Charcoal drawing 1?

Hello everyone!,

  Sorry for the delay, but I have been busy working (and all the holidays coming up pushed things back...anyway, Happy New Year! ^_^)! I'm back with a new installment--charcoal! Have you ever wanted to draw heavy lining, but you were tired of sharpening your pencil every few minutes? Did you want to get down a lot of black color, and not use a black marker or a black pen (and end up having the paper bleed through)? Or are you sick of cleaning up a mess from using paints or watercolor? Well, instead of using all of the mediums listed above (though most of them are quite acceptable!), I would use charcoal! Not only is charcoal flexible for drawing, but it also comes in different shapes, sizes, and intensity! Charcoal can be used for both practice drawing and professional sketch work (as such with other mediums!). Just a suggestion, if you are starting out with Charcoal, I would recommend a small starter set, with a mix of hard, medium, and soft charcoal sticks. Other kits and types of charcoal may include pencils, compressed charcoal sticks, vine charcoal sticks, or powdered charcoal. When working with charcoal, it is also important to know what to start with: erasers, paper (with a good "tooth"...more on paper in my next installment!), and charcoal. Other optional, but great additions include: ink pens (more on that in a later installment!), graphite pencils (in some kits on the web links below!), pencil sharpener (in some kits on the web links below!), charcoal white pencils (link below!), and paper/blending stumps (or use your fingers! More on blending stumps below!). I say optional because it is not necessary to use if you're a beginner with charcoal. I would start experimenting, since most charcoal sets are inexpensive! Below is a list of what I recommend (and have used)!. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below!:

General's Charcoal Kit (this gives you a great range for beginning your Charcoal art work!):

http://www.michaels.com/general%27s-charcoal-kit/fa2407,default,pd.html?cgid=products-artsupplies-drawingandillustration-charcoal

Winsor & Newton Vine and Willow Charcoal Packs (great to use for quick, light, overall details!):

http://www.dickblick.com/products/winsor-and-newton-vine-and-willow-charcoal-packs/

General's Compressed Charcoal Set (great to use for fine and dark details in your drawing!):

http://www.michaels.com/generals-compressed-charcoal-sticks/fa1440,default,pd.html?cgid=products-artsupplies-drawingandillustration-charcoal

General's Getting Started with Charcoal (another great set to get you started with Charcoal!):

http://www.michaels.com/getting-started-with-charcoal-set/fa2374,default,pd.html?cgid=products-artsupplies-drawingandillustration-charcoal

General's Charcoal White Pencil Set (great to use when you want to specify sections of your charcoal drawing with white!):
http://www.michaels.com/generals-charcoal-white-pencil-set/fa2158,default,pd.html?cgid=products-artsupplies-drawingandillustration-charcoal

General's Charcoal Drawing Set (if you have a little more money, and you want a well-rounded set to start with, this is the set to pick up!):
http://www.michaels.com/generals-charcoal-drawing-set/fa2375,default,pd.html?cgid=products-artsupplies-drawingandillustration-charcoal

Derwent Graphic Designer Graphite Pencils (great range, and excellent quality!):
http://www.amazon.com/Derwent-Graphic-Pencils-Medium-34214/dp/B000J69KZQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388711949&sr=8-1&keywords=derwent+graphic+designer+medium+pencils

General's Kneaded Rubber Eraser (great eraser to have because you can shape it from fine tip to a wide eraser! In addition, you can fold over the kneaded eraser for a new, fresh section to erase with!):
http://www.michaels.com/generals-kneaded-rubber-erasers/fa2398,default,pd.html?cgid=products-artsupplies-drawingandillustration-accessories

General's Extra Soft White Vinyl Eraser (use it when your other erasers are not picking up sections that you want to remove!):
http://www.michaels.com/generals-extra-soft-white-vinyl-eraser/fa2391,default,pd.html?cgid=products-artsupplies-drawingandillustration-accessories

General's Pink Pencil Eraser (use if you want a smearing effect. If you are trying to remove charcoal, this may not be the most ideal eraser for the task (at least it wasn't when I tried =/)):
http://www.michaels.com/generals-pink-pencil-eraser/fa2395,default,pd.html?cgid=products-artsupplies-drawingandillustration-accessories

General's Traditional Gum Eraser (another great eraser, use this when you have accidental finger prints on your paper (hopefully, you don't!)!):
http://www.michaels.com/generals-traditional-gum-eraser/fa2396,default,pd.html?cgid=products-artsupplies-drawingandillustration-accessories

Or you can get a kit which includes the kneaded, extra soft white vinyl, and gum erasers!:
http://www.michaels.com/General-Pencil-Eraser-3pk/fa2222,default,pd.html?cgid=products-artsupplies-drawingandillustration-accessories

Artist's Loft Blending Stumps and Tortillons (use these to blend your work; of course, you can use a paper towel, or your fingers (but that could cause a bigger mess for you and your art piece!). Stumps and tortillons can be used for precise blending! You can cut off (or shave/sharpen) the ends to get a fresh tip!):
http://www.michaels.com/Artists-Loft-Blending-Stumps-Tortillons/fa1419,default,pd.html?cgid=products-artsupplies-drawingandillustration-accessories

-V.V.