I hope you tried several contour line drawings. Here’s the exercise I mentioned where we will be exploring a new medium, Charcoal pencils. Charcoal, whether in a pencil, square, or vine stick, is a very soft, dark, messy drawing medium. But those are also its appealing qualities.
Position your hand in an interesting gesture. Mine is the American sign language for the letter “D”. Just like our practice work, focus your eyes on a starting point. Your charcoal line should follow your eyes around your hand. Don’t neglect to include all the folds and creases.
Because charcoal smears so easily, it’s perfect for adding simple shading to give the hand more dimension . You can use tissue to blend, but because this drawing has such small details around the fingers, tissue is rather cumbersome. I suggest a Qtip or what I have is a “Blending Tortillon”. Pull the charcoal onto the hand a little at a time. Curve your pulls to match the rounded contours of your fingers and palm. Leave some areas lighter to show where the highlights are. When finished you’ll have a very nice, shaded drawing.
