How to Draw Glass in Charcoal

How to Draw Glass in Charcoal

Glass can be a difficult subject, but with a lot of practice and a good setup, it is a fun illusion to render. In the video below, I break down the process I use to create the illusion of reflection and transparency of glass with charcoal and white conte during a charcoal drawing demonstration during my drawing class at The Art League in Alexandria Virginia.

5 Reasons why it’s important to learn how to draw glass.

There were a few drawing exercises I would assign during every basic drawing class, and one of those subjects was glass under a one-directional light source. By practicing drawing glass lit this way, you learn so many things! Here are a few:

  1. You will learn how to integrate foreground, middle ground and background relationships. (Especially a clear glass!)
  2. Experience transitions and blending techniques that give the illusion of volume and light.
  3. It’s important to fool your mind, and see masses and shapes. The glass is not a glass, but broken shapes of light and dark.
  4. Do you know how important, broken edges are? These are important when drawing glass. You are drawing something solid without line.
  5. There is a strikingly similar process to drawing, no matter the subject. Everything you gain by drawing glass will easily transfer to other subjects such. Even the figure and landscape.

The mediums I used in the video demonstration are:

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