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Description
1. Circle stencil - used for the eyes which are always perfect circles. Elliptical stencils are needed for iris's that are at an angle.

2. Blending tortillons - Basically rolled up paper. They can be made (search for online tutorials) but they're cheap enough to buy. They're used for blending charcoal, graphite and pastel and come in different sizes. After they're used don't throw them away since they can be re-used either for dark areas after the graphite builds up, or they can be rubbed on paper to be used for lighter shading and blending. Never put lots of pressure on their tip since it'll push the head of the tortillon in and you'll have to take a paper clip and stick it in to get it out. They're definitely a useful tool and I mainly use them for smaller detail. In my charcoal drawings I rarely use the pencils directly since the paper I use won't allow them to blend real smoothly.

3. Sharp pencil sharpener - so it doesn't screw up my pencils and constantly break them.

4. Mechanical drawing pencil - not really used for charcoal drawings. But used a lot for graphite drawings. The little silver cap at the end of the pencil is also a pencil sharpener for the lead it uses

5. 0.05 regular mechanical pencil. Great for outlining and griding due to the lead width and the HB lead that's standard with writing pencils.

6. Pentel Clic eraser - the best eraser ever. And fun to play with! And it really clicks!

7. Kneaded putty eraser - good for shading. This eraser doesn't eraser harshly and can be molded in any way you like. As it heats up it becomes a little gooier. Also good for gently erasing outlines and guidelines since it allows you to still see them but have the lines be so light you can simply draw over them. And if you have a drawing board (table at a slant) it's good for holding supplies Also fun to play with in class and make little creatures out of. Bounces like silly putty if you can manage to roll it in a nice ball.

8. Cotton swab - normally used for cleaning ears. No one does that often, so you should have plenty lying around to use for blending!

9. Cotton ball - used for blending larger areas. Anyone who lives with a girl should have these.

10. The paper I've been using with my charcoal drawings. I didn't want to use my expensive smooth Bristol paper and waste it if my drawing was a disaster. It's decent paper. Bristol is practically texture-less and it's thick so it's perfect for real smooth textures like skin and metal. Great for blending. Anyway, just posting my paper for the nosy people who like to know every little thing.

11. Derwent pastel pencil in Chinese white 72B. Used for shading. Great for highlighting. Nice to use in combo with kneaded eraser.

12. Light, medium and dark Derwent charcoal pencils. I rarely actually draw with the pencils. For the most part, I draw on another piece of paper and dab the charcoal on a blending tool to use for the drawing. This is because the paper I use doesn't blend well at all when I use the pencils directly. The case if probably different with Bristol paper. When you first start off with these you may write with them and not see the difference. The difference is in the blending. Trying doing a practice sheet and tinking with the shades it can get. Maybe try it with the white pastel pencil some.

13. Generals compressed charcoal sticks. I use this for larger, dark areas as well as when I need a hard edge in my drawing.

The only real difference in drawing materials with graphite vs charcoal is -the cotton swabs and balls and instead of charcoal you can have any pencil of your choice. I personally have a range of 6B-9H. The higher the number B the darker it is and vice versa with H. HB being the standard middle pencil. Really though you only need maybe 4 pencils but it all depends on preferance. The other thing I forgot to mention is paper or kleenex. Just something to rest your hand on when drawing so you don't smudge the picture or get your oils on the paper. It's bad for it.

Kleenex, cotton balls and cotton swabs can be used for blending graphite as well but I think only blending tortillons are really needed. Just be sure your using the ones with the same medium on them And I haven't personally tried, but charcoal and pencil mixed together in one drawing seems to work well for most people. Pencil for details and I guess charcoal for darker areas.

Any feedback is appreciated. And I'll do my best to answer any questions as well

Description
1. Circle stencil - used for the eyes which are always perfect circles. Elliptical stencils are needed for iris's that are at an angle.

2. Blending tortillons - Basically rolled up paper. They can be made (search for online tutorials) but they're cheap enough to buy. They're used for blending charcoal, graphite and pastel and come in different sizes. After they're used don't throw them away since they can be re-used either for dark areas after the graphite builds up, or they can be rubbed on paper to be used for lighter shading and blending. Never put lots of pressure on their tip since it'll push the head of the tortillon in and you'll have to take a paper clip and stick it in to get it out. They're definitely a useful tool and I mainly use them for smaller detail. In my charcoal drawings I rarely use the pencils directly since the paper I use won't allow them to blend real smoothly.

3. Sharp pencil sharpener - so it doesn't screw up my pencils and constantly break them.

4. Mechanical drawing pencil - not really used for charcoal drawings. But used a lot for graphite drawings. The little silver cap at the end of the pencil is also a pencil sharpener for the lead it uses

5. 0.05 regular mechanical pencil. Great for outlining and griding due to the lead width and the HB lead that's standard with writing pencils.

6. Pentel Clic eraser - the best eraser ever. And fun to play with! And it really clicks!

7. Kneaded putty eraser - good for shading. This eraser doesn't eraser harshly and can be molded in any way you like. As it heats up it becomes a little gooier. Also good for gently erasing outlines and guidelines since it allows you to still see them but have the lines be so light you can simply draw over them. And if you have a drawing board (table at a slant) it's good for holding supplies Also fun to play with in class and make little creatures out of. Bounces like silly putty if you can manage to roll it in a nice ball.

8. Cotton swab - normally used for cleaning ears. No one does that often, so you should have plenty lying around to use for blending!

9. Cotton ball - used for blending larger areas. Anyone who lives with a girl should have these.

10. The paper I've been using with my charcoal drawings. I didn't want to use my expensive smooth Bristol paper and waste it if my drawing was a disaster. It's decent paper. Bristol is practically texture-less and it's thick so it's perfect for real smooth textures like skin and metal. Great for blending. Anyway, just posting my paper for the nosy people who like to know every little thing.

11. Derwent pastel pencil in Chinese white 72B. Used for shading. Great for highlighting. Nice to use in combo with kneaded eraser.

12. Light, medium and dark Derwent charcoal pencils. I rarely actually draw with the pencils. For the most part, I draw on another piece of paper and dab the charcoal on a blending tool to use for the drawing. This is because the paper I use doesn't blend well at all when I use the pencils directly. The case if probably different with Bristol paper. When you first start off with these you may write with them and not see the difference. The difference is in the blending. Trying doing a practice sheet and tinking with the shades it can get. Maybe try it with the white pastel pencil some.

13. Generals compressed charcoal sticks. I use this for larger, dark areas as well as when I need a hard edge in my drawing.

The only real difference in drawing materials with graphite vs charcoal is -the cotton swabs and balls and instead of charcoal you can have any pencil of your choice. I personally have a range of 6B-9H. The higher the number B the darker it is and vice versa with H. HB being the standard middle pencil. Really though you only need maybe 4 pencils but it all depends on preferance. The other thing I forgot to mention is paper or kleenex. Just something to rest your hand on when drawing so you don't smudge the picture or get your oils on the paper. It's bad for it.

Kleenex, cotton balls and cotton swabs can be used for blending graphite as well but I think only blending tortillons are really needed. Just be sure your using the ones with the same medium on them And I haven't personally tried, but charcoal and pencil mixed together in one drawing seems to work well for most people. Pencil for details and I guess charcoal for darker areas.

Any feedback is appreciated. And I'll do my best to answer any questions as well