You will need:
-paper
-vine charcoal sticks
-compressed charcoal sticks
-eraser

There are two approaches you can take with a charcoal drawing. The first approach is the straightforward drawing with charcoal on a white surface. I recommend replicating a black and white image to start. For best results, pick one with an obvious light source from one direction like this one:

This image was taken on a sunny day at Balboa Park. The image is originally in color but I used Microsoft Office Picture Manager to change it to black and white. You can do the same with your favorite colored photograph.

I also like to do still lifes of statues because they have great contour and shadows. Once you start experimenting with charcoal, you'll find that vine charcoal creates a much softer shade than compressed charcoal. I would use the vine charcoal to make the initial outlines so a skeleton can be created upon which to build details later. The eraser is a tool not only for lifting marks that you don't want but also to smudge and pull the charcoal across the image. I also like to use my fingers for smudging as they're easier to control than erasers. Art supply stores also carry smudging sticks to help with this technique.

For the tree pieces in my first post, I used vine and compressed charcoal sticks, china pencil, and white charcoal. The vine charcoal was used to make the initial shape of the trees. The compressed charcoal was used to create the bold contours of the branches and leaves in the foreground. It helped to "sharpen" the compressed charcoal sticks by rubbing it on scratch paper until a sharp edge is formed. The vine charcoal was used for background branches and trees. In those three drawings I only used my fingers to smudge and draw shadows. A China pencil was used for the detail on the tree trunk of the first drawing in the post. White charcoal was used for the flowers on this same tree. This tree was my favorite to draw because I had a chance to venture away from just black charcoal sticks.

Once you've familiarized yourself with charcoal still lifes, you can move onto subjects I consider much trickier, such as human faces and hands. I haven't had the guts to try this yet so if you get there I hope you share!

The second charcoal technique is one that I really enjoy: reverse charcoal drawing. Charcoal itself is a messy medium to work with. When doing reverse charcoal drawing, you'll literally be eating and breathing charcoal. I recommend lining your work surface with newsprint to protect the surface and save you some clean up afterward. If you have a mask available I'd wear it as well, at least for the duration of the prep work. This will help keep your boogers from turning black. To prep your drawing surface, you'll want to use compressed charcoal and color the entire surface of the paper black. Placing the charcoal stick on its side and dragging it across the paper is the easiest technique I've found. I hear there is also charcoal dust you can use to smudge the surface to the desired shade but you can imagine how much messier that would be.

Once a solid black surface is obtained, use the eraser to make your drawing. This technique is really fun but it will take a little getting used to initially. Just focus on erasing the area that has more light in your image. If you erase too much, all you need to do is color it back in.

When your drawing is complete, you can preserve it by spraying with fixative (can be found at any art supply store). Fixative is like hairspray, it will hold down the charcoal so your drawing doesn't smudge if handled. There is also the option of using workable fixative which does the same thing but also allows you go jump back in and add more charcoal on top (you just can't erase what you've already sprayed down).

Below are a few reverse charcoal drawings I created (probably between 2005-2006):

Left: This is my first reverse charcoal still life. I chose artichokes for the shape and texture. There was actually only one artichoke that I positioned in 3 spots to get different angles. The left-most jar is a ceramic vinegar jar. The middle and right jars are ornamental perserved fruit/vegetable jars. The are made of clear glass so the contents are artistically arranged in layers and colors. All items were taken from my mom's kitchen.


Below: My instructor set up a still life in the middle of the classroom and we were able to select any angle and any portion of the scene to re-create on our paper. I chose this side of the still life setup because of the multiple types of surfaces in this view area. I liked the way the fabric had folds and was layered over the wooden easel in the back. It wasn't until after I finished the drawing that I figured out that the object at the lower left corner was duck-pull toy. The instructor created a great setting by dimming the lights and pointing a spot light at the still life set up. You can do the same at home with a desk lamp.

Right: For this piece, the instructor made a black and white photocopy of an image then cut the image up in small sections. This drawing illustrates a piece of the large photo. I find that drawing from a picture is a lot easier than from still life. The shadows and objects are fixed and one only needs to replicate it.
I'm not sure what part of which picture I drew here. It would be fun to track down the bigger picture one day.

My next charcoal piece will be with colored charcoal. I can't wait to experiment with it!