Anyone can learn how to draw

What I call the black media are charcoal, conte crayon and carbon pencils. They all give dense black lines, have a wide tonal range and, on grey or tinted papers, with the additional use of white chalk, reach a degree of richness no other drawing medium can give. For inside and outside drawing, you will find them most effective. They combine well with watercolor and pen and ink, are very exciting to use and achieve quick, lively results.

The only thing to remember about them is that after a drawing is completed, the drawing must be fixed or it will smudge. For this purpose you use a fixative that is sprayed on with a diffuser. Fixative can be bought at any artists’ supplier but, as it is very volatile, must be kept tightly corked when not in use. It dries in a few seconds.

A cheap fixative can be made from one part white shellac varnish and one part wood alcohol. Add the shellac to the wood alcohol and shake until it is dissolved.

When the fixative has been lightly sprayed all over the drawing, let it dry, then test whether the black still comes off. If it does, lightly spray again. Two fixings should be sufficient but sometimes a denser drawing may need more. Charcoal certainly needs two fixings always, being more powdery than either conte or carbon.

Charcoal

Charcoal, like pencil, is graded into hard and soft sticks, and thin and thick sticks. The usual way to buy them is in boxes that contain all the grades and thicknesses. Charcoal is delightful to use, easy to erase, but is inclined to be messy when overworked. It is a good medium to begin drawing with but it is rather difficult to fix when overworked. You can now buy charcoal pencils which have all the qualities of the loose sticks. These are certainly not so messy, but are a little more difficult to erase.

Conte Crayon

Conte crayon comes in short square sticks, is graded into hard, medium and soft, is more difficult to erase than either charcoal or pencil, but does give a richer tone and line than either. It is less liable to injury and smudging and is easier to fix. It can be used in a holder which is made especially for the purpose and can be bought at most artists’ suppliers. Conte, being brittle, is not so easy to sharpen, so a holder is a good thing to use. You can get conte in pencil form and, though it is cleaner to use it this way, it is just as difficult to sharpen. Great care must therefore be taken to sharpen the point towards you not away, as you do with a lead pencil.

Conte can be bought in various shades of brown (often called sanguine) which, except for the color, are exactly the same as the black sticks.

Carbon Pencils

Carbon pencils are probably the best all-round media of all those described. They sharpen well, are not too messy to use and only require the lightest of fixing. They give good rich tones and can be used in combination with all the other black media, including watercolor and pen and ink. They are highly recommended for both studio and outdoor work.

Carbon pencils are manufactured by Wolffs and corne in three grades marked B, BB, BBB, the last being the softest.

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