What follows is to the best of my recollection.

Materials / Tools

This project was accomplished using the following:

• 18 X 24 inch Drawing Paper
• Vine Charcoal
• Charcoal Pencils
• Make-up sponge
• Blending Tool
• Paint Brush with Powdered Charcoal
• Various Erasers
• Eraser shield

Process

The first attempt at this method was our leaf drawing (a classroom exercise) that started by veiling an entire sheet of 18 X 24 inch drawing paper with a layer of vine charcoal. After smoothing the charcoal veil with a make-up sponge, I outlined the leaf on my paper using the kneaded eraser to remove charcoal. As I recall, I continued to remove charcoal using the kneaded eraser to reveal lighter areas on the leaf. I then used a combination of erasers to make some areas even lighter, and darkened some areas with the charcoal pencil(s) and (I believe ) the vine charcoal as well. Finally, I used the Tombo eraser to accent the narrow veins on the leaf. Another tool I used was an eraser shield to make precision erasures.

Next we did a still life drawing of objects set-up on a table in front of the class. Overall, I was pleased with the result. The process was very similar to that described above for the leaf, however I made an extensive use of blending (using my fingers and the blending tool). I also used shaved charcoal powder and a paint brush to darken some areas for greater contrast.

For the homework assignment, I set-up a coffee carafe, mug, spoon, and several small foil bags of coffee on the edge of a computer table. I illuminated the objects for a soft-light. The process for this drawing was (again) almost identical to that of the leaf drawing, but I did use a straightedge as an eraser shield to create the light reflections on the carafe.

Feedback

Feedback from the class was positive, but Professor Lisa made a helpful observation pointing out that a background area was not as dark as it should have been.

Some Learnings

For the classroom still-life I chose to draw a cropped in section of the objects which (in hindsight) made it difficult to tell what some of the partial objects were. This was a bad choice.

After the drawing was on display in the hall, I noticed the large ball I had drawn was misshapen. Had I taken more time to step away and look at the drawing from a distance, I think I would have caught this sooner.

Although no one pointed it out during the feedback session, I noticed the top of the carafe in my homework assignment was too large on the right side. In retrospect, I could have used negative space to help draw this correctly.