Hi, everyone!

I received a charcoal set as a gift, and I would love to try drawing using this medium! The box has kind of been sitting unopened on my desk for a few months...

The thing is, I have never worked with charcoal before. I am mostly a pencil drawer. ^_^;

I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to get started, what additional materials you think I will need, and tips and tricks on using charcoal?

Thank you!

I feel the first time I used charcoal, I more or less just dived in. It's similar to pencil depending on if you have stick or pencil kind. Start shading with a medium shade and gradually layer in deeper and darker/lighter to shade. Usually the brightest highlights are the last thing I add.

Be prepared to get messy.
I love working with charcoal. It smudges great and gets everywhere.
My favorite technique is called chiaroscuro, it's where you cover the WHOLE PAPER with charcoal and erase your picture out.

It's messy, but when I first used charcoal I just dove in like someone else said. It's a lot different from graphite so don't expect it to be as neat. You should definitely try it out so you know if you enjoy it or not. Me personally I prefer working in graphite and sometimes mixing charcoal into my graphite drawings.

Dont put your fingers on the paper too much, it leaves an oil residue that charcoal does not like.