Charcoal Pet Portraits – Drawings of Pets in charcoal

Charcoal is a very popular medium. It’s great for sketching and smudging. It’s good fun and a bit messy – but with experience, it can be used for detailed, realistic pet portraits.
I use Faber Castell and Derwent charcoal pencils and my favourite paper is Daler and Rowney Heavyweight cartridge paper, which is acid-free and smooth.

I prefer charcoal to graphite pencils because the contrast of light and dark is intense, the tonal values rich – and this enables me to achieve really great realistic effects.

But do have a look and decide for yourself. Displayed below are some of my pet portraits in charcoal – if you’d like a black and white drawing / portrait of your pet, then charcoal is a fantastic option!