Charcoal
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| Vine Charcoal |
What you will find on this page
Vine or Willow
Vine charcoal is produced by carbonizing sticks of wood—willow and linden being the most common. It is great for gesture drawing and easy to erase with an eraser or even by using your hand.Preferred Brand
Académie Fusains HB Medium ®NitramPreferred Grades
Compressed
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| Compressed Charcoal |
Preferred Brand
General'sNote: must say "Fusain"
Preferred Grades
2B, 4B, 6BCharcoal Pencils
Both charcoal pencils and graphite pencils come in different grades such as HB, 2B, 4B & 6B. The hardness or softness is graded on a scale that came into use in the 20th century and is determined by the amount of binder used during the manufacturing process. The letters H for hard, F for fine and B for black are used as a continuum from very hard (9H) to fine (F) to very black (9B). The HB pencil is the middle ground and is the easiest to work with using an eraser.Charcoal pencils and pastel pencils are like distance cousins. They are both held together with a binder and encased in wood. Charcoals pencils have compressed charcoal mixed with binder whereas black pastel pencils have black pigment (not just charcoal) mixed with a binder. Depending upon the brand, pastel pencils go on smoother than compressed charcoal pencils, therefore creating the capability for a smooth gradation in drawings.
Sandpaper is preferred to sharpen charcoal pencils. Some charcoal pencils will break off in a manual or electric rotary sharpener so it is recommended to use a razor blade or an e-xacto knife with sand paper.
Preferred Brands for Black
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| Charcoal Power |
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