Thanks to my ever-increasingly phenomenal wife, I now have brand new woodless charcoal pencils to play with, as well as a brand new friend whom I’ve taken the liberty of naming Anakin… Anakin the Manikin. I know, I know. It’s remarkable how clever and original I can be (Que eye roll and deep sigh from my wife).
I’ve always wanted one of these poseable wooden models for drawing, but I’m generally pretty good at talking myself out of essentially any new purchase, so I never got one. Fortunately, I have an awesome wife that buys me gifts spontaneously!
Before I get to the wooden manikin, though, I wanted to go through a quick review of my new woodless charcoal pencils!
Woodless Charcoal Pencils Review
The charcoal pencils I’ve been using are the “Master’s Touch Fine Art Studio woodless charcoal pencils,” which you can find at Hobby Lobby, and thus far, they’ve been great! Usually, using basic pencils with various hardness such as H, 2B, 4B, etc… I can rarely darken my artwork to my liking. That’s not a problem when I’m using these woodless charcoal pencils.
As you can see in the image, I can get my drawings plenty dark with charcoal. But there are a lot of new things that come with switching from normal lead pencils to woodless charcoal pencils. For one, it’s easily one of the messiest utensils I’ve ever worked with. However, there’s extremely fun to use.
Charcoal Pencils are a MESS
Unfortunately, woodless charcoal pencils (and I assume all charcoal art utencils) are horrendously messy to work with.
It’ll get on your hands, your arms, your face, your dog, your walls, and even your ceiling (wait, how did that even happen??). Two weeks after you’ve used them, you’ll probably still be finding places you accidentally smudged charcoal. HOW?! WHERE IS IT COMING FROM??
Anyways, this was all because I was unprepared. There are various products and methods out there that you can use to prevent creating horrific messes. As soon as I purchase some cheap hairspray to use on each finished piece, I should be fine. You can buy professional sprays to keep the charcoal from smudging, but hairspray is a good substitute if you’re not working on a commission or gift. I recommend at least the hairspray, though. Otherwise, the charcoal drawings will definitely smudge all over (I speak from recent experience).
Also, if you see some charcoal dust on your drawing – as much as you feel compelled to brush that off with your hands… Don’t do it. That’s how it all started… Just saying.
However, They are Immensely Fun
Just because it’s messy doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it. In fact, I LOVE my new charcoal pencils. Most of the reasoning behind my new love for charcoal is simply because it’s new to me. I love trying new mediums, but it’s also much easier to make drawings “pop” with charcoal, which has been a struggle for me. Having utensils that are generally darker than most other mediums is helpful in overcoming my “not dark enough” issues. They’re also great for drawing on walls… (don’t tell my wife).
These pencils can do impressive work, but I’d recommend looking around the internet for a few pointers on how to use charcoal pencils appropriately. There’s a lot of work that goes into learning how to use them.
Woodless Charcoal Pencils vs Regular Charcoal Pencils
There’s been a few searches for this in particular, so I wanted to throw it in here. Woodless charcoal pencils and regular charcoal pencils are practically identical apart from the fact that (you guessed it) one of them isn’t made with wood.
It’s really up to you whether you want the woodless or not. The woodless will have more usable charcoal, as the space typically taken by wood is replaced entirely by charcoal, and this could allow for a few angles that a regular charcoal pencil might not be capable of handling.
The Bottom Line
I think every artist should have at least some form of charcoal to try, whether it’s woodless charcoal pencils, regular charcoal pencils, or just charcoal sticks. They’re a unique tool to advance your knowledge of the many diverse methods of creating new art. I’m still getting used to them, but even without much experience, I already love them.
On Another Note – Meet “Anakin The Manikin”
I hope this article was helpful for you, but now, a few words from my new friend Anakin.
“My fellow Amanikins: ask not what your artist can do for you–ask what you can do for your artist”
-Anakin Pinewalker
Haha, oh, Anakin. It’s good to see you like puns as much as I do.
Woodless Charcoal Pencil Figure Drawings
Anakin the Manikin here has been helping me understand the human form a little better. He’s not as good as an actual model would be, but unfortunately, my desk isn’t big enough to fit a life-sized model. He’s a very convenient size and impeccable at staying still for prolonged periods of time, which is perfect for figure sketching with a charcoal pencil (as you can partly see in the image above).
I’ve considered using him as a canvas for art and turning him into Darth Manikin, but for now, I like him just as he is. His poses are limited, of course, but he’s still useful for learning the many methods of transferring 3D objects onto a 2D piece of paper.
I see much potential in young Pinewalker.
I’m sure you’ll all be seeing much more of Anakin as he joins me to rule the galaxy… of art.
Thank you for reading! If you liked it, then please share with your friends!