This little pumpkin was drawn with charcoal pencils, a stump and erasers. It was a pleasure to draw. The charcoal was extremely responsive to my touch. First, I drew a “weighted” line drawing of the pumpkin. Next, I used a stump to pull the charcoal into the shadow areas. Then I added, and subtracted, and adjusted value until it looked right.
A weighted line drawing is a simple outline drawing, but the charcoal (or whatever medium you are using) is applied in a darker line where there is a shadow and in a lighter line where the highlight is.
Charcoal is extremely easy to maneuver with a stump. You just run the stump over your lines and it “smudges” in an almost painterly way. A kneaded eraser can be used to gently lighten areas, and a stick eraser can be used to erase it in a sharper way.
Drawing with charcoal is a deeply pleasurable experience! The range of expression that is possible with it is limitless. It lays down quickly, smudges easily, and any value can be created beautifully.