Charcoal Drawing Techniques

This is one of the few charcoal drawings which I drew directly from a photograph. 

In the few cases where I've done this, I give credit to the photographer. (The photographer here was American jazz photographer, William P. Gottlieb.)
Even in these cases, however, I make changes to my charcoal drawings so they are not exactly like the photograph. I make these changes to add my own personal dramatic effects, and to work within the limitations of charcoal.





My goal here was to see how far I could push my charcoal drawing techniques to make the textures look real . . . the skin, the handkerchief,the metal trumpet , the shirt , and the hair. Some people have a difficult time drawing from life because they find it hard to translate the three dimensions in real life onto a two-dimensional drawing surface.
Others can easily translate what they see whether they are creating charcoal drawings from a photograph or drawing from a live model.
In either case, you must observe very carefully, and then translate those observations expressively onto the surface of your charcoal drawings. 











Before applying any charcoal drawing techniques, you should make preliminary drawing pencil sketches.
This one wasdrawn in ink(which is unforgiving since you can’t erase!)
Some of the lines, particularly those in the hand, were done quickly in order to get the feeling of movement. These are called gesture lines. The rest of the lines can all be considered to be contour lines.
Both gesture lines and contour lines simply are lines based on close observation. The difference is, gesture lines are done quickly, contour lines are done slowly.
This first preliminary looks three dimensional because of carefully chosen lines. Referring to the numbers on the preliminary drawing above:

1. Contour lines suggest tight curly hair.
2. Contour lines suggest facial structure.
3. Contour lines suggest hand structure.
4. Contour lines suggest texture of his handkerchief.
5. Contour lines suggest structure of trumpet.

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Then I drew a second preliminary in pencil (below). I did this to further refine things before adding any charcoal drawing techniques. 

As always, I traced the last preliminary on to my good Meridian paper. (Use a light table to do this if you have one.)At this stage, I had a pencil drawing on a completely white piece of Meridian.

Then the real work began.

In order to bring the drawing alive, I had to address the lighting and the texture over the entire surface. This is all done with charcoal drawing techniques acquired through experience.

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Note the following charcoal drawing techniques:

1. The strongest highlight beside the ear; this is the only area with such a strong highlight so it has a lot of impact. For the hair I used a hard (HB) charcoal pencil. I held the pencil with my right hand, and with the forefinger of my other hand on the tip of the pencil, I rolled the lead tip across the surface. By alternating these movements with highlights, I implied tightly curled hair.
2. For the metallic look of the trumpet, I use a softer charcoal, (3B pencils and vine charcoal). I soften the shadowed areas on the trumpet with watercolour brushes.
3. Around some highlights, I use harder charcoal (HB), for sharp contrast which thereby increases the realism of the highlights.
4. To achieve the soft texture of a handkerchief (which “Satchmo” always used) I used only vine charcoal. Highlights on the handkerchief were done with a kneaded eraser.
5. Lower part of the handkerchief, which is in shadow, is done with 3B charcoal pencils, HB charcoal pencils, and blending stumps.
6. Note the very sharp edges are done here with hard HB charcoal pencils. This clearly delineates the trumpet from the texture of the surrounding handkerchief. Areas like this require clarity to add to the overall impact of the composition.

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The black background: When I started the charcoal drawing this area was a pure white piece of paper. It is very important that the black areas be evenly blended . . . otherwise it won’t look real and it will clash with the detail of the foreground figure.How to achieve a black background:

• scrape 5B or 6B pencils with an "Exacto" knife onto the paper.
• Use crumpled toilet tissue to slowly rub the charcoal dust into the paper.
• Repeat applications until the surface is completely and evenly darkened.
• Your last application should be with a harder pencil (2B) to solidify the background.

You can also buy charcoal dust but if you don’t use it often in your charcoal drawings, scraping the pencils works just fine. Just remember, a little bit of charcoal dust goes a very long way.
My next challenge was to extend the black area precisely around the outline of Armstrong’s head, hand, trumpet and handkerchief. I did those areas with a fine soft-bristle brush.



One last thing: Making white paper look black requires patience.

How to Shade Pencil Drawings

Understanding Light

In your drawings, you will generally have one light source, which determines the location of highlights and the direction of shadows. The spot where the light hits your subject directly is called the highlight, and is usually pure white. The side facing away from the light source will be in shadow. The midtones refer to the gradation of tones between the shadow and the highlight. Most objects will also have an area of reflected light. This reflection happens when light hits the surface next to your object and bounces back. You will notice that these values blend into each other smoothly, which communicates to us the shape of the object. The only time you will see a hard edge is when there is a cast shadow, otherwise the tones change gradually. The closer the cast shadow is to the object, the darker it will be, fading as it moves farther away.

Control Your Pencil

The key to smooth shading is learning how to control your pencil. You need to be aware of how you hold the pencil, how you apply your strokes, and how hard you press. For darker shadows, press slightly harder and slowly lessen the pressure as you work away. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t have to press very hard; if you want darker shadows, build them with layers of graphite. Your pencil strokes should be even and regular. You don’t want to be able to see the paper between your lines. Try to make your pencil strokes in the same direction to get smoother results. This is easier if you hold your pencil closer to the end and at an angle, using the side of the lead to shade.

