>>939605860
Conte is a fantastic material. I always get the 2B cause I like my materials soft and dark. If you can afford a metal can with a sealabke metal lid you can make your own charcoal pretty easily. Just poke a couple of holes in the can then fill the inside with wood sticks, put the lid on it, and toss it in a fire. The can will shield the wood from direct fire, and the heat will cause all the moisture in the wood to escape, which will also release all the wood gas. After awhile take the can out of the fire and let it cool way down, pop the lid off and you got yourself some homemade charcoal. You'll know when it's done when there's no more gas and vapor venting out of the can. Super cheap, and you get the feeling really connecting with your material since you made it yourself. Progress is always slow going when learning to draw. And at some point you will reach a stage where you think your stuff actually looks worse than before you started learning. At that point don't despair, what it means is you are in fact learning, and in doing so are more easily able to recognize problems in ylur drawing. Which is a good thing.
