Charcoal Demo

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Anya. Compressed charcoal on rives paper.



1) Construction drawing. Being careful here allows for a confident stroke when I start using the compressed charcoal stick.


2) Establishing landmarks so as to not loose the drawing as the charcoal gets pushed around in later stages.


3) Value block in.


4) Smoothing values and touching up the drawing with the corner of the charcoal stick.


Wow, what a mess. This is one of the reasons I don't specifically encourage my technique. There are dozens of ways you can apply the medium. It's the principles of value (light and shadow), structure, edges and composition that really matter.


5) Final touch up with a kneaded eraser and charcoal stick.

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