<p>There are a few alternatives I can think of you can use to refine your underdrawing:</p>
<ul>
<li>Using a small brush you can paint the finer details, either with <strong>acrylic</strong> for quicker corrections, or already in <strong>(diluted) oils</strong>.</li>
<li>Using a dip pen in combination with <strong>acrylic inks</strong> (I'm not sure how Indian inks will behave under oil paint in the long run).</li>
<li>You can use <strong>coloured pencils</strong>, preferably choosing a colour that is only slightly darker or lighter than your imprimatura (just avoid graphite, as it will will really muddy up any lighter paint).</li>
<li>If your imprimatura happens to be darker than white, another option is to use (a) <strong>white chalk</strong> (pencil), but this is not practical for detailed work.</li>
</ul>
<p>As a footnote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;it is naturally wiped off&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is not entirely true: while the application of the charcoal is usually so light that the mere proximity of a brush will sweep some of it away, it will likely at least partially mix with your paints.<br />
This is obviously not necessarily a bad thing, especially in the underpainting stage, but just something to be aware of.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-17T10:05:56.970Z
@pjldesign Please let me know what ultimately worked best for you, or anything you might want to add to this. Thanks in advance!
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-15T14:48:58.717Z
2022-04-15T14:48:58.717Z
Joachim
<p>I'm working on my first painting commission for a client and have finally reached the underpainting (underdrawing) stage — after months of composition drawings, photoshoots, etc., suffering innumerable stumbles and pitfalls.</p>
<p>I finally transferred the image to a primed and toned canvas using carbon paper and a large-format print of the reference photo.</p>
<p>Now I want to refine the drawing on the canvas.<br />
It was suggested to me to use vine charcoal for this purpose — ostensibly when moving to the underpainting stage it is naturally wiped off, where graphite or other forms of charcoal would show through — but find that it doesn't adhere well at all to the primed, semi-smooth canvas.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, because of my NDA with the client, I can't show my work here, but could anyone who has ever encountered this suggest a better tool for creating the underdrawing?</p>
<p>Thanks for any insight!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-15T14:50:35.433Z
Related: [What do I use to outline a sketch when I want to apply watercolour afterwards?](https://crafts.stackexchange.com/questions/8889/)
Joachim
<painting><oil-paint>
Best drawing material for creating an underdrawing on a primed and toned canvas
pjldesign
# Best drawing material for creating an underdrawing on a primed and toned canvas

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-04-14)

I'm working on my first painting commission for a client and have finally reached the underpainting (underdrawing) stage — after months of composition drawings, photoshoots, etc., suffering innumerable stumbles and pitfalls.

I finally transferred the image to a primed and toned canvas using carbon paper and a large-format print of the reference photo.

Now I want to refine the drawing on the canvas.  
It was suggested to me to use vine charcoal for this purpose — ostensibly when moving to the underpainting stage it is naturally wiped off, where graphite or other forms of charcoal would show through — but find that it doesn't adhere well at all to the primed, semi-smooth canvas.

Unfortunately, because of my NDA with the client, I can't show my work here, but could anyone who has ever encountered this suggest a better tool for creating the underdrawing?

Thanks for any insight!

**Tags:** painting, oil-paint

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Related: [What do I use to outline a sketch when I want to apply watercolour afterwards?](https://crafts.stackexchange.com/questions/8889/)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-04-15. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

There are a few alternatives I can think of you can use to refine your underdrawing:

* Using a small brush you can paint the finer details, either with **acrylic** for quicker corrections, or already in **(diluted) oils**.
* Using a dip pen in combination with **acrylic inks** (I'm not sure how Indian inks will behave under oil paint in the long run).
* You can use **coloured pencils**, preferably choosing a colour that is only slightly darker or lighter than your imprimatura (just avoid graphite, as it will will really muddy up any lighter paint).
* If your imprimatura happens to be darker than white, another option is to use (a) **white chalk** (pencil), but this is not practical for detailed work.

As a footnote:

> "it is naturally wiped off"

This is not entirely true: while the application of the charcoal is usually so light that the mere proximity of a brush will sweep some of it away, it will likely at least partially mix with your paints.  
This is obviously not necessarily a bad thing, especially in the underpainting stage, but just something to be aware of.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: @username_0 Please let me know what ultimately worked best for you, or anything you might want to add to this. Thanks in advance!  

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