Learn How to Draw

Mini - Tutorial
Instruction for Charcoal & Graphite Pencil
Artists

To see samples of my drawings so you know what these techniques can do, click
Pencil Drawing Galleries
 Learn How to Draw - Graphite Pencil and Charcoal Tutorial

This drawing tutorial contains techniques to create realistic looking artwork to provide fellow
charcoal and graphite pencil artists insight into my methods. The first half of the page will
explain the pencils and blending tools I use to render both rough and smooth textures. Once
you know how to create realistic looking textures, you're on you way to creating much more
realistic looking artwork. The second half of the page shows a step by step tutorial of one of
my latest drawings so scroll down to see images of the tutorial. For more instruction, I also
offer links on this page for my drawing technique book, pencil drawing supplies and
drawing workshops,

#1 Getting Started

Once you have decided on your subject, you need to decide on the best techniques and
materials to use. There are so many things to consider. Should the background stay white?
Should you use a smooth paper or rough? Should you use graphite, charcoal, or a maybe a
combination of both. It's enough to make you take up sculpting! Don't get discouraged. This
tutorial will answer these questions and more.

The first thing you need to do is analyze the textures in all the areas of your subject. Decide
which areas would be considered rough and which are smooth. Notice where contrasting
textures and values are adjacent to each other.

Once you have identified the basic textures and values of your subject, you need to decide on
the appropriate techniques to use in each area.

#2 Using Charcoal and Graphite Pencil (why I use both in each drawing)

The individual granules of charcoal have an irregular shape. When light strikes a drawing
containing these particles, it bounces back in many different directions. That means when it
is pushed to its darkest value, charcoal doesn't have the reflective glare that is common with
graphite. Usually the darkest values in a drawing are shadows, and, if you are trying to
render a subject as realistically as possible, the last thing you want is a shadow that
reflects more light than the subject. I use both charcoal and graphite pencil in different areas
of my drawings.

Subjects I typically render with charcoal pencils:

  Wood, Bark, fur, hair, eyelashes, pupil of the eye, dark line between the lips, nostrils,
coarse fabrics, - like denim, leather, cast shadows,

Subjects I typically render with graphite pencils:

 Skin tones, Shading in the white of the eye, Glass, Porcelain, Light values in shiny
metal, Smooth fabrics - like silk, Light shading on paper objects- like playing cards.

My favorite brands of charcoal and graphite, and carbon pencils: (links are below to
order the supplies directly from my web site.)

 Graphite:
There are many artist grade graphite pencils to choose from these days. A 2B pencil
of one brand may be vastly different than the 2B of another brand. I currently use
Kimberly drawing pencils which are manufactured by the General Pencil Company.
These premium graphite drawing pencils are extra smooth artist quality hex shaped
drawing pencils. Available in 20 degrees from 9H to 9xxB. The 9xxB is becoming
one of my favorite graphite pencils. It is capable of extremely dark values with little
or no graphite shine.
 Charcoal:
Many people who are used to the feel of graphite effortlessly gliding across their
paper find charcoal too abrasive. Currently I use Primo Euro Blend charcoal pencils
manufactured in the USA by General Pencil Company. These are smoother than
other charcoals I have tried. There are three degrees of hardness ranging from HB
(hardest) to 3B (softest). Along with the General's Primos, I use their regular
charcoals. The single most important pencil I use is the General's 2H Extra Hard
Charcoal. This pencil is hard enough to get an needle sharp point, yet since it is
charcoal, it is capable of very dark sharp lines. Obtaining clean sharp edges is very
important in my work. All charcoal smears easily so if you are not familiar with this
medium you may consider reading the chapter entitled Keeping Your Drawing Clean
on page 18 of my technique book.
 Carbon Pencils:
Carbon pencils can be used in place of charcoal in areas to separate the subject from
the background. When carbon pencils are used in combination with charcoal and
graphite, their inherent characteristics make them ideal for separating subjects
containing similar values. Generally, I use charcoal for the background and carbon or
graphite for the subjects. I currently use the new General's Primo Elite Grande
#5000 and Generals Carbon sketch pencil for this purpose.
 Drawing Pencil Kit
You can order what I consider to be the essential drawing supplies directly from this
web site. General's Pencil Company has produced a new Primo Euro Blend Charcoal
Drawing set that includes many of my recommended drawing supplies. I also am
offering 3 other pencils that are not included in the kit that I highly recommend. The
Drawing Set contains:
3 Primo charcoal pencils (hb, b, 3b)
1 Primo Bianco White Charcoal Pencil
 1 Primo Elite Grande Organic black #5000 pencil, *NEW PRODUCT*
4 Primo Compressed Sticks (3 black, 1 white)
1 kneaded, eraser
1 Factis Magic Black Eraser (formulated for charcoal)
1 All-Art Sharpener (Restores the factory point on fine artist pencils)

The 3 extra essential pencils:

General's 2h extra hard charcoal
Kimberly 9xxb extra soft graphite
General's 595 Soft Carbon Sketch Pencil

(Click the Image below for ordering information)

Drawing Pencil Plus 3 more

Set Essential Pencils
Produced by

General's Pencil Company

Featuring artwork and
materials guide by
2h extra hard charcoal
J. D. Hillberry 9xxb extra soft graphite
595 soft carbon sketch

#3 Blending

I use various tools to blend with also. Each creates a different texture and spreads each
medium differently. Using the right blending tool can mean the difference between using a
few quick swipes to create the exact look you want, or, re-working an area for hours (or until
you rub a hole in the paper) and giving up in frustration. These are some of my blending
tools:

