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3 Charcoal Activities to Teach Value and Line
Variety
Home / 3 Charcoal Activities to Teach Value and Line Variety
10 months ago Jordan DeWilde
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Charcoal has an X factor. There is just something about it. It is messy,
unpredictable and many students love it because it is a tool they probably
don’t have at home. Charcoal allows the artist to achieve dark values quickly
and blend with ease. While it’s fun to work with, some students may
struggle controlling charcoal, avoiding unwanted smudges, and the general
mess it can leave behind. It is a good idea to begin a drawing curriculum
with traditional pencil and graphite drawing pencils first. This will allow
students to sketch and explore a range of value and mark making. Once
they’ve mastered some of these skills in pencil, you can introduce charcoal
as an additional media. Then, provide your class with a few engaging
projects and demonstrations to help them navigate using charcoal so they
may fall in love with the media and use it in future drawing projects!
Value
Charcoal is an excellent tool for demonstrating a full range of value.
Students can achieve different values by changing the amount of pressure
used when creating marks and shading in different areas. Have students
begin by creating a value scale of at least five distinct values from white to
black. This allows students a reference point when they are working on
various projects. You may have had students do this previously in pencil. Be
sure to point out that a full range of value translates to all other art media.
1. Reductive Drawings
Sometimes with charcoal, it’s best to begin by embracing the mess at full
force. Have students completely darken in their entire sheet of paper with a
stick of charcoal. Their hands will be covered. The desks will be covered.
There may even be charcoal dust on your chairs and floors for a couple of
days, but the learning experience is worth it!
Once the paper has been transformed from white to black, tell students
you’re going to flip everything they know about drawing. Instead of using a
drawing tool to create a dark line, students will use an eraser to create a light
line. Students will be looking for areas of highlights to erase, rather than
areas of shadows to shade in. This kind of reverse thinking is engaging to
students because it is something they may not have tried before.
To increase engagement, ask students to bring in an object or photograph as
a reference. Consider requiring students to bring in an original photograph,
rather than searching for images online.
As students begin with their charcoal-filled paper, start with a simple pencil
eraser for initial sketching. Circulate the room and check for correct
proportions and strong composition. With these light eraser sketches,
students can simply blend out any mistakes and revise easily. Once the
drawing is solid, students can pay close attention to changes in value.
Remind them to look for highlights to erase, areas to lighten, and shadows
to leave dark.
Students will need large erasers to work on the reductive drawing. Any
eraser will do, but the white pearl or hi-polymer erasers are great for
projects like these. Kneaded erasers can be useful for picking up some of the
charcoal but not completely erasing the surface, and allows students to get
some of those mid-tones in their reductive drawings.
This project works because students love trying something new, and this is
probably a new process and maybe a new material. It’s great for teachers
because as students are having fun experimenting with charcoal and
reductive drawing, they’re also applying their understanding of value scales
and paying close attention to light and dark. This is a skill they can transfer
to observational drawings and will serve them well as they move on in the
school year to other media and color theory.
2. Charcoal Self-Portraits
Self-portraits are a staple of every art teacher’s curriculum but can be
extremely intimidating to students of all ages. How can we make the project
approachable to all and still build in essential skills?
One of the main deterrents for students is the fact that many are
uncomfortable in their own skin. They may not want to create a drawing of
themselves if they are self-conscious or shy. Students who have these
feelings are already checked out the minute you say self-portrait. They will
drag their feet, or produce something subpar just to get it over with.
Consider your audience, and think of a few ways to mix up the traditional
self-portrait. Instead of taking polished smiling photos of students for
reference, allow them to make funny or scary faces. Social media is filled
with teachers who have introduced new ways of creating self-portraits from
photographs. Have students squish their faces onto the photocopier. Allow
students to use social media filters like those on Snapchat and Instagram to
distort their selfies or add sunglasses, animal ears, beards, etc. to the image.
