About This Project
Learn to capture mood and movement in natural scenes with charcoal. This tutorial walks you through sketching, toning, and building contrast in atmospheric landscapes using expressive charcoal techniques.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
- Start with light sketching: Use vine charcoal to outline major shapes like trees, hills, or paths.
- Establish values: Block in light and dark areas to set the mood—focus on the sky and ground contrast.
- Blend for atmosphere: Use fingers or blending stumps to create soft transitions and misty effects.
- Add detail selectively: Use charcoal pencils for sharper lines on key elements like tree trunks or rocks.
- Lift highlights: Use a kneaded eraser to bring out highlights in clouds, reflections, or light rays.
- Fix and finish: Clean up edges and spray with fixative to preserve your tones.
Video Tutorial
Watch and learn at your own pace: