The ULTIMATE Charcoal Tutorial

Рет қаралды 84,954

4 жыл бұрын

Behold: the video nobody asked for but every art student needs. After getting my hands dirty in charcoal for three years at college , I feel like a have a solid understanding of the medium and I wanted to share my knowledge with you all. Kudos to anyone who makes it through the entire 30 minutes in one shot--this video ended up being beefier than I thought it was gonna be! 😅
Bonus videos that I think tie well with this:
1) How to sharpen your pencils: • How to Sharpen a Penci...
2) How to easily draw still lifes and not want to die: • How to Easily Draw Sti...
Catch me on Instagram, Tumblr, and Etsy @BianaBova
Music:
Track: Pink Sky - Amine Maxwell [Audio Library Release]
Music provided by Audio Library Plus
Watch: • Pink Sky - Amine Maxwe...
Free Download / Stream: alplus.io/PinkSky

Пікірлер: 159

@zoridahall4732 9 ай бұрын

Awesome tutorial, I enjoyed it, I'm a self taught artist..,I started at 59 ,and now I'm 71 years old, and you tube became my best friend ,it taught me everything I need it to know about art ,,you tube has the best instructor's on the planet earth lol,Aaron Blaise is an awesome teacher, he works with charcoal, he worked for Disney doing animation for the lion king ,pocahontas ,practically all the Disney movies that all this yeras now he is teaching on you tube. ,you anything you want to learned from ,, also northern Kentucky University, has free classes, when you get chance whatch those channels, you will learn a lot and it's free, God bless you and keep it awesome tutorial thank you, Zoe

@renzo6490 2 жыл бұрын

The assumption from the start is that every one hates to use charcoal....that one is “forced” to use it in school. Why be so negative? Charcoal, as a medium, is no more difficult to adapt to than oils or watercolors. Once I understood how to use them, they became a great asset. And, it should be noted, charcoal can be used to produce superb final works of art. As an alternative to 'toning' your paper with charcoal, you can simply buy toned paper. It usually comes in cool tones of blue or gray and in warm tones of tan.

@Kyomiibrown 4 жыл бұрын

Re: White charcoal - it depends what paper you are using, I use only toned paper so white charcoal is necessary imho. My tonal range ensures it doesn’t look stark as I mute it down.

@BianaBova 4 жыл бұрын

^^Okay fair, it does look pretty nice on pre-toned paper

@nickmurray7703 3 жыл бұрын

Also sometimes you may want the exact effect she mentions is bad. a cooler tone than your white paper such as snow.

@aestheticmizo6444 3 жыл бұрын

If you already know about charcoal and it's material , you can start from 13:03 you're welcome

@lesliescott9956 Жыл бұрын

When I was about 10 year old at school, my teacher gave me some grey paper, some willow charcoal and white chalk. He gave me a load of bottles and jars and told me to draw. I've never forgot the importance of that early lesson.

@Quigimon 3 жыл бұрын

I started school for photography and fell totally in love with charcoal, so much so photography took a back seat. Now there is nothing more pleasurable than running willow charcoal across paper

@lynnjones6386 3 жыл бұрын

This is an amazing tutorial. I'm so glad you explained the reasoning behind everything that you were doing. So many artists assume that their audience has some background knowledge, and I for one do not. I'm just learning and have no background in art at all. Everything I've learned is books, youtube, patreon. You made sense of things I had been told (but no reasoning behind it) and you are a total joy to watch. Checking out your other vids and will subscribe

@alimarieart 4 жыл бұрын

I loved using charcoal in my drawing classes at the University I'm attending. We even used them in our painting classes to give a layout for what we are going to paint. My drawing professor had us use white charcoal, and newsprint paper for our drawings. The white charcoal was only used if the object was extremely white. Charcoal was such a fun medium to work with.

@mylo5347 4 жыл бұрын

This is almost the exact the same way I was taught charcoal drawing at my university. My only tip would be to mention that charcoal drawings like yours take hours and hours of study and practice before people get to that level. I remember my first semester we drew hundreds of white box still lives 3 hours a day. The next semester we moved onto organic objects. Keep up the good work!

@renzo6490 2 жыл бұрын

The plural of “still life” is “still lifes”. We are pluralizing both words, not just the word ‘life’. You wouldn’t say The Toronto Maple Leaves, would you?

@cosmiic_cat 4 жыл бұрын

Wow this video came right in time! Helps me a lot as I'm getting into charcoal now. THANKS :)

@jenniferhunter1587 4 жыл бұрын

Biana, this is an excellent beginner's tutorial. Thank you for taking the time to teach us!!

