Day 1 & 2 Mastering Charcoal Tutorial : Techniques to Create a Stunning Blizzard Artwork.
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Introduction
Welcome to this interactive, work-in-progress tutorial, where you can follow the creation of a new charcoal artwork from first idea to final detail. Each time I return to the piece, discover a fresh creative spark, or respond to your thoughts, I’ll update this space so you can see the process unfold in real time.
You’ll get a genuine behind-the-scenes look at how an artwork develops: how long it takes, the problems that appear along the way, and the solutions that (hopefully) bring it back on track. Artworks rarely run smoothly from start to finish, and one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is patience and persistence. Sometimes you do need to start again, but the more you persist, the less often that happens—and the more your confidence grows and you refine your methodology.
I hope this evolving documentary of the creation of the artwork I call “Blizzard”, helps you to broaden your skill set and feel braver about experimenting, making mistakes, and trying again. Experimentation and trial pieces are essential and over the years I have learned, to my cost and ruined work, that its always better to test ideas on a seperate paper before working on what will become your finished artwork. I'm sure like me the enthusiasm to move on is tempting but even on this artwork it was the trials that influenced my change of direction and the decision to include acrylic on top of the base charcoal layers. In effect whilst the majority of the work was achieved in charcoal it became a mixed media composition.
Please feel free to ask questions, share your own experiences, or suggest ideas in the comments section below. Your input has already shaped how this tutorial develops.
Product Kit List So Far
Paper - Canson Cartridge Mi-Teintes White 550 x 370 mm
Charcoal Powder - Coates Willow Charcoal
Charcoal ( White, Black, Coloured)
Charcoal Willow Sticks Artists Sketchingy
Charcoal Pencils
Derwent Tinted Charcoal XL Blocks
Derwent Tinted Charcoal Pencils
Caran D’Ache Light Blue Pastel Pencil 788 (Possibillity after tests)
Silicone blending tools various
Rubbers
Fixative
Glassine Paper
Background to Charcoal Tutorial - Creating "Blizzard"
My fascination with Antarctica began with a recent find from World of Books: a volume titled "Discovery Illustrated". It chronicles the 1901 Antarctic expedition of the scientific research ship SS Discovery. Purpose-built in Dundee and launched on 21 March 1901, the ship sailed under the command of Robert Falcon Scott, and its discoveries and hardships were recorded by two remarkable explorers.
Reginald Skelton R.N, who as well as being the onboard engineer took on the role of chief photographer, creating as a result an extraordinary visual record of the voyage.
Dr Edward Wilson, the ship’s doctor and artist, became renowned for the many watercolour paintings he produced both at sea and on the ice. If you have been following my posts, you may remember that I previously wrote about my reproduction of one of his watercolours which I called “The Antarctic Silence”; you’ll find the link below if you would like to read more.
"Blizzard" is inspired by Skelton’s photographs and Wilson’s paintings documented in the book, particularly those capturing the ferocious conditions they endured on the ice. This is my tribute to those early pioneers of polar exploration.
The original concept sketch is shown across and started as nothing more than a rough sketch showing three men emerging from a snow storm.
The objective: To create blizzard conditions with charcoal
My aim, to create a haunting piece of three figures emerging through blizzard conditions from the depths of the snow. I set out with the intention of developing the eerie atmosphere of the scene and reproduce those original images catalogued by Wilson and Skelton by using the dark colours of charcoal, building on the contrast between white and black. If you are reading this tutorial for the first time, at the end of Day 1, the image below, (Image 1), reflected around two hours of work. I had chosen the paper, the size of the artwork and sketched out the figures in more detail.
Saturday 6th March
Day 2 Update
Overnight, I began to work out how I might tackle the challenge of capturing the environmental conditions and creating the blizzard like atmosphere yet, at the same time, representing the raw power of the wind. As I thought it through, I started to question my original plan. I had intended to use charcoal powder, lightly dusted across the background surface and then wiped away in the direction of the wind. I was hoping that with the textured Canson paper I had chosen, it would be possible, by varying the pressure, to create the atmosphere I was aiming for: swirling snow, howling wind, and biting cold.
The sense of cold would eventually be enhanced by the sparing use of light blue, mixed with white charcoal, and a final touch—sprays of white acrylic to simulate blowing snow flakes. I decided to run some tests on a separate sheet to see if this approach would work. The test results are detailed in the second post as they heavily influenced my final decisions on the mediums used
Day 2 Progress
Explorers 1 & 2 were the centre of attention on Day 2. I started on the centre figure, Explorer 2, blending his facial figures with Zestit before moving on to Explorer 1. More on Zestit later.
Whilst the work is centered on an A3 sized Canson Paper the facial features are still quite small. As the overall concept required quite a lot of background to produce the blizzard conditions I was after it therefore took me some time to get the correct facial look. I wanted each figure to look tired and haunted after battling through the blizzard.
Image 2 shows Explorer 1, the left hand figure of the group. After applying the first layers of charcoal with the basic stick charcoal followed by a hard pencil charcoal to add definition. Final blending with Zestit and a soft watercolour paintbrush gave the facial definition I needed. All of the images have been taken in close up so you can see the markings used. Image 3 below taken at correct distance shows the overall effect. I'm sure you have been told this before but for completeness I will just mention that if you squint when reviewing your close up work you will get an impression of how it will look at the correct viewing distance.
Zestit is, as you will see from the bottle, a solvent normally used to soften the binders used in coloured pastels and crayons. Through experimentation I have found it useful to blend charcoals as well. Being a solvent it evaporates quite quickly and helps to mobilise the charcoal particles reducing the need for pressure while blending. It also has the advantage of not causing the paper to swell, which water, the alternative solvent, does.
Several elements to point out here.
Note the resting pad which is home made from a thick cardboard with one side having bubble wrap taped to it to reduce point pressure which can cause smudges. To reduce transference the other side of the board, which sits on the paper surface has a layer of glassine paper taped to it. This can either be wiped clean or changed regularly to maintain a charcoal free surface. As I was leaning on top of the other two figures this is an essential part of the kit for me.
You can buy sheets of Glassine from Amazon or your local art supplier.
I also use it to protect the surface of finished works for transport or postage, especially charcoal or pastels.
2. Silicon blenders. I use several of these in different shapes and sizes. I will update the kit list in Blog 2 with more exact details before completing the full tutorial. As you will see in Image 3 I have added the charcoal in patches before blending to create depth and contrasting shades.
The charcoal, when smoothed across the white paper created the perception of snow build up on the outer garments
Thats all for this Charcoal Tutorial - Creating Blizzard.
To follow further progress please go to Blog 2 Here
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Hi Brugo,
In reply to your question about Zestit, to be honest it’s a relatively new product to me as well. The benefits are the ability to blend the charcoal or pastel with a soft paintbrush. Zestit acts like a solvent especially on pastels but I also find it works just as well with charcoals. It softens the binders used in pastel or crayons and allows you to paint rather than blend. That means you can be less aggressive to the paper surface. I know there are no binders in charcoal sticks but even so it still helps to spread the charcoal evenly.
Great idea Marco I’m enjoying this approach. Never seen or used Zestit before what in you opinion is the benefit of it?