<p>Depending on the paper and pressure you apply to your pencil, when you use graphite over charcoal, you will just scratch away most of the charcoal powder. Fixating the charcoal first won't help much, since the charcoal particles are much larger, and this process will just mess up the drawing more.<br />
On the other hand, using charcoal over graphite won't work well either, since the charcoal might not get a sufficient grip on the graphite wherever it has been applied heavily: using pencils applies pressure that flattens the paper, while the remaining texture will be filled up with graphite - the glossier the pencil marks, the harder it will be to apply charcoal over it.</p>
<ul>
<li>You can combine both techniques, but will have to <strong>do some planning in advance so the two won't mix as much</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Instead of using regular pencils, you can use grey or coloured pencils</strong>, which will have a much more matte effect.</li>
<li>If you're using pencils because of the reversibility, and using mediums is out of the question, the only real option you have is to <strong>only draw very lightly, preferably with softer pencils</strong> (e.g. 9B).</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-06T14:23:54.053Z
oh, i never thought about a grey colored pencil
Isaac750
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-06T12:37:41.297Z
2021-04-06T12:37:41.297Z
Joachim
<p>you can buy what is known as workable fixative to apply to your work as the tooth in the paper lessens. it actually restores some tooth so you can continue to draw on top of the fixative.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-16T22:38:45.277Z
2021-05-16T22:38:45.277Z
m beckett
<p>Using graphite is somewhat risky. I've seen that when I use graphite it ends up very shiny, am I doing anything wrong? If im correct, the process is: apply the charcoal then the graphite, but how can you &quot;dim&quot; the shine of the graphite without using <a href="https://crafts.stackexchange.com/questions/4186/how-to-stop-or-reduce-graphite-from-reflecting-light">said</a> products? Can you add x layer to make it more like a
&quot;matte grayish&quot; tone? (if that makes sense?)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-02T07:11:01.483Z
Possible duplicate, but at least a very similar question: [How to stop or reduce graphite from reflecting light?](https://crafts.stackexchange.com/questions/4186/how-to-stop-or-reduce-graphite-from-reflecting-light)
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-02T22:06:27.540Z
That solved the shiny part, but i also dont know the process required to be mixed with charcoal
Isaac750
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-03T06:22:06.343Z
Can you edit the post so it only focuses on that question, and maybe add what you have tried, and what effect you're looking for?
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-05T15:30:47.653Z
What process are you talking about, mixing charcoal and graphite? What is the goal? I have never encountered a "formal" method of mixing the two drawing mediums. Isn't that more a matter of taste, style, and/or composition?
rebusB
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-05T21:04:23.573Z
yes. meet the normal tone color of graphite, just not so shiny. And I dont think so
Isaac750
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-05T22:32:36.957Z
Graphite gonna be graphite.  The nature of it is to be shiny.  I suspect the real answer is to use something other than graphite if you don't want it to look like graphite.  Is there charcoal media (maybe with more clay content), that is harder and grayer?
fixer1234
<drawing><charcoal><blending><technique-selection><graphite>
How do I mix charcoal and graphite correctly?
Isaac750
# How do I mix charcoal and graphite correctly?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-04-02)

Using graphite is somewhat risky. I've seen that when I use graphite it ends up very shiny, am I doing anything wrong? If im correct, the process is: apply the charcoal then the graphite, but how can you "dim" the shine of the graphite without using [said](https://crafts.stackexchange.com/questions/4186/how-to-stop-or-reduce-graphite-from-reflecting-light) products? Can you add x layer to make it more like a
"matte grayish" tone? (if that makes sense?)

**Tags:** drawing, charcoal, blending, technique-selection, graphite

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Possible duplicate, but at least a very similar question: [How to stop or reduce graphite from reflecting light?](https://crafts.stackexchange.com/questions/4186/how-to-stop-or-reduce-graphite-from-reflecting-light)  
> **username_0**: That solved the shiny part, but i also dont know the process required to be mixed with charcoal  
> **username_1**: Can you edit the post so it only focuses on that question, and maybe add what you have tried, and what effect you're looking for?  
> **username_2**: What process are you talking about, mixing charcoal and graphite? What is the goal? I have never encountered a "formal" method of mixing the two drawing mediums. Isn't that more a matter of taste, style, and/or composition?  
> **username_0**: yes. meet the normal tone color of graphite, just not so shiny. And I dont think so  
> **username_3**: Graphite gonna be graphite.  The nature of it is to be shiny.  I suspect the real answer is to use something other than graphite if you don't want it to look like graphite.  Is there charcoal media (maybe with more clay content), that is harder and grayer?  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-04-06. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Depending on the paper and pressure you apply to your pencil, when you use graphite over charcoal, you will just scratch away most of the charcoal powder. Fixating the charcoal first won't help much, since the charcoal particles are much larger, and this process will just mess up the drawing more.  
On the other hand, using charcoal over graphite won't work well either, since the charcoal might not get a sufficient grip on the graphite wherever it has been applied heavily: using pencils applies pressure that flattens the paper, while the remaining texture will be filled up with graphite - the glossier the pencil marks, the harder it will be to apply charcoal over it.

* You can combine both techniques, but will have to **do some planning in advance so the two won't mix as much**.
* **Instead of using regular pencils, you can use grey or coloured pencils**, which will have a much more matte effect.
* If you're using pencils because of the reversibility, and using mediums is out of the question, the only real option you have is to **only draw very lightly, preferably with softer pencils** (e.g. 9B).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: oh, i never thought about a grey colored pencil  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2021-05-16. Score: 0

you can buy what is known as workable fixative to apply to your work as the tooth in the paper lessens. it actually restores some tooth so you can continue to draw on top of the fixative.


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