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The Charcoal Drawing Course: Introduction and Materials

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This course features:
Over 2.5 Hours of Instruction
19 Videos
5 eBooks
30 Day Money Back Guarantee

Course Curriculum

MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION AND MATERIALS MODULE 2: BASIC FORMS MODULE 3: LANDSCAPE MODULE 4: ANIMAL PORTRAIT MODULE 5: PORTRAIT

Lesson Description

The introductory lesson of The Charcoal Drawing Course lays the groundwork for a successful and confident journey into charcoal drawing by familiarizing students with the essential tools, materials, and surfaces used in this expressive medium. Whether you're a beginner curious about charcoal or an intermediate artist looking to strengthen your foundation, this lesson ensures you understand the characteristics, strengths, and applications of each material before you begin drawing.

Why Charcoal Is a Unique Medium

Charcoal has been used by artists for centuries because of its flexibility, rich tonality, and responsiveness to touch. It allows for bold, dark values and soft, delicate transitions, making it ideal for expressive drawings that explore light, shadow, form, and atmosphere. This introductory lesson explains how charcoal behaves differently from graphite or ink, and why understanding your materials is the first step toward expressive mastery.

Vine Charcoal: Soft and Versatile

The lesson begins with vine charcoal — a soft, lightweight stick made from charred grapevine. Vine charcoal is celebrated for its smooth application and ease of erasure, making it excellent for quick sketches, broad shading, and establishing initial compositions. You’ll learn how to handle vine charcoal to create varied line widths, subtle gradients, and atmospheric effects. The lesson also covers how easily vine charcoal blends and how to use it to build foundational values before moving on to darker materials.

Compressed Charcoal: Deep, Bold Values

Next, the lesson introduces compressed charcoal, which offers significantly darker and denser marks than vine charcoal. Compressed charcoal allows artists to achieve rich black values, dramatic contrasts, and defined edges. The introduction explains how compressed charcoal is made — by combining charcoal with a binder — and how its density affects application, blending, and erasure. You’ll learn when and why to incorporate compressed charcoal into your drawings to strengthen form and structure.

White Charcoal and Highlights

To balance dark values, this lesson also covers white charcoal or white charcoal pencil. Used primarily on toned paper, white charcoal allows you to add highlights, suggest reflected light, and create a sense of dimensional depth. The lesson explains how white charcoal works alongside vine and compressed charcoal to complete value range and enhance visual impact.

Choosing Surfaces and Tools

Finally, the lesson discusses surfaces and paper types suited to charcoal, such as toned papers, textured drawing paper, and heavier weights that can withstand repeated erasure and layering. You’ll also learn about blending tools — such as tortillons, stumps, brushes, and chamois — and erasers that help refine and shape drawings.

Starting with Confidence

By the end of the Introduction and Materials lesson, you’ll have a clear understanding of the charcoal tools and surfaces you’ll be using throughout the course. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be ready to explore technique and begin creating expressive, compelling charcoal drawings with confidence.

Lesson Materials

None

Lesson Resources

References

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Your Instructor
Matt Fussell - Instructor
Matt Fussell

Founder of The Virtual Instructor, artist and teacher. Matt makes learning art easy to understand and enjoyable.

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Lesson Discussion

  1. This is fabulous! I just discovered this brand new course starting right from the beginning as all the other (medium)courses. Love this teaching method.

    Thank you so much – will need some more decades to go through all the courses you offer.

    Have a great day,
    Buddy

  3. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THE VIRTUAL INSTRUCTOR!! Thank you for such tremendous content. Always positive, entertaining and super inspiring. *runs off to grab my charcoal*

  5. I am so excited to get started.I have been watching your videos on you tube and learned so much thank you. Im 60 years old but you are never to old to learn.

  6. I am so excited to get started.I have been watching your videos on you tube and learned so much thank you. Im 60 years old but you are never to old to learn.

    Darlene

  7. Hi Matt !

    I only have willow charcoal and I can’t put my hands on vine charcoal. The more I use charcoal the more I realise that I can’t make the same marks as in the tutorials, and I begin to believe that it might be a problem… In your opinion is vine charcoal mandatory ?

    Thanks in advance 🙂

  8. Hi Matt
    Thank you for this, and all your other courses – loving them. Please can you suggest improvisation for a kneaded eraser? I cannot find them where i currently live? Can I use sticky tack for example?

    Thank you!

    • Hi Christina,

      There really isn’t a substitute for a kneaded eraser. Can you order one online? This type of eraser is critical to working with charcoal.

      • Matt , Happy Friday! ~
        Hope all you and family are well and you are resting more.

        I am so excited I have been to be taking all your classes in here and have learned so much. Just happened to pass by this course today.

        * I really love ,love working with those Vine Charcoals and love Generals Brand! *********Excellent*****

        Thank you guys for the emails about the live lessons.
        They are awesome!

        You are simply the best!

        Health and Fitness 😉
        Susy

  11. Hi Matt!
    I have a few questions about products. What types of paper does your use for charcoal drawings and does it matter? Because I don’t have any of the paper you use. Another question is wether or not it matter when you use a blending stump or a blending tortillas tortillion?

    Thank you so much!
    Katie

    • Hi Matt!
      Where do you get your erasers and paper from if you could tell me that would be absolutely wonderful

      Thank you for your wonderful videos!
      Katie

  12. Hi Matt!
    Where do you get your erasers and what brand is it from if you could tell me that would be absolutely wonderful same for the paper

    Thank you for your wonderful videos!
    Katie

  13. Matt;
    Would you please consider a lesson on using Tinted Charcoal Paint Pan Sets.
    I just purchased a set & would love to learn how to paint landscapes using this medium. Thank you Matt, but I’m struggling with learning the techniques in the Watercolor classes. I’m not sure what I don’t understand, but I’m struggling with the pears.
    Thank you, Stormy

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