charcoal questions

marlfox8

hey dudes
i just picked up some willow, vine and compresed charcoal, and i have some questions.(im new to charcoal though ive been wanting to get some for months) ive read that you need a large piece of paper will 9x12 work? i also read that charcoal needs a fixative. would hair spray be a cheap alternative to proffesional grade fixative?if u need to know ill be doing head proportion studies
maybe some enviroments
and concept sketches :)thx

MoP

9x12 is 9"x12", about 22x30cm? A4 size?

I'd recommend larger for willow charcoal. As big as you can get, at least double that. If you use your arm more than your wrist then you will get nice loose and smooth curves. Compressed charcoal (a pencil, or just sticks?) will work alright on smaller paper and willow is decent for shading at smaller sizes but really I found that charcoal works most comfortably on a large drawing board while standing up. Huge cheap newsprint works well as a paper for quick studies.

Hairspray will work as a fixative, yes (although your stuff will smell funny ), I think it should be possible to get "proper" fixative without breaking the bank, though?

Emeriastone

I'd also buy some charcoal pencils, and be sure to get a range of hardness levels, from 2b to 9b, and buy some white erasers--also kneaded erasers are popular for working with charcoal.

And the size of paper isn't so much important as the tooth of the paper, or the texture. The thing about working in charcoal is that regular flat paper doesn't hold the pigment of charcoal as well as paper with a large tooth. Many companies produce a specific paper for drawing in charcoal, simply named charcoal paper. I think you'll probably be more satisfied with a charcoal paper than a flat, say, printer paper type paper.

I'd avoid using hair spray or some other form of alternative fixative, mainly because of the possible unintended side-effects of using a hair spray, such as smell or more importantly discoloration due to age. Then again you don't have to buy professional grade fixative, there's always a student academic brand that tends to be much cheaper, $8-12 USD. Besides good paper, this is probably the most you'll spend if you buy cheap materials.

But charcoal is fun, good luck!

Eric Chadwick

Also get an kneaded eraser, great for blending and also pulling back bright areas.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6DrrxpeC2Q[/ame]
(not me!)

Sean VanGorder

I second the kneaded eraser. I don't do a whole lot of 2D art, but when I had to do some for school, it definitely made the process easier.

Also extremely entertaining to play with.

marlfox8

sXe seany:yep got a kneaded eraser and a white eraser.
mOp: i think ill stick with hairspray for now since my drawings will be crappy at first then upgrae later on. I'l definitely get bigger sketchbook.
emeriastone: ill try to do that

r_fletch_r

Compressed charcoal sticks seem to do just fine without fixative. I have drawings 4 or 5 years old done on news print and they adhered fine. i doubt willow would do so well.

Like MOP suggests you should try A1 news print on a board. its relatively cheep and the massive size means your free to make broad strokes, you can get your whole body behind it and make some really nice marks. Drawing bigs also great fun make sure your working on an easel and not hunching over it.

big sheets of black paper and white chalk can also be great fun.