@keila5265 4 жыл бұрын

This is sooo helpful thank u so much, and I love how ur so relatable, u make things so much easier

@lindahitchcock5714 Жыл бұрын

This was excellent and you touched on everything, explaining so well. It was more than I imagined I would get in a tutorial. Thank you so much, Biana.

@vincentlukban2500 3 жыл бұрын

You are amazing! I was so lost until watching your video. I had no idea why my professor told us to fill an entire 18x24 page with vine charcoal, or that I wasn't supposed to use vine charcoal for shading. I was getting so annoyed when the stuff would fall off as soon as I did anything with it... Thanks for your vid! I could watch you all day!

@amanje407 2 жыл бұрын

I found this video to be really helpful. I was looking for a video to show when to use each type of charcoal and couldn't find a proper helpful video until I came across this one. This was an eye-opener! Thank you so much!! I appreciate your explanations. Have a wonderful day! :)

@andrewabney2129 3 жыл бұрын

I have been drawing and painting for a long time. And I still love charcoal (admittedly charcoal pencils are my least favorite form), it's my favorite drawing media, followed closely by ink. Powdered charcoal and a bristle brush is a brilliant laying in tool. A good rough kraft paper is a wonderful surface. A good drawing (or watercolour) paper that has been primed with gesso or size with a little marble or pumice dust also makes a brilliant surface. My other favorites are sanded paper 400 or 600 grit, velour paper, and rough manilla paper. Primed hardboard or Illustration board is great, and it allows you use rubber cement thinner to move the charcoal around in a painterly fashion. Like you, I am not a fan of white charcoal. Save for quick sketches, I prefer to work on a toned surface, and need a white. The quality of white in white charcoal varies, but the consistency is always horrible. I prefer a white Conte crayon or pastel. With pastels there are warm and cool whites to choose from. Or for small drawings, I fix the drawing with Spectrafix (casein based in alcohol), and use gouache for the highlights.

@ChristineHudson_CH-Interiors Жыл бұрын

Thank you for this. Just what I need to help me understand a bit about charcoal so that I know something before I attend a workshop at the weekend.

@henriquechiaradiafelicio996 3 жыл бұрын

you have a great professor vibe, i love how you teach things :D

@tbm7187 Жыл бұрын

Excellent information thank you! I like how you present things in a straight forward way.

@vinsenanda 3 жыл бұрын

thank you for the tutorial, super helpful for a newbie!

@deepspacenibby 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent video!!!! This is so helpful. Oh my god. Thank you. 😊

@zoridahall4732 9 ай бұрын

Beautiful artistry just took place, very talented, thank you again, Zoe

@RAHIWAadeyNayGdiniyu 6 ай бұрын

Thank you!!!!! This is a great vid. You thought me how you use the different types of charcoals!!! And your art is exquisite⭐️

@kristyn_art 4 жыл бұрын

Finally! Someone who agrees about white charcoal!

@Laura.jane.handmade 4 жыл бұрын

This video could not have been posted at a more perfect time! I'm doing an assignment for my Cert IV in Visual Arts & I've chosen to use charcoal for the image. Thank goodness you came along with your helpful video today!

@BianaBova 4 жыл бұрын

So glad I can help! :D

@wendymclaughlin 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much. I’m taking into to drawing and this helps a lot with learning to use charcoal

@hettasoni2763 3 жыл бұрын

This is ur first video that I have seen ...n it really really helped me 😊

@rebeccashaw957 Жыл бұрын

You are an awesome teacher and also fun to listen to. You talk like we are all friends.

@bobbobby2593 2 жыл бұрын

Loved this video and learned a lot. I just wish you demonstrated more

@stergiosmimidakis2911 10 ай бұрын

This is a very important video. You've helped me immensely.

@haybuhay1994 3 жыл бұрын

this was extremely helpful for me thank you.

@Cherem777 2 жыл бұрын

Fantastic tutorial. Subscribed!

@beeeansswtfff4071 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you, this helped so much! Due to the COVID-19 closures I have to do a charcoal still life at home, and it’s my first time using charcoal. 😅

@Ana-do6nn 4 жыл бұрын

Hell yeah I needed this so bad, thank youuu 😭

@MissMolly3377 3 жыл бұрын

I took a drawing class just for fun, and because I love to draw/paint. Charcoal was the first thing we did. It was so much fun, I can't believe people would not want to do it, it is just simply fun. I don't really remember using pencils, I think we used compressed and erasers, but it has been a long time. This was a great explanation for this subject. I am just getting back into art and I am looking forward to it.

