Fresh examples of experimenting with charcoal: mixed media techniques that actually feel exciting

Let’s skip the theory and jump straight into examples of experimenting with charcoal: mixed media techniques that you can actually test on your next sheet of paper.

Picture this: a loose charcoal portrait drawn over a chaotic acrylic underpainting, then punched up with white pastel and thin ink lines. Or a moody landscape where charcoal skies sit on top of matte gesso textures, with tiny collaged paper windows glowing in the distance. These are the kinds of mixed media examples that make charcoal feel alive instead of academic.

Below are some of the best examples artists are using right now—pulled from studio practice, contemporary drawing trends, and what’s showing up in galleries and online portfolios in 2024–2025.

Charcoal + acrylic paint: high-contrast drama

One of the most reliable examples of experimenting with charcoal: mixed media techniques is combining charcoal with acrylic. Acrylic dries fast and matte, which makes a great surface for charcoal to grip.

Think of it as painting the mood first, drawing the story second. Many artists lay down loose acrylic washes in earthy colors, then build their charcoal drawing on top. The acrylic blocks in big shapes and temperature (warm vs. cool), while the charcoal handles edges, expression, and depth.

A real example of this:

• Start with a 16×20 inch canvas board.
• Brush on thin acrylic washes in burnt sienna and ultramarine, letting drips happen.
• Once dry, sketch your subject in vine charcoal, then refine with compressed charcoal.
• Erase into the charcoal with a kneaded eraser to pull out highlights.

In 2024, you’ll see this approach all over Instagram and portfolio sites: gestural figure drawings where the body is carved out of smoky charcoal lines floating over colorful, abstract acrylic backgrounds. It’s a fast way to make your drawings feel like finished paintings.

Acrylic also acts as a fixative layer. You can paint over charcoal (lightly, with medium and soft brushes) to trap earlier marks and then redraw on top, building history into the piece.

Charcoal + ink: crisp vs. smoky

If acrylic is about color and mood, ink is about precision and snap. One of the best examples of a charcoal mixed media combo is pairing soft charcoal shading with razor-sharp ink lines.

Here’s how that looks in practice:

• Use charcoal to block in values and atmosphere—fog, shadows, folds of fabric.
• Add black waterproof ink with a dip pen or brush for details: eyelashes, architectural lines, tree branches.

This contrast works beautifully in urban sketching. Real examples include:

• A city street drawn in charcoal on toned paper, with only the street signs, window frames, and overhead wires picked out in ink.
• A portrait where the hair and clothing are smudgy charcoal, but the eyes and jewelry are tightly rendered in ink.

For better control, many artists use India ink or other waterproof inks so they can go back over the dried ink with more charcoal without smearing the lines. University drawing programs often encourage this combination in experimental drawing courses—precise ink gives structure, charcoal keeps things expressive.

If you want to dig deeper into drawing materials and safety (especially if you spray fixative near ink), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has practical guidance on ventilation and art material safety.

Charcoal + gesso and textured grounds: drawing on grit

Another set of examples of experimenting with charcoal: mixed media techniques involves not what you put on top of charcoal, but what you put under it.

Gesso—especially if you scratch into it or mix in pumice—creates a toothy surface that grabs charcoal in interesting ways.

A typical example of this approach:

• Coat a wood panel with two or three layers of acrylic gesso.
• While the last layer is still tacky, drag a palette knife, comb, or even a fork through it to create ridges and grooves.
• Once dry, draw with charcoal across the surface. The charcoal catches on the ridges and skips across the valleys, creating broken, textural lines.

Real examples include abstract landscapes where the “rocks” and “cliffs” are just gesso texture catching charcoal dust. In 2024–2025, you’ll see artists on TikTok and YouTube using black gesso as a base, then drawing with white charcoal pencil on top for glowing, almost cinematic lighting effects.

You can also brush on clear gesso over a smooth paper drawing, let it dry, and then go back in with more charcoal. This lets you build layers of drawing, texture, drawing, texture—almost like geological strata.

