Charcoal portraits

So much has evolved in my drawing process over the years. When I first started, I worked primarily with graphite, Wolff’s carbon, and erasers — I even went through a mechanical pencil phase. Most of my drawings were done on Fabriano Disegno 5, using hot press for the darker pieces and cold press for the lighter ones. You can see this clearly in my earlier work.

At the time, I relied heavily on eraser techniques to pull out detail, but I found I couldn’t quite lift the highlights back to the level of brightness I was after.

That led me to transition into charcoal, using makeup brushes to build up soft base layers.

However, I ran into an issue — this approach didn’t work as well on Fabriano Disegno 5, as it tended to leave tiny white specks across the surface. After experimenting with a range of papers, I now work primarily on Fabriano Artistico, and occasionally Arches Aquarelle. That said, I do still miss Fabriano 5 — it was exceptional for eraser work.

These days, I use a wide variety of tools to create different marks and textures. I still incorporate some graphite into my work, mostly the darker grades. I’m still refining parts of the process, but I love the direction it’s taken — it maintains a strong level of detail and realism while also achieving a beautifully soft finish.

Stages of a charcoal portrait

Like the oils, the portrait is drawn up using a grid system.  However, I do pencil portraits bit by bit, completing each section as I go, rather than laying down several complete layers, working from the face to the body.  As you can see from above, I do lay down a base shading and then go back in and add detail. I assess it when both the face and body are completed, and add extra highlights and darks to it - it needs to be sprayed in between to add the darks.

My charcoal materials

So many materials - I use such a wide variety! 

Starting with the charcoals, my main one would be the Conte a Paris, pierre noir 3B.  I also grind this down to powder and will apply with makeup brushes. I do the same with general charcoal, but I don’t use it as much, I’m on the hunt for a better one, I find it harder to lift off. Wollfs carbon is really good for dark detail as its a bit harder, and I will also use some graphite, though I stick with the darkest matt graphites (most of the time)!

My makeup brushes. This is what I use to lay down a base now as it’s easier to lift off. The smaller brushes make a darker and denser base, whereas the big fluffy one is really good for light tones. I also use makeup sponges, blending stumps, eye shadow applicators and blending tools to create soft tones.

The eraser tools. They get a good workout, about 90% of my detail work is done with these. The rubber stylus tools are good for creating softer marks, it’s good for undertones. The tomboy mono eraser and the little piece of rubber is really good for sharper lines and crisp fur detail. The kneadable eraser is excellent for creating texture, I quite often make uneven lines and dab it on there, it’s great for the bridge of the nose! The electric eraser if good for sharper lines. And also the eye shadow applicators are really good for erasing light detail, a softer approach.

The paper I use the most is Fabriano Artistico. I’ve tried Arches Aquarelle but find it a bit soft.

I’m sure there is more, but that is the majority of my tools. I’m always swapping and basically just change around what I need until I get the desired effect.

That’s really it for my process and studio! I do quite a bit of study here and there and follow a lot of artists, so I am always looking for ways to improve my work. And new tools!

If you have any questions at all about my process, or would like to know more, please follow me on my socials or get in touch.