Charcoal. Artists' charcoal is charcoal used as a dry art medium.
   Both compressed charcoal and charcoal sticks are used. The marks it leaves behind on paper are much less permanent that with other media such as graphite, and so lines can easily be erased and blended.
   Charcoal can produce lines that are very light or intensely black. The dry medium can be applied to almost any surface from smooth to very coarse.
   Fixatives are used with charcoal drawings to solidify the position to prevent erasing or rubbing off of charcoal dusts. The method used to create artists' charcoal is similar to that employed in other fields, such as producing gunpowder and cooking fuel.
   The type of wood material and preparation method allow a variety of charcoal types and textures to be produced. A selection of charcoal pencils There are various types and uses of charcoal as an art medium, but the commonly used types are: Compressed, Vine, and Pencil. Vine charcoal is a long and thin charcoal stick that is the result of burning grape vines in a kiln without air. It comes in shades of gray. Willow charcoal is a long and thin charcoal stick that is the result of burning willow sticks in a kiln without air. It is darker in color than vine charcoal. The removable properties of willow and vine charcoal, through dusting and erasing, are favored by artists for making preliminary sketches or basic compositions. This also
Wikipedia ...