Pencil (graphite) vs Charcoal: which one suits you better?
Every artist has their preferences and style of work, and this usually develops as they advance in their creative journey, however, it takes time and sometimes you may get confused and wonder about what you should stick with or whether you should even stick with something or not just like I certainly did and still do sometimes. This is particularly relative to those who would like to take their art seriously to start making revenue from it.
Even though it can be beneficial to decide on a main material or theme when starting to turn your art into a business, don’t let this restrict your creativity. After all, a person who doesn’t change doesn’t grow.
How to decide? First thing…
If the graphite and charcoal debate is still ongoing with you, you have probably tried both and perhaps have more experience in one of them or non in any. When working with a new material, make sure to give it some time and patience as you most likely will not do very well at the start. Graphite and charcoal are two different materials, and they have their properties and techniques, therefore, be patient until you become friends with each one of them.
Once you get comfortable with the new medium, you can then have a fair comparison between the two and this blog will give you information to help you make a choice.
What are they?
Pencils:
Pencils are made of a form of carbon called graphite; therefore, they can be referred to as graphite pencils. Different pencils have different concentrations of graphite in them, the more graphite there is, the softer the pencil is and the darker tones it would produce. The different concentrations are marked with a number and a letter. Most artists work with only a few and sometimes even one of them by changing pressure to produce different tones and effects.
Pencils are usually used for both basic sketches and bigger pieces finished with other mediums as they are easy to work with relatively. It is also used to create rendered drawings done with only pencil.
Charcoal:
Charcoal is made by partial burning of wood producing lightweight black carbon residue. It comes in many different forms including sticks, charcoal pencils and powder. Charcoal is more commonly used as a medium to create pieces of art as a whole with this one medium as it is usually difficult to layer other mediums on top.
Comparing the two mediums
| Charcoal | Graphite | |
| Charcoal molecules tend to break down easily in an irregular way, and therefore, they create sand or a dust type of material. | Graphite molecules tend to break in a layered way which makes them relatively more stable. The more graphite there is, the more of it will break therefore, the softer it will be. | Softness & hardness |
| Can be easily spread, manipulated and blended. Depending on the form of the charcoal used, it can also create bold and expressive strokes. | Known for writing and drawing. It can create soft blending effects as well as sharp direct strokes. Relatively easier to make details with it due to its steady nature. | Effects |
| Much darker values and a wider value range can be achieved easily with charcoal creating more depth and value ranges. | Graphite is usually grey and darker values are best to be achieved by layering and using softer pencils. Using hard pencils to achieve dark values would result in overworking the paper and creating a shiny effect. | Values and tone |
| Control of charcoal tends to be more difficult compared to graphite as it breaks irregularly creating a wider possibility for unintentional marks. Also, a forgiving material. | Control of graphite is easier as they are steadier and breaks down in a specific pattern. It is generally a forgiving material. | Control |
| Sticks less to paper and, therefore, easily smudged, smoothed manipulated and erased. | Tends to stick to the paper much stronger. Can be smudged and smoothed however, less compared to charcoal. | Sticking to paper |
| Pricier and less available, however, can be found in most art supplies stores. | Cheaper and more available in art supplies and non-art supplies stores. | Prices |
Overall
These different materials have different features, and it would go back to each artist’s preference to decide which one they like to work with, who knows, maybe you decide to mix both materials in your work. I don’t think there is a right answer as to which one is better than the other. Hope this blog provided some short helpful information to you today.