Charcoal + collage: drawing into the real world

Collage takes charcoal out of the purely “drawn” world and lets you argue with printed reality. This is one of the more playful examples of experimenting with charcoal: mixed media techniques, and it’s everywhere in contemporary illustration.

A real example of this:

• Tear pages from old magazines, maps, or sheet music.
• Glue them onto a heavyweight paper or panel using matte medium.
• Once dry, draw over and around the collage with charcoal.

The printed text and images become part of your composition. You might draw a charcoal portrait over a collage of medical diagrams, or sketch a city skyline over collaged maps of the same city.

Some of the best examples include:

• Using charcoal to “erase” or obscure parts of printed text, leaving only a few words legible to create a hidden poem.
• Drawing figures whose bodies are made of collaged patterns, with charcoal used to unify the shapes and add shadows.

Many art schools and community college programs (check local .edu art departments) teach this as an accessible way to introduce mixed media. It’s low-cost, fast, and incredibly flexible.

Charcoal + pastel and colored pencil: color without losing grit

If you love charcoal’s drama but crave color, combining it with soft pastel or colored pencil is one of the best examples of a low-effort, high-impact technique.

Soft pastel has a similar dry, dusty feel to charcoal, so they layer nicely. Real examples include:

• A charcoal portrait with only the lips and cheeks touched with soft red pastel.
• A still life drawn entirely in charcoal, with just a single lemon or flower rendered in bright pastel.

Colored pencil, especially oil-based or wax-based, can sit on top of charcoal to add sharp accents. Think:

• Charcoal shading for a jacket, with colored pencil stitching and buttons.
• A charcoal night scene where only the neon signs are drawn in electric colored pencil.

To keep things from turning into mud, many artists:

• Lay down charcoal first for values.
• Lightly fix it (test spray!)
• Then add pastel or colored pencil on top.

For more on pigment behavior and archival concerns when layering different dry media, resources from institutions like the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute can be helpful.

Charcoal + water media: washes, drips, and controlled chaos

Some of the most striking examples of experimenting with charcoal: mixed media techniques right now come from combining charcoal with water—either watercolor, ink washes, or even water-soluble graphite.

Traditional charcoal doesn’t love water, but water-soluble charcoal and charcoal pencils have exploded in popularity in the last few years. They let you draw, then liquefy your marks with a brush.

A real example of this trend:

• Sketch a figure with water-soluble charcoal.
• Use a wet brush to pull the charcoal into soft shadows, like watercolor.
• Once dry, go back in with regular compressed charcoal for crisp, velvety darks.

Many artists also:

• Lay down loose watercolor washes first for color.
• Let them dry completely.
• Then draw with regular charcoal on top, using the watercolor as a mood-setting underpainting.

This shows up a lot in contemporary illustration: moody ink or watercolor backgrounds with sharp charcoal characters in the foreground. The combination of fluid stains and dry, grainy marks creates a layered, cinematic feel.

If you’re sensitive to dust or spray fixatives, you can find health guidance on art materials from sources like the National Library of Medicine, which often links to up-to-date safety recommendations.

Charcoal + tape, stencils, and unconventional tools

Not all mixed media is about adding more “art supplies.” Sometimes the best examples come from using everyday tools in weird ways.

Masking tape and painter’s tape are low-tech heroes here. Real examples include:

• Taping off geometric shapes on your paper, then scrubbing charcoal over the whole surface. When you peel the tape, you get sharp white shapes cutting through the dark.
• Creating a rough stencil from scrap paper, holding it down, and brushing charcoal around its edges to get soft, ghostly silhouettes.

Artists also experiment with:

• Sandpaper or sanding blocks to wear away charcoal layers.
• Rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab to lift and blur charcoal.
• Plastic gift cards or palette knives to scrape charcoal across the surface.

