Drawing with charcoal
October 22nd, 2007 | by Art Supplies |Since the beginning of time charcoal has been an inseparable companion of man when it comes to drawing of imaginations on paper. Even when there was no paper invented, men used charcoal to draw their inner most feeling on the walls of the caves through charcoal. With the passage of time the importance of charcoal increased in the eyes of artist as they realized that they can use charcoal to get multiple effects. With the help of one single charcoal artists have succeeded in attaining the lightest colors of gray as well as the darkest blacks.
When you go to buy a charcoal for your artistic endeavors you will realize that that are different types of charcoals to choose from. Some of these are listed below:
- The first in the list is the charcoal pencil. It is usually wrapped in a plastic or encased between a wooden material. This is for the reason that charcoal has a powdery characteristic to its name and if you decide to use charcoal without its being wrapped in a plastic or timber then you will end up with dirty fingers.
- Willow and vine charcoal is next in the list. Unlike charcoal pencil, willow and vine charcoal does not come wrapped up in a plastic or wood. However, you might want to opt for this type of charcoal as it is very helpful in producing a variety of colors from pale gray to deep black.
- Another worth mentioning type of charcoal at the supply stores is the hard charcoal. This charcoal is used on papers that are strong and think due to the characteristic of this charcoal to be harder then the other forms of charcoal available. This charcoal is mainly used for drawing extremely fine lines.
Using charcoal for studying during the Early and Middle Renaissance period was a common act. The artists used charcoal as the preliminary sketching tool as it was very easy to rectify any mistakes when charcoal was used for drawing the outline.
All the pastel and charcoal artists use different techniques to help them in producing and maintaining their piece of art. One of the most commonly tool is the “Fixative”. When you go to a good art supply vendor, the shopkeeper will provide you with fixative of your choice in either a jar or a spray-can. There are two types of fixatives available. They are categorized according to the effect they have on paintings. You can buy a fixative, which when applied, have a permanent effect on the painting by permanently sealing the painting from being used again or you can buy a fixative whose main purpose is to protect the charcoal from smudging as well as give a matte look to the painting.
If you want to be considered as a serious artist then you must try your hand at producing paintings made of charcoal. This is for the reason that many well known paintings produced by well known artists are made of charcoal only. A very good example in the matter is the “Silent Song” of Charles White.
