Introduction
When telling a story using more interesting and varied language will make the narrative more engaging and personal. The same is true of creating a pictures, more unusual and contrasting marks will allow the viewer to see more and be more engaged. In this resource we will look at how you can develop your mark making.
Exercise 1
We will start by creating a dictionary of marks. Take a large sheet of paper and try to fill it with as many ways of making marks as possible. Think about speed, pressure, direction and smoothness of the line. How many marks can you create? You may also want to hold your charcoal in different ways or with a different hand.
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Exercise 2
On a large sheet of paper begin a self portrait but only use soft flowing lines that are drawn quickly. Try to keep the pressure of the lines as light as possible. This should create a flowing effect. You can focus on the curve of the face shape and eyes. Don't worry if this style of mark making is unnatural to you, it is good to try new things.
Exercise 3
On the same drawing as before now use very slow and heavy lines to build on top. Look for the shadowy areas or any areas you'd wish to emphasise. Pay attention to contrast of the light and dark marks.
Exercise 4
On another large sheet of paper begin by creating a ground. This is a thin layer of light charcoal drawn evenly across the surface and then smudges in to create a smooth surface. With the ground you can then draw into it with darker charcoal and also use your rubber to create lighter tones.
For this self-portrait use the dictionary of marks earlier to use as many marks as possible while building a self-portrait. This should contain dots, zig zags and cross hatching as well as any other types of line you can think of. Be sure to draw with both the charcoal and rubber.