These examples of experimenting with charcoal: mixed media techniques are less about combining different products and more about combining different actions—rubbing, scraping, lifting, masking. They’re especially good for abstract work or backgrounds that need energy.

Charcoal in 2024–2025: digital mashups and installation vibes

Charcoal isn’t stuck in the 19th century. Some of the best examples right now stretch what “drawing” even means.

You’ll see artists:

• Create large charcoal drawings, then photograph or scan them and manipulate them digitally—adding color, layering textures, or animating the marks.
• Project digital imagery onto a wall and draw over the projection with charcoal, letting the moving light change how the drawing reads.
• Combine charcoal with printed digital photos, drawing into and over them to question what’s “real” and what’s constructed.

These hybrid approaches are showing up in MFA programs and contemporary drawing exhibitions. They’re still examples of experimenting with charcoal: mixed media techniques, just with “media” expanded to include screens, light, and digital print.

If you’re interested in how traditional and digital practices intersect, organizations like the College Art Association often publish talks and articles on current trends in drawing and mixed media.

Simple ways to start your own mixed media experiments

All these real examples are fun to look at, but they’re more useful if you can translate them into experiments in your own sketchbook.

A few easy starting setups:

• Charcoal over a single-color acrylic wash. Keep it monochrome and focus on value.
• Charcoal plus one collage element. Glue down a single photo or text block and respond to it.
• Charcoal plus one accent color in pastel or colored pencil. Everything else stays grayscale.
• Charcoal with tape masking. Play with stripes, boxes, or radiating lines.

The goal isn’t to copy the best examples you see online, but to stack materials in ways that make you curious. Each page in your sketchbook can be a different example of how charcoal behaves when it meets something new.

As you experiment, note what happens:

• Does the charcoal sit on top or sink in?
• Does it smudge more or less?
• Do you like the shine, matte, or texture you’re getting?

Those observations will give you your own personal catalog of examples of experimenting with charcoal: mixed media techniques—tailored to your style, your paper, and your favorite materials.

FAQ: examples of mixed media charcoal questions artists actually ask

Q: What are some easy examples of charcoal mixed media for beginners?
Start with charcoal plus one other medium: acrylic washes, collage, or soft pastel. A classic beginner example of this is a charcoal still life over a light gray acrylic wash, with a few pastel color accents. It’s forgiving, fast, and teaches you how charcoal sits on painted surfaces.

Q: Can I use charcoal on top of watercolor or ink washes?
Yes, as long as the washes are fully dry. Many artists create watercolor or ink backgrounds, then add charcoal for depth and contrast. These are some of the best examples of atmospheric mixed media drawings—soft color in the back, strong charcoal shapes in front.

Q: Do I have to use fixative with mixed media charcoal pieces?
You don’t have to, but it helps if you want your examples of mixed media drawings to survive more than a week. Light layers of workable fixative between stages can lock in charcoal before you add pastel, colored pencil, or more wet media. Always test on a scrap, and follow safety guidance from reliable health sources like MedlinePlus via the National Library of Medicine.

Q: What’s an example of a more advanced charcoal mixed media project?
A strong advanced example is a large-scale figure drawing on gessoed panel combining charcoal, acrylic underpainting, collage, and ink. You might start with an abstract acrylic base, add collage fragments, draw the figure in charcoal, then refine edges and details with ink. This kind of layered project shows up often in contemporary drawing and painting programs.

Q: Are there archival issues with these examples of experimenting with charcoal: mixed media techniques?
Any time you mix materials, you’re juggling different levels of flexibility, acidity, and lightfastness. Using good paper or primed panels, acid-free adhesives for collage, and artist-grade pigments helps. For serious archival concerns, conservators at institutions like the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute publish research on how mixed media works age over time.

In the end, the best examples of experimenting with charcoal: mixed media techniques are the ones that make you forget you’re “supposed” to be drawing a certain way. Charcoal is just carbon on a stick. The fun starts when you let it collide with everything else in your studio and see what kind of trouble it can get into.