The wrong way!

The right way!

Blending

Some people like the texture of the paper showing through, but I find you get the best shading results by blending. A blending stick is a small tube of tightly rolled paper that lets you smooth out pencil shading. You can use it the same way you use your pencil: on an angle with regular strokes. Again, you won’t’ need to press hard! Start at the lightest value and work towards the shadows. If your blending stick gets too dark, wipe it on a clean sheet of paper, or press it into your kneaded eraser. Learning how to shade well isn’t difficult, but it will take practice. With each drawing you’ll find yourself getting better. Remember, don’t be too timid with your shadows; a nice dark shadow will give your drawing depth. Let’s practice our new skills!

How to Shade a Sphere

A sphere is a good example because all of our elements are present: highlight, shadow, midtones, reflection, and cast shadow. To set up a maquette to draw from, get a ball and shine a table lamp toward it. This is a great way to train yourself to see the different elements of shading.

First, draw the outline of your sphere and the shadow it casts. Outline the edges of your shadows and highlights. Draw the highlight a little bit bigger than what you want it to end up being. You will be blending into it and you’ll want to keep the highlight as white as possible.

Using a medium pencil, like a B, very lightly shade the area around the highlight. Work your way to the edge of the sphere and the edge of the shadow. Squint to see the more subtle shading of this shape, and add another darker layer along the edge of the shadow. You don’t need to press any harder, just keep shading the same area until it gradually gets darker.

Using a softer pencil, like a 2B, shade in the entire shadow area. You don’t want to be able to see the transition between the midtone and the shadow area, so try to make it gradual. Again, add another darker layer where you see the darkest shadows.

Use your blending stick to blend your pencil marks together. It’s important to work from light to dark so your stick doesn’t get too dirty. If it does, wipe it on a piece of scrap paper or press it into your kneaded eraser. You want the white of the paper to show through as the brightest part of the highlight, so blend inwards, keeping the center free of graphite.

The cast shadow directly under the sphere is the darkest value, so use an even softer pencil, like a 4B, to shade it. Switch back to your 2B to shade in the rest of the shadow.

Blend out the cast shadow, paying close attention to the edges. The edges closest to the sphere are sharper, and get softer farther away. Lastly, use your kneaded eraser to clean up your edges and re-define your highlight and the reflection. Voila, a sphere!

Now you can use your skills to realistically draw virtually anything with a rounded shape. The rules are the same! A highlight, a range of midtones, the shadow with a reflection, and a cast shadow!

Happy drawing!

copy paste from

http://www.artinstructionblog.com/drawing-lesson-how-to-shade-pencil-drawings-by-miranda-aschenbrenner

Drawing Tools

1. Knife- In my opinion, a knife is something that every pencil artist needs. I use mine all the time. I use it to cut erasers mainly but I have actually used it on a drawing before for cutting out flyaway hairs.

2. Retractable Eraser- This is a must for pulling out highlights and for drawing negative hairs.

3. Kneaded Eraser- I love my kneaded eraser because it can be molded into any shape you want. It's the perfect tool for adjusting tones and for sharpening highlights.

4. Blu-Tak- Blu Tak is a putty designed to stick posters to the wall but it's an awesome drawing tool. It's just like a kneaded eraser in that you can mold it to any shape but it's alot stickier and useful for pulling out lots of tone.

5. Blending Stumps- If you are a blender, these are a must. I use mine all the time. I have several different sizes for different applications. I use the small one for in and around eyes and the bigger one for blending backgrounds. When the tips become dull, they can easily be sharpened again with some fine grade sand paper.

6. Pencils- This is a no brainer, if you are going to draw, you need pencils obviously. There are many different brands to choose from though. Personally, I use Derwent Graphic pencils. I like the way they lay down and the graphite is very consistent. Pencils are available in a variety of tones ranging from 9B to 9H. 9B being the softest (darkest) and 9H being the hardest (lightest). I think anything above a 5H is unnecessary. I only use a couple different pencils while drawing (3B, H, B, 2H, 5H).

7. Mechanical pencils or Clutch pencils- These are very nice because they are always sharp, no need for sharpening. I use 2 different mechanical pencils. One has 3B graphite in it (the taped one) and the other has 2H graphite. I use them for intricate details like around eyes.

8. Tortillons and Q-tips (ear buds)- When you need to blend very small spots, tortillons or q-tips work great. Tortillons are just rolled paper with a sharp tip. Q-tips (ear buds) are typically used for cleaning ears but they work great for inexpensive blenders.

9. Masking Tape- I use masking tape alot when drawing. I use it around the edge of a drawing to give it a white border. It can also be used to keep highlights white. Just cut a small piece and stick it where you want the highlight to be.

10. Kleenex Tissue- I use regular Kleenex tissue for blending. It gives a very soft, smooth effect. Make sure you use aloe-free.

copy paste from, http://www.dueysdrawings.com/drawing_tools.html