Artistic Charcoal Portraiture: Creating Atmosphere
A course by Sarah Stokes , Artist
Learn how to create powerful and dramatic portraits with charcoal
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.
What will you learn in this online course?
22 lessons & 21 downloads
- 99% positive reviews (1.1K)
- 24,372 students
- 22 lessons (4h 2m)
- 21 additional resources (12 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · Italian · French · Polish · Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Create a contemporary charcoal portrait using various tools to create mood and atmosphere.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for illustrators and anybody who would like to enhance their illustrations or portraits by learning and experimenting with different charcoal techniques.
Requirements and materials
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).
Reviews
Sarah Stokes
A course by Sarah Stokes
Sarah Stokes is a self-taught artist from the Midlands region in England, a place where she finds inspiration and creates work that is full of life. From a young age, Sarah has always been her happiest when painting and drawing, using her creativity to build a successful business career before deciding to return to what she loved most.
She has created artwork for bands, restaurants, breweries, and schools, as well as giftware for clients like Enesco. Her work is exhibited in Whitewall Galleries, Clarendon Fine Art, and several independent galleries. Sarah’s prints can also be found worldwide in places like Next, Wayfair, and on Amazon.
Content
-
U1
Introduction
-
About Me
-
Influences
-
What We Will Do in This Course
-
-
U2
Materials, Tone and How to Draw an Eye in Charcoal
-
Exploring Materials and Equipment
-
How to Use Your Materials 1
-
How to Use Your Materials 2
-
How to Train Your Eyes to See Tonal Values
-
Creating a Tonal Value Tool
-
Gridding and Drawing an Eye
-
Applying Charcoal to the Drawing
-
-
U3
Image Choices and How to Draw Our Initial Sketch onto Paper
-
The Essence of an Atmospheric Portrait and Where to Get Our Inspiration
-
Chose a Photograph and Make It Charcoal Friendly
-
Gridding Up the Face
-
-
U4
Applying the Charcoal
-
First Layers and Golden Rules for Applying Charcoal 1
-
First Layers and Golden Rules for Applying Charcoal 2
-
Blending and Reestablishing Lights and Darks 1
-
Blending and Reestablishing Lights and Darks 2
-
Render Hair and Abstract Elements 1
-
Render Hair and Abstract Elements 2
-
-
U5
How to Take Your Skills to the Next Level
-
The Importance of Composition in Drawing
-
Fixing and Scanning Your Work
-
Let's Experiment
-
-
FP
Final project
-
Artistic Charcoal Portraiture: Creating Atmosphere
-
What to expect from a Domestika course
-
Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
-
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
-
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
-
Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
-
Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
-
Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
-
Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
-
Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.
All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.
The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
itamakow
PlusDziękuję Saro, przypomniałaś mi, że czarne i białe to nie jest 0-1
View translation
Hide translation
vavaborges2015
PlusMuito bom!
View translation
Hide translation
antoniobalzarini
Ottimo corso, mi è stato molto utile per provare il ritratto di volti umani dopo avere sperimentato raffigurando animali
View translation
Hide translation
riccardo_dimeo42
I loved this course because, even if it has the greatest value for an absolute beginner, it still offers some interesting bit to a more intermediate student.
In my case, even though I'm already a portrait and figure drawing student, I was still able to pick some very useful techniques up, like how to mix different kinds of charcoals (I had few, bad experiences with compressed sticks, for instance), how to use acetone, and, in general, Sarah's own way of drawing.
Highly recommended.
cherine4624
This course was easy to follow and very helpful. I still use the techniques learned from this course