Reductive Charcoal Drawing

2011 Kevin Grass

Objectives: It is extremely important to master basic academic drawing skills before attempting
painting. The drawing techniques that you use for blocking in the subjects with line and basic
shapes, building value relationships with one flat value, and developing the illusion of space,
light, and form with gradations are the foundations of a successful painting. The only difference
in painting is the medium, the tools for applying the medium, and the use of color.

In this project you will work with reductive charcoal drawing, a technique that is more similar to
painting than most of the drawing techniques typically covered in Drawing I. Instead of building
the image exclusively by adding the material to the page, a majority of the work is done by
erasing highlights out of an even gray value that has been applied to the paper before the
drawing is begun. Building from dark to light is more similar to the way that you will develop
forms when you are working with paint. The idea of wiping material away instead of adding it
will also become important when you learn how to block in your paintings.

The following are the objectives for the assignment:

Carefully arrange a still life composed of 2-3 subjects.
Illuminate the still life with an artificial light source to create distinct light and dark areas
within the subjects.
Begin with a two-value block-in of the entire still life before addressing a full range of
value.
Learn how to build form by erasing highlights into the subjects.
Clearly address all conditions of light (highlight, halftone, core shadow, reflected light,
cast shadow).
Carefully analyze and compare the values and edges in the still life to those in the
drawing, adjusting the latter as needed.
Carefully analyze and compare your drawing to examples provided in Lessons.
Analyze value relationships by comparing them to adjacent values.
Develop values on the ground plane and in the background to enhance the illusion of
light and space.
Create a well-unified, solid sense of light and form.
Maintain a consistent drawing style throughout the piece.

Estimated time for the outside assignment: 6 - 8 hours

Medium: Compressed charcoal sticks or vine/willow charcoal, blending stumps, a chamois

cloth, kneaded eraser, white eraser, and charcoal pencils on white paper.

Size: Full sheet, 18 x 24.

Technique: Before you begin the drawing, you must prepare the white paper by covering it
completely with an even, middle gray tone using compressed charcoal sticks, vine charcoal,
and/or willow charcoal. As you add the materials to the paper, a chamois cloth should be used
to create a uniform, solid gray value.

Once the paper is completely covered, use a charcoal pencil or stick to block in the drawing
with line, addressing proportion, scale, placement, perspective, and the shapes of the cast
shadows. One flat, uniform value should then be used to address the darkest areas in the
drawing. While this value will be uniform, variety may be addressed in the edges of the shapes
to suggest halftone areas or sharp changes in plane. As you build the dark, highlights should be
developed using a kneaded eraser and a white eraser.

Values and gradations need to be developed within all of the shapes, including the background
and ground plane, and all parts of the light and shadow areas must be addressed within the
subjects (highlight, halftone, core shadow, reflected light, cast shadow).

Design
This design will be a closed composition. The subject should fill the page as much as possible,
with at least 2 of space between the subject and the edges of the paper.

Subjects: This still life must be composed of 2-3 different subjects. All objects must be relatively
uniform in color and matte in finish. The still life must be illuminated from either the left or
right by a strong artificial light source. Arrange the lighting so that the shadows are strong
shapes that will be easier to evaluate

Additional instructions: Drawings may be either horizontal or vertical in their orientation.

Though drawings need a significant amount of contrast, they need not be as extreme as the
examples illustrated below. It is also not necessary to show textures such as wood grain but, if
you wish to include such information, it should be very soft and subtle so that it does not
detract from the clarity of lighting and form.