@vazap8662 4 жыл бұрын

Amazing. All my questions answered. I started playing around with vine last week and was wondering why it was so hard to shade with it... 😂

@shannon8315 4 ай бұрын

I love white charcoal on black paper. But I get what you're talking about. It draws your eye to that spot.

@vikkihawkins186 2 жыл бұрын

Great video! Thank you so much!

@komorebi3803 4 жыл бұрын

That's exactly what I stayed for. Thx

@mexemsu.g.d.975 2 жыл бұрын

I've been using graphite forever ,just recently moved into charcoal n wow !! What a different world 🌍😂. This really helped out. Thanx B. And your gorgeous 🥰. 💥👍💥👍

@janngumbiner664 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent. Very helpful. Thanks

@greekveteran2715 2 жыл бұрын

Is it me, or all the artists are beautiful both inside and outside!?

@ashleybickham3297 3 жыл бұрын

Your hair is hair goals!

@sharonmayo5578 4 жыл бұрын

Great info for a beginner like me thank you from the UK.

@mickl3073 Жыл бұрын

Load of really usefull stuff, thanks

@jennaeaston1867 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this video! I just got into creating and charcoal called my name but I want sure what to do with it. Your video really helped!

@amandafacundo8492 3 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU for this video. So helpfu!l

@stephan1752 8 ай бұрын

There are really good tutorials on charcoal technique on KZfaq, made by people who have years of professional experience with the medium and actually know how to use it to its full potential.

@spirospiridwn4727 3 жыл бұрын

helped me so much ! Merci mademoiselle :)

@rosebuckner8416 3 ай бұрын

Your delivery was extremely well done. Speaking about the tools, then showing the process was informative making it quite easy to take notes. Thank you Biana! One question: Do you suggest a fixative spray to set the final art piece for display?

@shirleysaidsew1969 4 жыл бұрын

Presently a junior at MassArt. As someone who had to take studio classes w/charcoal I appreciate this video! Wish I had it back then!

@BianaBova 4 жыл бұрын

I s2g my entire channel is just me creating videos that would have helped my past self 😅

@curiousorigins 4 жыл бұрын

Man, I loved using charcoal... it’s so much quicker than practically anything to build up a range of values. I mean, this is coming from exclusively a graphite pencil artist until I was like 15, so obviously charcoal just like opened a whole world. You can get the same sort of look, with slightly more controllable experience and sharper details by using graphite powder and using your kneaded eraser to bring back the whites and regular pencils to bring back the sharp lines. However, you’re then stuck with the metallic shininess of graphite. Overall an excellent overview of charcoal techniques. I sort of agree with white charcoal and I sort of don’t. More mixing is required for sure, but if you’re working on a cool white paper... you’re fine. Same with a toned paper. It’s in the mid tone range, if you’re not prepared to do some mixing with white charcoal and black that it’s gonna stick out. Of course if you’re going for high contrast the cool white and warm black is only going to emphasize that. I’ve seen some very excellent charcoal pieces that used that to their advantage. Of course it’s all about knowing your tools and how each individual artist wants to use them... so there’s not really a right or wrong here. But you’ve given something for an artist to consider before breaking out the white charcoal. Thanks for continually sharing your experience. Hope that you’re enjoying being out of school despite the worries.

@BianaBova 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for such an informative comment! I'm glad you liked the video and I'll keep your advice in mind next time I create a charcoal piece ;D

@curiousorigins 4 жыл бұрын

@@BianaBova Oh, I'm all about sharing information. 😉 Thanks for the informative video and things to think about next time I do the same. 😂

@edouardj.bernard1690 3 жыл бұрын

Loved following you along in the video because you reminded me of some things I was taught in drawing class, and taught me some stuff that I'll be using in fundamental design class. I do have a couple of questions tho, if you ever come back this way again... 1) Someone mentioned that they didn't like the background music. Meh... it sort of drowned out for me because I was zoned in on your words and actions. But it made me think... Q: Do you find that listening to a certain TYPE of music helps you create, or helps you focus, or helps you put material down on the surface, or helps you to relax, or helps you to... etc.? 2) We used a spray fixative in drawing class to preserve the surface and stop it from becoming smudged. But I always found that it tended to blur the edges. Q: How do you feel about using it, and are there any recommendations for use, quantity, technique, etc.? 3) You mentioned three kinds of charcoal in your tool list: Pencil, Vine, and Compressed. I can't seem to find a straight answer on the difference between vine and compressed. Q: Can you give us the simple answer? 4) Speaking of Vine... Next semester, one of my classes is dedicated to the materials of art and how to create them for ourselves. So we'll learn how to make pigment, how to mix it with oil, or gum-arabic. We'll make our own paper for different media, etc. Have you ever heard of anyone making their own charcoal of differing hardness from different biological materials heated in different ways, etc? Thanks for the video. I got a lot out of it, and I'm going to go looking for your other ones.

