Realistic Charcoal Drawing for Beginners

About Realistic Charcoal Drawing for Beginners

This course is a gentle, step-by-step introduction to realistic

charcoal landscape drawing

, designed for complete beginners. The focus is on building essential drawing skills while also cultivating an artistic mindset—balancing technical mechanics with personal interpretation. We’ll start with the basic materials and setup, then move into accurate measuring and careful drawing to create a realistic framework for your landscape. From there, I’ll guide you through shading, value-building and different kinds of blending to create varying degrees of softness. Through technique, we will explore bringing depth, light, and atmosphere into your drawing. Along the way, we’ll talk about what to focus on, what to let go of, and how to let the

spirit of the subject guide your hand

. In this class, you will learn how to: • Choose and set up simple charcoal materials • Measure accurately from a photo reference for a balanced composition • Use value, shading, and blending to create depth and realism • Apply texture to suggest natural elements • Approach drawing with openness and interpretation, not just technique By the end, you’ll have a finished charcoal landscape and a set of practical tools that you can apply to future drawings. More importantly, you’ll have begun to explore the mindset that transforms technical drawing skills into a more personal, expressive art practice.