What can you do to keep charcoal on paper.

Question

I just finished a charcoal drawing and the charcoal keeps coming off and getting everywhere and its ruining my drawing.. i know there's something that keeps charcoal on paper but I don't know the name for it. Help please?

Answer 1

it's called a fixative. Prismacolour has a good one, it's 'matte' type. Any art store should have it--it comes in a spray can. Charcoal usually needs about two coats or so.

;P

Answer 2

We always used cheap hairspray, it works as well if not better that the expensive stuff from art shops. Just don't get the flexy hold hold get the one that glues your hair together.

Never even once did the paper turn yellow for me or anyone one else in the college. We normally used tesco brand hairspray less than a euro compare that to fixative €15-€20. I used to go through about two can a week, and they weren't small cans either! One thing I will say don't spray it too close but the same go's for fixative

Answer 3

DO NOT USE HAIRSPRAY --- unless you don't care if it turns the paper yellow!

There could be an issue with the paper . . . did you use a paper with some "tooth" or was it pretty smooth?  Charcoal and pastels both require a paper with some 'grabbing power' since both mediums consist of tiny particles of dry pigment which tend to want to let go of the paper's surface.  

One thing I recommend if you do not have fixative, is to step outdoors with your drawing and give a few good >>thunks<< on the back to knock off any remaining loose charcoal particles.   (Be gentle enough that you do not harm the paper, but if you pat it like you would beat a rug, it should do the trick.) Unless you actually work the charcoal into the paper by some form of rubbing action, it is natural for the loose particles to want to fall off.  

If you want to fix it, Krylon makes a decent workable fixative that allows you to add a little fresh charcoal or pastel over the fixed layer if you prefer to have the sparkle unfixed dust gives to artwork.  I work in pastels a lot, and I never fix my paintings, because it can clump the crystals (which are what give pastels their brilliance) and it can darken the colors.  However, if I did, I would use a workable fixative so I could hit the highlights lightly with fresh color to give it some depth back again.  

To store your charcoal drawings just layer them between sheets of glassine, or if you do not have access to this thin translucent paper, use tracing paper . . . it works just as well.  And if you want to frame your charcoal drawings, remember you will at the very least want to use a mat so the charcoal dust is separated from the glass . . . and using spacers or gluing extra strips of matboard around the back of your mat to make some space between the art and the mat so the dust will fall behind it is another way.  

You can clean up your drawing by dabbing a kneaded rubber eraser you have softened like silly putty until it is tacky . . . that should lift any stray smudges or dustings of wayward charcoal!  

Answer 4

It's called fixatif.  Go to the bathroom, though, and grab some hair spray --  some bands are chemically the same.  Then go to your arts or crafts store tomorrow and ask about Krylon Spray Fixatif.