Figure Drawing with Charcoal

Lessons

About This Lesson Series...

The Figure Drawing with Charcoal class is a focused and practical lesson designed to develop your skills in capturing the human form using charcoal. This class emphasizes observation, proportion, gesture, and value, helping artists create dynamic and expressive figure drawings. Through step-by-step demonstrations, you’ll learn how to work with charcoal to convey depth, movement, and structure effectively.

Understanding Gesture and Movement

The lesson begins with an exploration of gesture drawing, which captures the energy and flow of the figure. You’ll learn techniques to quickly establish the pose, direction, and balance of the body. This stage emphasizes looseness and rhythm, ensuring that the drawing conveys life and movement rather than appearing stiff or static.

Establishing Proportion and Anatomy

Next, the class focuses on building accurate proportions and understanding basic anatomy. You’ll learn how to measure and compare parts of the body to maintain correct scale and balance. The instructor demonstrates how to simplify complex anatomical forms into basic shapes, allowing you to structure the figure confidently before adding details.

Working with Charcoal for Value

Charcoal is a versatile medium for creating strong contrasts and subtle transitions. This lesson shows how to use different types of charcoal—vine, compressed, and pencils—to build layers of value. You’ll learn how to create highlights, midtones, and deep shadows, giving your figure drawing depth and a three-dimensional quality.

Rendering Form and Depth

A major focus of the class is rendering the figure’s form realistically. You’ll discover techniques for shading curves and planes of the body, emphasizing volume and structure. By observing light and shadow carefully, you’ll learn how to define muscles, contours, and posture while maintaining a natural, expressive look.

Refining Details and Finishing Touches

As the drawing progresses, attention shifts to refining details such as hands, facial features, and subtle anatomical nuances. The class teaches how to balance precision with expressive marks, ensuring that the figure remains dynamic and alive. Final touches involve enhancing contrast, softening edges, and unifying the composition for a polished, finished drawing.

A Comprehensive Figure Drawing Experience

By the end of the Figure Drawing with Charcoal class, you will have completed a full figure drawing while gaining essential skills in gesture, proportion, value, and shading. This lesson equips you with techniques that can be applied to a wide range of subjects and media, making it an excellent resource for artists seeking to improve their understanding of the human form and their overall drawing abilities.

Specific Lessons

Lesson 1 (1:04:06)

In lesson one, we tone the paper and begin the contour line drawing using the aid of a grid.

Lesson 2 (1:14:15)

In lesson two, we begin work on some of the details of the drawing including the face.

Lesson 3 (1:09:48)

In lesson three, we develop the folds of the shirt.

Lesson 4 (1:04:43)

In lesson four, we work on clarifying some of the objects on the table.

Lesson 5 (1:08:15)

In lesson five, we develop the details found on the objects on the table.

Lesson 6 (1:10:35)

In lesson six, we complete the drawing.

Resources for this Lesson...

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References

Photo Reference

Finished Result

Here's what you'll need...

• Vine Charcoal
• Compressed Charcoal (Pencil)
• Blending Stumps
• Erasers
• White Drawing Paper

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