Jakar7623 Assorted Greys Compressed Charcoal Stick (Pack of 12)

I've been doing art all my life and I probably used every medium there is, from the very expensive to the dirt cheap. These charcoal sticks are very cheap, but their quality is amazing. I originally bought them to use as fillers for large sketches, and wasn't expecting much. I'm pleased that the price tag doesn't match the quality. They're on par with the much more expensive brands. Also, the idea of having grades of grey never appealed to me. The thought was that you can always create gradient shades with only black and white, the tones in between can be achieved with varied mixing. However, I found the greys quite helpful, not least because they save time. Check the attached picture: this is only a warming-up very quick sketch to try the charcoals. You'll notice the grey tones were quite helpful in achieving the desired effect without spending too much time or effort blending.

I only ordered this item on Wednesday after 3 o'clock it is now Friday and it has arrived today. I never paid for any special delivery I only paid £1.25p for standard delivery. I would highly recommend the seller as it was not just the delivery am happy about the charcoal was in great condition and nicely packed and very reasonable'y priced. I bought this for my wife and she is very happy with it. Great service, great delivery time highly recommended. Nothing wrong with it at all.

These charcoal sticks arrived quickly and in perfect condition.I have rediscovered the fun of working in charcoal after avoiding it for decades (so messy! But so fun).These looked a good way to extend the colour range whilst keeping it monochrome.So far i am really pleased with them.Yes they have a strange feeling exterior, and can be a little temperamental, but there's a knack to using them. Practice! Play about with them until you find a way that works for you. Most of all, have fun.Would i buy them again? Definitely, yes.I hope you find this review helpful, thanks for reading.

Really lovely charcoal to use. Quite soft in application and easy to blend in. Good quality charcoal that I would have expected to have cost quite a lot more.

Love it, except, there gradations of grey are so fine, you'll have difficulty identifying lighter/darker sticks of grey unless you label them, of find watts of organising them neatly. Blendable, yet difficult to remove like compressed chalk/charcoal.Looks odd against white paper, but lovely on toned paper. Just lacks the velvety, matte, smooth look of the willow stuff.

A little disappointed when I came to use these sticks. Not sure what I expected really. They didn't seem to produce as positive an effect as I wanted. Perhaps I just need to get used to them. Found it difficult to get a fine line once I'd started using a stick. They are round and feel as if they've been coated with some sort of smooth finish. This does at least mean that they are much less messy to use than willow sticks. Very little comes off on your fingers. Will persevere and hope for an improvement.

I bought these for a drawing class I was taking - the tutor recommended them as being good quality and not expensive. Haven't used them much, but they seem fine.

Perfect