Live Lessons: Portrait with Charcoal - Old Man

In Portrait with Charcoal – Old Man, you’ll undertake a deeply expressive charcoal drawing of an elderly gentleman smoking a pipe, guided through each stage in over 5 hours of instruction across five detailed video lessons.

The class begins in Lesson 1, where your instructor introduces all the materials and tools — from vine charcoal to white drawing paper — and leads you through a loose, gestural sketch that locates the major forms and proportions of the face.

In Lesson 2, you refine those rough beginnings, defining the facial features more clearly and beginning to draw in the hand and pipe.

By Lesson 3, you’ll build further detail in the face and hair, transitioning to using compressed charcoal to begin introducing stronger values and deeper contrast.

In Lesson 4, the focus shifts to the beard and deeper shadow areas, heightening dramatic lighting and texture.

Finally, in Lesson 5, you bring the drawing to life by rendering the smoke from the pipe and completing all the finishing touches, balancing highlights, midtones, and deep darks.

Throughout this series, you’ll learn not just how to replicate features, but how to think through charcoal drawing in a structured, thoughtful sequence. You’ll see how to merge loose gesture with carefully rendered detail, how to build contrast gradually, and how to maintain vitality in your strokes as you refine.

This series is ideal for both intermediate and advanced artists who want to deepen their skills in portraiture and charcoal technique. If you already have experience with basic drawing, this class offers a powerful chance to focus on expressive form, atmospheric lighting, and intricate textures—all using charcoal as your expressive medium.

By the end of the course, you’ll walk away with not only a strong charcoal portrait of an old man, but also a deeper understanding of working in charcoal: how to loosen up, how to push contrast, and how to bring life and character into your drawings.

Lesson 1 (1:04:42)

In lesson one, we discuss the materials and begin loose sketching to find the features of the face.

Lesson 2 (1:16:02)

In lesson two, we refine the features of the face and develop the hand and pipe.

Lesson 3 (1:10:22)

In lesson three, we continue to refine the face and hair and begin adding compressed charcoal.

Lesson 4 (1:14:49)

In lesson four, we work on the beard and increase contrast in the shadows.

Lesson 5 (1:20:49)

In lesson five, we draw the smoke coming from the pipe and complete the drawing.