Cretacolor Chunky Stick, Charcoal

First of all I'll say that I am very pleased with this and will probably buy the full Cretacolor Art Chunky Drawing Set. I am primarily using these for gestural drawing of figures but I think they'd work nicely for blocking in or looser strokes in tighter work. I also imagine the full set will work nicely for pastel style painting with broad, fluid strokes.Physically they look exactly like you'd expect. Something like a piece of chalk with smooth, round sides, flat tops and sharp corners. They are very soft and transfer readily onto the paper and your hands. The softness means that the corners round off very quickly so don't expect to get narrow lines, perhaps 1/16th inch at the narrowest. They don't tend to break of splinter but crumble into a fine powder with pressure.In use they fit my need well: a very soft, very dark material (so expect to get your hands dirty and to sometimes have a little powder migration). I'd describe the lines they produce as ranging from dark, to extremely dark, so don't expect to lay down light lines (though they do blend/erase to a lighter tone). Do not expect to sharpen these; they should be used as they come. Narrower lines are available at the corners with dense rounded shading available at the ends. When laid on edge they can produce dark, broad lines when used length wise and wide areas of dark colour when used width wise. Also, when used width wise, differing pressure on the ends can give interesting gradations across the stroke. You can also blend well with your fingers or with a chamois/paper towel producing smooth gradations. In terms of erasability it seems to lift a little easier than the typical compressed charcoal, probably because of its looser, more powdery nature (but don't expect to get back to bare paper).Overall I've been very happy with these. If you are looking for a soft, dark, expressive material then this will probably fit the bill.

Most dramatic black I can get in a charcoal.

Hands down, the darkest charcoal I have ever used

Very pigmented and works great

(2) sticks were broken and out of packaging. Tried to return but difficult and cumbersome. These were ordered for large scale drawings, unable to use for making marks/time sensitive. Will never order from them again.

The darkest charcoal with the best tooth fill I've ever encountered. If I need it really black, this is where I go. Pretty soft too, you can move it around a bit which is nice.

I read how a professional artist loved this in his larger charcoal paintings. It arrived squished out of its thin plastic container. I reached into the mailing envelope and came out covered in an oily mess. It took several days for the gray to fade from my tinted skin. Artist loved it, I did just as well with smaller, firmer charcoal sticks.

love drawing with charcoal