 Blending Stump: These are tightly wound paper sticks with points on both ends.
They are available in several diameters. Use them to blend large areas of the medium
and also to apply the medium directly to the paper for softer effects.
 Tortillon: These are generally smaller and not wrapped as tightly as blending stumps.
 They are not as solid as blending stomps and they create a slightly different texture.
 Felt pad: Purchase 1' x 1' white squares at a craft store. Creates random textural
effects for a variety of natural looking textures.
 Facial Tissue: Good for blurring the edge of shadows and softening unwanted pencil
strokes. Paper towels are another choice if you don't want to lighten the area as much.
 Paper: Blending with paper brings out the texture of the drawing paper. The paper
you use to blend with makes a big difference in the texture created. Try wrapping
notebook paper around you finger to start with. Good for separating two objects that
have similar values by using only textures.
 Chamois: To imitate smooth textures like skin tones and reflective surfaces like
glass. Also use it like an eraser to lighten large masses of dark charcoal or graphite.
Creates an extremely smooth texture.
 NOT FINGERS: I know some people don't have a problem with it but it can be a
nightmare. I suggest you even be careful touching important areas of the paper with
your bare hands. Your fingertips can transfer oil to the paper. This oil becomes
apparent if it is in light areas of blended charcoal or graphite. Graphite and charcoal
work exactly like finger print dusting powder, leaving the incriminating imprints of
the person responsible for groping your paper. (Probably you, but you can yell at the
kids if it makes you feel better.) It is impossible to make a smooth, even tone with
charcoal or graphite powder in areas with fingerprints.
 Experiment: Put those creative thinking caps on! You never know when you might
come across something that will produce the perfect texture you are looking for. Try
different fabrics - smooth and rough. Just make sure the materials are clean and the
color from dyes won't rub off on your paper.
 One Last Tip: These are some of the materials and techniques I use. I offer these
methods as a starting point, to help you achieve a style all your own. I believe there
are as many techniques on how to draw as there are people. Never let any instructor
or book make you believe that their way is the ONLY way. My theory is - if it
works, use it. We all need to keep growing and experiment but keep true to your own
vision

Work In Progress
Title: "Inner Beauty"
Size: 18" x 14"
Medium: Charcoal, Graphite, Carbon on White Paper

Step One:
I am using charcoal for the background and graphite for the subject. I'm using Arches 140 lbs hot press
watercolor paper for this drawing. This is one of my favorite papers. It has enough tooth to create dark
values yet is smooth enough for very delicate textures. In this first step, I have cut out the shape of my
subject(s) in frisket film and applied it to the paper. Then, I applied 3b soft charcoal to the background
to begin creating a wood texture.
Step Two:
Next, I blended the charcoal with a piece of felt and added the beginnings of wood grain. I repeated this several
times to build up a solid tone. After pulling out some highlights with a clic eraser, I used a sharp hard charcoal
pencil to create shadows to help create slivers and chips in the wood. I also applied masking tape at this point. I
will be drawing masking tape in these areas later. Some of the wood texture will show through from the previous
step and give my drawn masking tape a little more transparency.
Step Three:
Then, I sprayed the drawing with fixative, Peeled off the frisket and began rendering the subjects. I used a 6h
graphite pencil to add tone to the paper and blended with a chamois. In some areas, I applied the graphite with the
chamois. For those of you that haven’t tried blending with a chamois, it can produce incredibly subtle tones –
almost like an air brush. I use a kneaded eraser to pull out the crinkles in the paper. I am using the same technique
to render the rose, applying graphite from dark to light and blending.

The tape on the right shows what it looking like after I removed the real masking tape. I have begun rendering the
tape on the right with a General's carbon sketch pencil and blending with a tortillon. Using carbon here for the
tape will help separate it from the wood and the paper.
Step Four:
I have started adding the holes and lines of the notebook paper. In case you are wondering, I didn’t darken the
background in this step, I had to turn up the contrast on this a bit to show the lines on the paper.

I used charcoal for the holes to match the background. Adding charcoal at this stage always makes me nervous
since it isn’t fixed and can easily smear. I also continued to add shading to the rose and added the line drawing of
the stem.

The lines on the paper were produced with a .3 mechanical pencil to keep them as sharp and clean as possible. I
used a French Curve instead of a ruler because the lines had to follow the bends and crinkles in the paper to keep
the perspective correct. The best way to describe a French curve is it’s a bendable rubber straight edge
Close-up
.

Step Five:
Here’s the final. I had a real tough time taking photos of this one. I couldn’t get a picture of the softness of the
paper shading without compromising the darker background detail. The original has more punch.

I’ve included some close-ups to give you a little better Idea of the detail. In the original drawing the tape is
approximately 3/4" wide. It may appear larger than I drew it on your screen.
Click Here for another Step by Step Lesson
 If you are interest in more hands on instruction, you may consider registering for one of my
Pencil Drawing Workshops

Learn How to Draw!

with my realistic Drawing Technique book

For complete step by step instructions that include over 150 illustrations order a signed copy of my technique
book "Drawing Realistic Textures in Pencil". To learn more about it's contents, click the book.

Drawing Realistic Textures in Pencil

by

J. D. Hillberry

Over 50,000 copies sold

(click on the for more info and to order a signed copy)

Drawing Pencil Set

Produced by

General's Pencil Company and Featuring artwork and materials guide by

J. D. Hillberry
 Plus 3 more Essential Pencils

2h extra hard charcoal

9xxb extra soft graphite
595 soft carbon sketch

(Click on the pencil set for more information and to order)

To see samples of my work and learn more about the my techniques and inspiration
click the links below.

Workshops: Current Workshop • Students Comments • Student Drawings • Workshop In

Progress • Workshop Email List

Galleries: Western • Family Themes • Still Life • Trompe L'oeil • New Work • Questions
& Comments

Info: Technique Book • Drawing Tutorial • About the Artwork • About the Artist

Show Schedule • How to Order

Home