@Malakalima 4 жыл бұрын

Such a helpful video! I'm completely self taught and have never understood really how to use charcoal. This helped it make much more sense. I'm curious, have you used charcoal powder, and if so, what do you think about it?

@BianaBova 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I've used charcoal powder a few times and I like it for the most part. It's best if you're working on a REALLY large piece and have a lot of ground to cover. I've only ever used it experimentally (like, mixing it with different mediums on canvas or creating texture on pottery), but I've seen people use paintbrushes (I think mostly the foam ones) to make huge gestural marks. It's a fun thing to play with and try out once or twice, but I didn't mention it in this video because it doesn't--to me anyway--feel particularly needed in most pieces.

@Malakalima 4 жыл бұрын

@@BianaBova Got it. Good to know. Thanks for your reply!

@renzo6490 2 жыл бұрын

I have used charcoal powder extensively on quite small work....even portraits. I rub a piece of very fine grained sandpaper with soft charcoal to create some powder. I,then, apply the powder to my work using a paper rubbing stump. It’s possible to get exquisite, subtle shading this way.

@rockinbells8351 Жыл бұрын

@@renzo6490 I just started with charcoal and now have to try this.

@chrishauck2685 3 жыл бұрын

My teacher just tossed charcoal at us and told us go for it, so this was super useful to learn! I wish I had seen this before I had drawn my entire thing in vine charcoal though... oh well, lol.

@kimberlypayetta3476 Ай бұрын

I love charcole!

@tacotruck7995 3 жыл бұрын

I love charcoal

@rookgardenj7397 4 жыл бұрын

Such a helpful video I have been struggling with charcoal for some while and now I think ill try again For the next video maybe try to sculpt something like with clay or sculpy it might be cool to ise a new medium Your channel is great

@BianaBova 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you! And oh god, I have used sculpy once in my entire life and let me tell you, these hands were not made for 3D 😅 I'll consider it for maybe a fun future vid, but I'm sure it'll be a "what NOT to do while sculpting" tutorial! 😂

@Artouple 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! I'm not a professional but I'm a self taught portraitist.

@MrArchie765 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for a great tutorisl. Im in love with your mouth!

@norukamo 3 жыл бұрын

This vid needs more views

@eduardobrandaoalves2307 Жыл бұрын

Very nice.

@ApBarr345 2 ай бұрын

True. I don't mind charcoal. Its very simplistic

@alyzzzea1864 4 жыл бұрын

God you’re so good at explaining thank youuuu ❤️❤️❤️

@pupawupagus 7 ай бұрын

show me on the doll where white charcoal hurt you 🙃 serious: thank you for the vid. i really like your teaching style!

@DrawingIllustrationsAndArts 4 жыл бұрын

Nice video! making charcoal dust or buying it would be a better way of applying tone to a page.

@benlahsseneali8221 Жыл бұрын

Wooôo très beaux vase ❤

@theklak.6209 4 жыл бұрын

thank you for that video!! Could you recommend a special tape? thank you :)

@shs5585 3 жыл бұрын

i just find you......... and this is the start of an adventure.... great tutorial ...

@Artsoulcreater 26 күн бұрын

Super ❤❤❤

@sumitabanerjee9742 2 жыл бұрын

Your art work is very beautiful. Thanks. What kind of paper do you use?

@lacarito123 3 жыл бұрын

Hi! Thank you for this tutorial! I have a question. What is the tape you used, how did it not ruin the paper when you pulled it off?

@YenneY01 3 жыл бұрын

How do you remove any loose charcoal powder from yr drawing? You blend it with a stump or brush but there's a bit of loose powder. I like your way of teaching. Very nice. Ps I like white charcoal. I'm doing a leopard's head on dark cream paper to give the eyes colour. But leopards have white on their faces . So I'm using white charcoal as well as black.

@carolpenn1155 4 ай бұрын

Just started in charcoal. This is super useful so thank you but yes agree with some comments..the music is very annoying. You are too good…you don’t need it!

