Original
Charcoal Portrait
objective
To create an original charcoal portrait of someone from your life who you care about.
Student credit for the image on the left:
Hannah Hanson EHS 2022-2023
Student Examples
Step 1: Choose or shoot a reference image
Choosing an Existing Image:
You may have your heart set on a specific older image, and if that's true please use it. But, know that sometimes an older image means that we need to use our artistic licence to make the drawing of the image look better, and sometimes that's difficult. Just trying to mentally prepare you that this may be more challenging.
Shooting a New Image:
Pay attention to lighting and angle. Window Light does magic. You have a unique relationship with your person who you care about, use it. That's an interaction between the two of you that no one else can reproduce. You will have more control over the composition if you choose a new image.
Step 2:
Apply your charcoal practice with the proko tutorials to create your drawing using vine charcoal and charcoal pencils
I know these are photos from practice drawings, but the basic process is the same. These are good reminders.
See the sight lines drawn lightly first using vine charcoal? Vine Charcoal is very forgiving and brushes away quickly.
After you find the appropriate proportions then you add value and contrast using charcoal pencils.
Tools:
22" x 28" Gray Bogus Paper or Toned Mixed Media Paper
Printed Reference Image
Vine Charcoal
Med & Soft Charcoal Pencils
Red Generals sharpener to sharpen charcoal pencils- don't use electric
White Charcoal- But Sparingly and only at the very end. Try not to mix with black charcoal or it will turn blue and be a color temperature shift and not a value shift.
Compressed Charcoal sticks (can get really really dark)
Paper towels to smudge and blend
Kneaded Eraser for subtractive drawing
Scrap Paper for Experimentation or to keep your drawing clean
Quality Grade Rubric
- Commitment to Quality (25pts)
Were you focused and committed to doing your best work during class time, or were you frequently reminded to focus on your work?
- Proportions (25pts)
Did you use the resources provided to sketch out your proportions so the features were in proportion with themselves?
- Value & Contrast (25pts)
Is there a nice range of value transitions, highlights, shadows? Are you getting your darks dark, and your highlights bright so we can see your work clearly and from further away? Are you avoiding living in gray?
- Charcoal Application (25pts)
Are you exploring various kinds of marks? Is your work consistent/ unified, or if they are very different there's a reason for it. (ie: emphasis)