• Making Charcoal powder

• using vine charcoal

• using charcoal over graphite

• using fixative to add tone

• using brushes to blend

• Making Charcoal powder

making charcoal is a nice way to add tone to a background.

• using vine charcoal

vine charcoal while it cant hold its own point for long is very nice for starting lines. it can be erased easily and is very useful when starting a drawing.

• using charcoal over graphite

graphite can be used to achieve gray tones and charcoal can be used to achieve dark tones. graphite while it can hold a fine point can be reflective so I like to use charcoal for the darkest tones!

• using fixative to add tone

fixative can freeze the work you've already done you can then add tone to your work by using charcoal powder.

• using brushes to blend

I like to use brushes to blend soft tones it also is good for preserving the paper.