@soniaolson8233 3 жыл бұрын

Can you do acrylic paint or do you just do drawing? I loved the video

@Poprocks146 2 жыл бұрын

Stumbled on this while working on a charcoal piece for Massart lol

@jocelynbrown3660 3 жыл бұрын

Hi, I'd love to try to draw along with your tutorial, could you possibly share an image of your finished drawing for me to use as a reference? Thanks for a great tutorial :)

@groovemileage3756 3 жыл бұрын

Really enjoyed your instruction and learned a couple of new things, but please find a less distracting background music loop.

@allencampbell1058 2 жыл бұрын

How do we clean the chamois to reuse for other charcoal drawings? Or do we need to use or buy another pair

@pavelsgaming3761 3 жыл бұрын

you are good

@edzejandehaan9265 2 жыл бұрын

Nothing wrong with with using vine charcoal for shading imo. The solution to the problems you describe is pretty obvious; use a fixative...

@barbararivera2380 Жыл бұрын

❤️

@luisAntonio-wi9rq 2 ай бұрын

Three years of study to do this? Oh god!

@religionofskatee3537 4 жыл бұрын

Can’t the downsides of using vine charcoal be mitigated by spraying your drawing with fixative?

@cohencohen54 2 жыл бұрын

Please share the brand name of the tape you used. All the ones I’ve used so far have torn the paper!

@nightstar1219 4 жыл бұрын

Mid-tone in background is a huge supprise to me.

@pejee1117 Жыл бұрын

But can we use charcoal powder for background or for the first layer instead of vine charcoal? Please notice me

@LorraineTapper 5 ай бұрын

I think your drawing is really good even though you don't like it.

@pejee1117 Жыл бұрын

also what's the difference between willow and vine? in terms of function or what (i don't really know the right term hehe lol). Thank youuuuu please notice me

@cynthiamarston2208 3 жыл бұрын

Agree white charcoal

@ThtGirlElle 3 жыл бұрын

FML I hate cross hatching! Hahaha!! My anthem!!

@brandyplayzzyt9345 Жыл бұрын

Is there anything you can spray to seal a finished drawing, so it doesn't smear later on?? 🤔 🙂

@heatherg4286 Жыл бұрын

Hi yes there is. You can buy both workable(for pictures you want to continue working on later) and permanent fixative in spray cans. In Australia Micador is one brand but there are others. They will slightly change the appearance of some drawings darkening them a bit.

@brandyplayzzyt9345 Жыл бұрын

@@heatherg4286 Okay, thank you so much!! 🙂

@keitykasevali70 3 жыл бұрын

Why you don’t have at least 1 million subs

@barbvongunten6214 Жыл бұрын

Not fond of music choice, but good info on use of charcoal.

@shannon8315 4 ай бұрын

White charcoal is like white paint in watercolor. Leave the white white.

@artgirl7649 2 жыл бұрын

Great information and generously shared. Thank you so much. The background music is monotonous and irritating. It completes with your message. Please keep helping us. God bless you for it 🕊️💕🎨

@ruckayar4858 4 жыл бұрын

I noticed that you don’t use fixative. Is that just your personal preference or is there a reason for this ?

@BianaBova 4 жыл бұрын

Oh, good question! Fixative is amazing and absolutely should be used for really important assignments (say, finals) but me and my classmates rarely ever used it. Those first couple foundation years aren't really about making masterpieces, they're just about cranking out as many pieces as possible in one semester. Aka, nothing we made was precious. To protect our homework and past assignments, the professors told us to sandwich a sheet of newsprint between the art and just call it a day. If we had actually taken the time to spray down every single in-class assignment plus homework, we'd waste a hell of a lot of time and money (and brain cells considering how toxic that stuff is) on stuff that really didn't deserve it. And not to mention, there's always the fear that you're professor will ask you to change something after you've already sprayed it down. Back during finals week at UCONN, my prof asked us to create three HUGE charcoal drawings. I had finished one of them, and was so cocky about it being perfect that I sprayed it down long before our final critique. All of us had our final and in-progress work lying around in one of the classrooms, and at one point our professor snuck in there to see how we were doing--and was NOT pleased. He sent us all a /SCORCHING/ email calling us out for making sub par work and basically said to hardcore rework what we were doing. He didn't mention anyone by name, but I had a strong feeling that one of the pieces he referred to was mine, so I desperately tried to erase it off, to no avail. I had to start the entire piece over using the back of the paper. (Don't pity me though, the redone piece I made ended up being one of the best finals in the class) All this to say, in college at least, you never know when something might need to be changed later. Better to wait until the semester is over before spraying away. TL;DR Absolutely buy yourself a can of fixative, especially if you're creating something really precious, but if you're just in your foundation years of college, you won't use it much. Just protect it was another sheet of paper and you're good to go.