Tips for drawing with charcoal pencil

[thorn drift]

I just started learning to draw with these. I want to make a bigger drawing in the future and now I am just doing these little sketches just to learn how charcoal works compared to graphite.

What I want to ask is if when looking at my sketches someone could give me DIRECT CRITIQUE and tips on which specific area to improve.

Thanks.

[hearty hawk]

Really depends on what your goal is? What style are you trying to achieve? :o

[thorn drift]

I want to draw a landscape so probably a realistic style

[urban peak]

You sharpening it with the long tips? That will allow you to lay in large masses of values. You’ll want a blender and eraser too to help manipulate the medium.

[thorn drift]

By blender you mean the paper pencil? Wouldn't tissues be just as good.
And as I understand your saying the pencils should be sharp yea?

[urban peak]

Yeah paper blender and this is how I sharpen the pencils and charcoal stick

[hearty hawk]

This is some of my own charcoal work :o
i generally use a dull and unsharpened piece but a bigger format, sharpening is exceptional when working on smaller scale drawings ^^

Youre going into your sketches in a more literal, pictogram like way. When thinking of a tree, you would draw it like that :o
instead i would recommend looking at real life references and focusing on shadows

As you have only one color to work with, the image depends on the volumes you achieve to describe the forms :) thats where shadows come in!

[hearty hawk]

Again, personally yeah a tissue works just as good :)

Graphite pencils offer more precision than charcoal, so theyre used in a different way :o

A quick google search for a reference- you can see how the forms of the leaves are built with shadows here :)

Same with the ehe :D

[thorn drift]

Thanks for all the help guys