Kathy Barker
I prepare my charcoal sticks first. To do this I sand them by holding them at an angle – between flat and 25 degrees – and sand them back and forth sideways, rotating the sticks. Take care as sticks snap easily. Do keep your charcoal sticks needle sharp as much as possible, although hair is one area where you can mass the charcoal in without a fine point.
If you work on toned paper you can shade less with the charcoal and use a white pastel pencil for some light halftones or the odd highlight as shown on pages 26–27. If you are working on white paper then don’t use the white pastel pencil and complete the drawing with charcoal alone, using your putty rubber to maintain light and pick out highlights.