Sharing with you a simple and cute drawing I made using charcoal and pastels! I thought I’d give my paintbrushes a little break and get messy again with some other mediums. Charcoal and pastels are some of the messiest but they’re so fun to work with, come out beautifully make a great combo! Here is one I made featuring me and my boyfriend relaxing in our new garden.
Charcoal Sketch
Strathmore’s Pastel Paper (27.9cm x 35.6cm and 118gsm) was used for this drawing which I love working with. First, I did a brisk sketch with some Koh-i-Noor charcoal stick. How cute is that! Just to make it a bit different from the usual “him and her” drawing, I added a little bunny rabbit. That’s probably one of my stuffed toys I like playing with. Luckily, BF doesn’t’ mind at all because he wants me to be happy!
The Background
For the background, I went for some Pan Pastels. They are great for coloring large areas especially if you want an even coverage. Using a large sponge, I had to be careful not to go over the charcoal. Sky blue and grass green are colours I use quite often in my work, and for a change I wanted something a bit different. A minty green shade was chosen for a lighter feel for the drawing.
Time to Color!
Before commencing with the coloring, I sprayed the charcoal drawing with some fixative to minimize smudging when adding color. I recommend Sennelier’s Universal Fixative although it smells a bit so you need to go outside or make sure the room is well ventilated. Then I continued using Pan Pastels to color us in but for the small details, such as the bunny rabbit, I used Faber Castell’s pastel sticks. And here it is, just a simple but happy pastel drawing!
Though quick and simple, it’s a wonderful change to do something different. I do have busy days sometimes as in the middle of preparing our new home and can get a bit too tired to get my ink and paints out. Getting creative just for an hour or two each day keeps me going even with only pencil and paper. And drawing happy faces like these even better!
My Kawaii Quarter 