Black Fine Grade Charcoal Powder Approx 30 Grams Powder For Sketching Large Area Comes in Plastic Box In this tutorial, we’ll take a look at drawing a loose portrait from the side or “profile” view. Instead of focusing much on facial proportions, we’ll take a deeper look at the medium of charcoal, it’s various forms, and how they can be used interchangeably in a drawing. More specifically, we’ll look at using powdered charcoal in a drawing. Drawing with Charcoal Charcoal is burnt organic material - typically wood, that is used for making marks on a surface. Charcoal comes in several different forms - stick, powdered, or in a pencil. Different varieties, or grades of charcoal exist as well. “Vine” charcoal is softer and makes a lighter mark, while compressed charcoal is harder, but makes a darker mark. White charcoal also exists, which is a pigmented version of the medium. A bit more on charcoal as a medium can be found here. The Charcoal Advantage Many artists prefer using charcoal over other mediums for several reasons. Charcoal, unlike graphite, doesn’t have a shiny finish. So, blacks are rich and dark. Graphite is capable of producing dark values, but the end results produces a surface that is shiny and reflective under light. Charcoal can also be easily spread or blended. Graphite can also be spread and blended, but charcoal can be spread with less effort - covering larger areas, in a shorter amounts of time. Charcoal can also behave in a similar manner as oil paints - allowing the artist to “push and pull” darker and lighter values during the drawing process. Charcoal can be added to make areas darker, but it can also be removed using a kneaded eraser to lighten values or create highlights. Drawing with Powdered Charcoal Powdered charcoal is a material that consists of pulverized charcoal. Charcoal material is crushed into small powder-like pieces resulting in powdered charcoal. Powdered charcoal is typically applied by brushing it into the surface, but