General's Charcoal Pencils: What I Recommend

Рет қаралды 12,765

2 жыл бұрын

I’ve used General’s Charcoal Pencils for years in my own work and with my students when teaching classes. During this time I’ve seen both the good and bad from this brand, and have been able to compare with other brands. In this video, I share with you which of their pencils I do and do not recommend, and what it is about them that makes them different from other brands.
MATERIALS USED IN THIS DEMO:
General’s Charcoal Pencil Hard: amzn.to/367FUdo
General’s Charcoal Pencil Medium: amzn.to/2TFJ31e
General’s Charcoal Pencil White: amzn.to/2R8sRns
My Favorite AFMAT Long Point Pencil Sharpener: amzn.to/3l9l46E
**Note: These are affiliate links and I may receive a commission from purchases. It’s an easy way to support my channel and help me continue to make more videos! I only recommend products I use and believe in.
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Thanks for watching!

Пікірлер: 27

@alijalal7839 Жыл бұрын

I use charcoal generals but I am to start using your techniques to start my shadding. I am from Ghana. And am an upcoming fine artist. I am much greatful for watching your video. Infact you are such a role model everyone must follow. I am to start using your techniques. You are my role model.

@chiptenor 7 ай бұрын

Very good review on General Charcoals. Quite informative. Thanks so much.

@hilarystoddard7363 5 күн бұрын

Definitely still experiencing the "rock" in the charcoal with Generals pencils. I just got four new ones, 2 HB and 2 2B, and the HBs both don't draw. I've sharpened them a bunch and sometimes get them at a good angle. But it's still an issue!

@SchoolofRealistArt 2 күн бұрын

I’m sorry to hear that! Honestly I wouldn’t fight with the janky pencils… write General’s!

@jillcherrick3113 6 ай бұрын

I started charcoal medium in early 2022. I fell in love with this medium. I have tried a few different brands and Generals by far is my go to charcoal.( especially their white charcoal!) I don't have much of an issue with the erasing. I have however run into that issue with pencils not drawing and its usually with the HB and 2B charcoal. I've learned that most of the time its due to the wood not catching and turning to coal.Its basically trying to draw with a piece of non scorched wood. I have become leary of using the HB and 2B due to that reason and even though using a light hand, I find it tends to scratch the paper's surface. I've grown accustomed to hand sharpening with a knife ( please use responsibly!) and sanding points on the 4Bs and 6Bs. Yes It is a pain to stop so often to keep the points and you end up with a lot of home made powder from it. In using a very light hand ,electric and gum erasers as well as using tortillons and blending sticks to draw with I can usually get the outcome im looking for, however would be nice to use the whole arsenal of materials again. Thank you for taking the time to do these videos. Jill Arizona😊

@artplussk_222 3 ай бұрын

Nice video . Thank you

@lorenbk 2 жыл бұрын

An old drafting trick…to maintain a consistent line width, roll your pencil as you draw. After a while it just becomes automatic.

@SchoolofRealistArt 2 жыл бұрын

Great tip!

@michellebono3205 Жыл бұрын

I thought I was going nuts when I couldn't find the General's H pencils. Way to gaslight me, General's. But thanks for noting that, and also about the improvement in the gritty thing. I also had some a few years ago where it seemed like they got the HB and the 2B mixed up (if I remember right), but that just seemed like a bad batch.

@alijalal7839 Жыл бұрын

And good morning once again

@Adam-adyo 8 ай бұрын

Would you kindly tel what paper or drawing sheets you used gor this video? Great review by the way! And I like Yöyou're technique. I'm going to try it. Thank you for shating.

@soumya.dataSC 11 ай бұрын

How do you keep those sharpened pencils with so long exposed lead?

@riteasrain Жыл бұрын

The white is the best of any white charcoal I've used. It's harder to get the packs now and your links say "unavailable".

@samanthathompson9812 2 жыл бұрын

I've only ever seen Generals in Soft, Extrasoft, Hard etc. (Not the 2B, HB nomenclature). Maybe it's all they sell in Canada. Their white is vastly superior to others. I think there might be supply issues these days too as they are often out of stock. But then so is everything nowadays.

@SchoolofRealistArt 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah supply issues are everywhere! The pencils I have are labeled with both, like this: HB = hard 2B = medium 4B = soft 6B = extra soft Hope that helps!

@samanthathompson9812 2 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolofRealistArt Thank you!