Artistic Charcoal Portraiture: Creating Atmosphere

The difference between a standard charcoal portrait and an atmospheric one is simple: the latter has the power to stop people in their tracks and awaken their senses. Sarah Stokes is an artist with a powerful eye for creating unique charcoal portraits that are filled with mystery and wonder.

In this course, Sarah shows you how to use charcoal to create captivating compositions with singular details and make your portraiture more expressive. Using a photo reference, charcoal, and everyday objects like cotton buds, nail varnish remover, and more, you’ll discover innovative techniques for creating powerful portraits.

Meet Sarah Stokes, who tells you about her career and shows you some of her latest charcoal pieces. See what inspires her to create, the artists and photographers who influence her, and the final project Sarah has prepared for you in this course.

Get familiar with the equipment you’re going to use and experiment with applying, rubbing, and lifting techniques. See what tonal values are, why they’re so important, and how to get them right in your work. Practice the gridding method by drawing an eye from a photograph.

See how to choose the right photograph for your piece in terms of mood, look, and composition. Start working on your drawing by creating a grid used for applying and modifying your charcoal, adding some twists and abstract techniques for movement and atmosphere.

Apply the finishing touches to your drawing with Photoshop and Procreate and share it with your followers on social media. Lastly, see Sarah’s final tips for experimenting even further with charcoal and other materials.

Create a contemporary charcoal portrait using various tools to create mood and atmosphere.

This course is for illustrators and anybody who would like to enhance their illustrations or portraits by learning and experimenting with different charcoal techniques.

Some experience in portraiture will be useful but is not obligatory. Sarah begins this course with the absolute basics.

As for materials, you will need willow charcoal sticks, charcoal powder (optional), compressed charcoal sticks, a 6B pencil, some erasers, an electric eraser (optional), white charcoal or a white gel pen, acetone with a spray bottle, an old stiff brush for blending, cotton buds, a small blending stump, a craft knife, a sanding block to sharpen charcoal pencils, spare paper to prevent smudging, fixing spray, a ruler, a pencil, Strathmore paper or a line and washboard, a printer, photo paper, cardboard to make a home-made L frame, and a few large soft brushes (either makeup or watercolor brushes).