw_3-Z0

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Your assignment:

• In your sketchbook:
• Fill three areas in with charcoal
• Use your eraser to first erase out highlights, then compressed charcoal to deepen shadows, draw three objects.
• You can draw simple shapes (sphere, cone, cube) or more complex items (a flower, a mini drapery, or something else)
• Redraw the drapery still life from life using reductive and additive shading techniques.
• Fill your entire sheet of paper with charcoal, smooth it out.
• Use a kneaded eraser to erase out the highlights of the fabric.
• Erase out mid-tones, add shadows, and blend areas together.
• Push your contrast!
• Participate in a critique of the finished drapery drawings.

Your grade:

• Sketches (sketchbook grade)
• Drawing
• Shading
• Use of reductive/subtractive and additive shading techniques
• Creativity
• Craftsmanship
• Effort

The End