Charcoal is not just for barbecues - it can also be used to draw. Martha shows us how to make art with this ancient material.
What is charcoal made of?
Charcoal is one of the oldest art materials!
Drawings using charcoal have been found in caves.
Charcoal is made from burning wood, usually willow. The wood is not completely burnt away but it is preserved as a black stick that can be used to draw with.
How to use charcoal!
Image caption, Charcoal can be used like a pencil to make lines.
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Remember charcoal is very soft and your picture can smudge easily. When you have finished your drawing you can fix your picture by spraying it with hairspray or a special fixative. This will help stop it from smudging.
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Other uses for charcoal
Charcoal can be used in painting and ceramics to transfer sketches.
A drawing can be moved from paper to a tile or a canvas using charcoal dust.
This is called spolvero, a copy of the drawing is made using fine holes on paper, this is then placed on the surface you want to transfer the image to and charcoal dust is pushed through the holes.
It was discovered that a very famous painting called the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci was put on canvas by spolvero before it was then painted.
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