Charcoal Value Study (Part 5)

Practice charcoal rendering in this art lesson: charcoal value study (part 5).

🎨 Studio Brief #15

Charcoal is perfect for dramatic value studies because it can be very dark or blended to soft grays.

🎯 Your mission

Trust your hands more than your head.

⚡ The twist

Don't fix mistakes. Build with them.

What you'll learn

Charcoal is perfect for dramatic value studies because it can be very dark or blended to soft grays. Create a still life with strong light and shadow.

Get ready

Techniques you'll practise

charcoal renderingsubtractive highlightingdramatic lighting

You will need

ScissorsGlueColored pencilsDrawing paper

Step 1 of 3

Set up a simple still life with a single strong light source (a desk lamp works well).

Step 2 of 3

Using vine charcoal, lightly block in the darkest shadow areas first.

Step 3 of 3

Build up mid-tones by adding more charcoal and blending with a tissue or finger.

Did you know?

🤯 Mind = Blown

🤯 Art rules exist mostly so you can break them on purpose.

🌟 Artist Spotlight

🎨 Every artist you've heard of started with one wobbly first try.

You did it!

Next: Five-Value Shading Sphere (Part 6)All lessons

🎯

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this: Art shapes everything you look at — once you notice, you can't unsee it.

🏆 Try this week: Make one piece of art today — even tiny, even messy.

👨‍👩‍👧 At dinner: “Tell me about the part of your art you love the most.”

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Charcoal Value Study (Part 5)

Techniques you'll practise

You will need

Next Smart Project

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Charcoal Value Study (Part 5)

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