Graphite or Charcoal?

Last weekend or so I was just feeling pretty creative. I was just in one of those moods were a lot of ideas were coming to me. I keep a little notebook where I write down prompts for ideas. I also doodled a few ideas out.

I came up with one new idea I rather liked. Originally I was just thinking "Oh I'll just do it in pastels." But then I thought about it and realized perhaps it would be better to do it in pencils. It's the kind of picture that could work very nice in monochromatic tones.

I am a fan of pencils myself. In fact I realize there's often something nice about my sketch work that doesn't transfer into my final drawings. (In truth I've thought about exploring doing graphite drawings, and then taking them into photoshop and adding just a color layer on top.) But back to the question at hand, what kind of pencils to use? Do I want to use graphite or charcoal?

I think they both have their pros and cons. I haven't used good ole graphite pencils seriously in a long time. The same could be said about charcoal. I think I'm leaning more towards the charcoal though only because of it's darker and richer tones. The piece needs some darkness and richness. As previously stated my pencils haven't been used in a while. I do currently question the state of these pencils. I may be needing some brand new pencils.


I'm hoping I can carry through with doing some of those ideas. I first need to finish the two pieces I've started. Daylight saving's time has been a very bitter adjustment to me.