Students have the choice of learning the carbon dust technique as a six week class or a one day workshop. 

Learn the century old technique of carbon dust which involves using a dry brush to apply layers of carbon dust to achieve realistic 3D effects using continuous tone values and light and dark. Each week students will practice this easy-to-learn and very forgiving technique using various materials and depicting different subjects.

Each class will include instructor demonstrations. This course meets online: 3 hours per class for 6 weeks. Having a basic drawing skills and an understanding light and shade is a prerequisite.

Course Objectives:
– purpose of the course is to teach students this 130+ year old traditional technique of carbon dust using natural history objects as our illustration subjects
– add another technique to your natural science illustration skillset
– improve observational skills
– learn how to render light and shadow using continuous tone

Six Week Class Schedule: Week 1: Intro to carbon dust (history of technique, review of materials and demo); Week 2: Depicting simple natural history objects (e.g. bone) on paper surface (Bristol, illustration board and vellum); Week 3: Depicting simple natural history objects (e.g. pumpkin) on polyester matte drafting film (e.g. Grafix Dura-lar); Week 4: Implement what you’ve learned by copying a historical carbon dust illustration; Week 5: Start original carbon dust illustration – students choice of subject and surface; Week 6: Complete original carbon dust illustration.

Workshop Schedule: 10am – 11am: Intro to carbon dust (history of technique, review of materials and demo); 11am –12pm: Practice rendering simple 3D shapes on bond paper surface; 12pm – 1pm: Practice rendering simple animal object e.g. long bone, on polyester matte drafting film (e.g. Grafix Dura-lar); 1pm – 2pm: Practice rendering simple botanical object e.g. pumpkin, on semi-transparent surface (e.g. heavy tracing paper or ClearPrint vellum); 2pm – 4pm: render a more complex subject on surface selected by the student.

All classes meet online and will be recorded for your personal use or if you prefer to watch the recording on your own time and cannot make the class time.