So, um, how do I draw with charcoal, anyway?

I've been making vine and willow charcoal all winter.   I've gathered quite a stash of drawing charcoal.   Now's the time to learn how to use it.  I'm looking forward to improving my value studies as it only has one colour.

Anyone here draw with charcoal?
What's your advice for someone new to art?  I'm gonna have loads of questions

Actually,  let's start with an easy one.  What kind of paper do we use?

Couldn't help myself.   I found this vintage tin in the workshop.   All those sewing machine parts can go in a modern bisket tin.  This is my charcoal tin now.

I put some 'do not eat' packets in it to make sure it doesn't get moisture in it.  Do you think it’s an issue with charcoal?

This is my first drawing with the willow charcoal I shared in the making charcoal thread.

It's okay but smudgy.  I don't have any of this paper left and felt that I couldn't get enough charcoal to 'stick' to make a black.   Not sure what kind of paper it was as it was labelled art paper and came with other used art supplies from a yard sale.

Not since freshman foundation classes in art school 30+ years ago... but we were drawing on newsprint a lot. A lot. So, probably was good that it was inexpensive. We were doing a lot of gesture drawings, where we were trying to capture the model's pose, sometimes in less than a minute between different poses.
The vine charcoal doesn't always give really deep blacks, and it is variable piece to piece, so you may find some harder and lighter, others softer and darker, some frustratingly soft that barely stand being drawn with! It's hard to get the vine charcoal to stay on the paper, so a paper with "tooth" will grab and hold onto more as you draw, really smooth paper won't work.
There is "compressed charcoal" available at art supply stores, which is basically powder and a binder pressed into sticks. These will yield a deep, dark black, and stay put a little better. A "kneaded rubber" eraser is also handy when drawing with charcoal, works a bit better on vine than compressed, and you can knead it to reveal a less soiled surface, and into shapes to make detailed erasures.
There is also "fixative" spray (hair spray also works, hey, it was the '90's!) which will bind the charcoal to the paper (somewhat) so it doesn't rub off with handling. I think there's two types: "workable" which allows drawing over, and a more permanent one.

Looking at traditional drawing and painting schools,  charcoal seems to be the primary medium and the first one they teach.  I imagine it's easy to learn.   Just can't figure out what's getting in the way of picking up this skill.

Sometimes, the biggest hurdle is just starting. Sometimes, it's the garbage someone filled your head with, in response to a previous attempt - or even upon learning you were thinking about it. In many of your posts, you've mentioned that you "can't draw", and my strong suspicion is that you may have that thought stuck in your head, and it's interfering with your confidence. I'd suggest giving yourself permission to simply play with it - regardless of the results. The medium doesn't get much less expensive (one of many reasons to start with charcoal, particularly those you've made, yourself), so just do it. Start with something simple, like a basic shape. Then get a feel for the medium's behavior by playing around with shading and tips of paper you already have on hand.

I keep going back to craftsy.com, for 'how-to' type things, and this is no exception. Their teachers tend to break things down incredibly well, to give a good foundation, in a new skill set, then set you free to explore. The 'tube' has some great teachers, too - but wasting through to sort the good ones from the not as good can be a frustrating and time consuming process. Then again, you already know the principles of shading, proportion, and perspective, incredibly well. Be gentle with yourself, and just try it on for size.

I'm enjoying that this showed up in the dailyish.

I don't consider myself an artist, but I thoroughly enjoyed Mark Krawczyk's Coppice Agroforestry.  Among other things, it contains a list / chart of different products that can be created via the use of coppicing.  Now that you've experimented with making charcoal for personal use, you may want to consider finding a local artist who works with the medium and offering them some to get their opinion of your product.  In the long run, you can not only support your hobby (addiction?) but also create a bit of an income stream.  Even if it only covers the cost of the art supplies you need to purchase, it can be a win.

That is a very nice tin you found for your charcoal.  For using charcoal I find the gum erasers to work well for shading.  You can tear then into pieces so that the eraser becomes more one with your fingers.

Also, another helpful hint for your charcoal beginning is to get some newsprint paper.  The paper you used for your espresso moka drawing was done on paper that has a surface that has durable surface.  With newsprint the fibers are loose so that blending along with highlights has a deeper effect.  I hope this is helpful information.  I get excited for others who are discovering their love for art.

J. Juniper wrote:Also, another helpful hint for your charcoal beginning is to get some newsprint paper.  The paper you used for your espresso moka drawing was done on paper that has a surface that has durable surface.  With newsprint the fibers are loose so that blending along with highlights has a deeper effect.  I hope this is helpful information.  I get excited for others who are discovering their love for art.

People keep saying news print or something called 'bogus' paper.  But the local shops are always sold out.  I'll have to make more effort to get that.  Thanks for the tip.