This is my 30-minute charcoal routine for building confidence and flow:
- 1–3 min: Big gesture and envelope with vine charcoal.
- 5–8 min: Shadow mapping; keep shapes graphic, avoid noodling.
- 10–20 min: Edge play; hard vs lost edges to direct the read.
- Last 5 min: Punch accents with compressed charcoal; lift lights with kneaded eraser.
Use a timer. The constraint forces decisive marks and removes perfectionism.