By allowing students to take a different approach to their self-portrait, and
make light of it, you’re meeting them where they are. They’re kids or
teenagers, and most would rather be silly than glamorous. However, if you
have students who want to strike a pose, allow them that opportunity as
well. Choices are important to the unique needs and personalities of your
classroom. If students have the freedom to choose an image where they are
most comfortable, they will work harder on the actual drawing.
Now that students have a chosen-image to reference, they can still be
intimidated by recreating it in charcoal. Remember, your main goal for this
particular project is to apply students’ understanding of value. Eliminate the
intimidation and let students trace the contour lines from their
photographs. If you have a light table or lightbox, this is the perfect project
to use them. If not, classroom windows work great, or you could try a DIY
lightbox by inserting Christmas lights into a clear storage box! Art teachers
are resourceful, and there’s always a way to problem-solve.
Once students have traced their contour lines, they can begin applying value
to their self-portraits. This will be a mix of adding value to create dark areas
and erasing charcoal to re-establish highlights. The paper will get smudges,
but charcoal is also pretty forgiving and can be erased, blended, and
reapplied as needed. Encourage students to look closely at their reference
image for lights and darks and all the values in between. Once they’ve
completed their self-portrait, spray the finished work with spray fixative or
hair spray to help seal the charcoal in place.
Students may gain confidence through this project and will have a better
understanding of how to apply a full range of value to their projects. They
will also enjoy seeing all of their classmates’ silly, distorted, glamorous,
and/or weird faces in these unique self-portraits!
Looking for more charcoal techniques? Check out 2 Simple
Tips to Take Your Charcoal Drawingsto the Next Level, Drawing Using
Charcoal PRO Learning Pack and Drawing Using Charcoal PROLearning Pack.
Line Variety
Line variety is a skill students need more of. All too often, students rely on
the same linework throughout a project and most of their work. You can
probably think of your students who draw very light with fine, thin, and
precise marks. How do we get students to incorporate more variety?
Charcoal can be a great tool for encouraging looser markers and bolder lines.
3. Symmetrical Motion Drawings
Contemporary artist and dancer, Heather Hansen, is a great artist to
introduce to your students. She applies movement to large-scale drawings in
charcoal. There are several videos of her work on YouTube, and the unusual
process will have your students in complete awe.
Hansen uses her whole body to create symmetrical marks on a canvas. Her
arms move from the center outward in big, swooping circles, and repeated
lines shooting outward. The more she repeats the motion, the darker and
bolder the marks become. Areas become blended while some marks are
made more intentional and left untouched.
After showing your students some of her work in still image and video
performance, you can unleash the class on symmetrical motion drawings of
their own. Have them tape down the paper, or it will move as much as they
do. Begin with a stick of charcoal in each hand, and move them in unison
from the center outward. Most of your students will catch on to the process
after watching the video, but you may have a few that have a hard time
moving in unison. Others will be set on trying to create a recognizable
symbol or figure in their drawing. Try to encourage them to let go of that
notion and just focus on movement.
Once students have created works of their own, you can add a collaborative
component by asking the class to partner up. Tape a large paper down as
before, and instruct pairs of students to sit or stand on either side of the
paper. Each student will have charcoal in each hand, and make symmetrical
motions once again. However, this time, students will take turns following
the lead of their partner. Students should try to mimic the motions their
partner is making on the other side of the paper. This can result in some
interesting abstract drawings. Chalk pastel is a nice alternative as well if you
want to add some color to the project.
Final Thoughts
Charcoal is an amazing drawing tool your students will love experimenting
with! Give them some direction with projects to increase their skills in value
scale and line variety. These are fundamental skills they can build on
throughout the year, and charcoal can be a great medium to introduce each
concept. The bold lines and dark values will make an unforgettable impact
hanging in the halls of your school!
What charcoal drawing projects are most successful in your classroom?
How do you introduce value scales to your students?
What are your go-to projects to encourage line variety?
Jordan DeWilde
Contributor