Every serious sketcher needs two things: a medium for loose, expressive mark-making and a medium for precise, controlled line work. The REMSONG Willow Charcoal Sticks — 4-5mm for Drawing, 25 Pack and the Click Fineliner Pens — Black Pigment Ink Micro Drawing, 9 Size are the perfect pairing: charcoal for gestural, tonal work; fineliners for precise, permanent line. Together they cover the full range of drawing techniques used in UK art schools, life drawing classes, and professional illustration studios.
REMSONG Willow Charcoal: The Sketcher's Most Expressive Tool
Willow charcoal is the purest, most responsive drawing medium available. Made from charred willow twigs, it produces a soft, velvety mark that can be blended with a finger, lifted with a kneaded eraser, and built up in layers to create rich tonal drawings. The REMSONG 25-pack of 4-5mm sticks provides a generous supply of consistent, high-quality charcoal at a size that's versatile for both broad tonal work and more detailed mark-making.
Why Willow Over Compressed Charcoal?
Willow charcoal is softer and more erasable than compressed charcoal — marks can be completely removed with a kneaded eraser, making it ideal for exploratory drawing where changes and corrections are part of the process. This erasability makes willow charcoal the preferred choice for life drawing, portrait sketching, and any drawing practice where the ability to revise is important. Compressed charcoal, by contrast, is more permanent and better suited to final, committed marks.
25 Sticks: A Term's Supply
Charcoal is a consumable medium — sticks break and wear down with use. Twenty-five sticks is a generous supply that will last through an entire term of life drawing classes or months of regular sketching practice. The consistent 4-5mm diameter means every stick in the pack behaves the same way, with no variation in mark quality between sticks.
Click Fineliner 9-Size Set: Precision for Every Line
Where charcoal is expressive and forgiving, fineliners are precise and permanent. The Click Fineliner Pens in 9 sizes give UK artists the complete range of line widths used in technical illustration, architectural drawing, comic art, and detailed pen-and-ink work.
Nine Sizes: Every Line Width Covered
The 9-size set typically covers line widths from 0.05mm (the finest hairline) to 1.0mm (a bold, graphic line), with multiple sizes in between. Having the full range means you can:
- Use the finest sizes for hatching, cross-hatching, and texture
- Use mid-range sizes for general line work and outlines
- Use the boldest sizes for main outlines and graphic emphasis
The variation in line weight is what gives pen-and-ink drawings their visual hierarchy and depth — without it, drawings look flat and undifferentiated.
Black Pigment Ink: Permanent and Archival
The black pigment ink is waterproof and lightfast — essential for artwork that needs to last. Pigment ink also allows watercolour washes to be applied over dried fineliner work without the ink bleeding or running, making these pens ideal for mixed-media work combining pen line with watercolour or ink wash.
The Charcoal + Fineliner Workflow
Many UK illustrators and fine artists use charcoal and fineliners in sequence: rough out the composition in charcoal, refine and commit with fineliner, then fix the charcoal or remove it entirely. This workflow combines the speed and flexibility of charcoal with the precision and permanence of fineliner, producing drawings that are both spontaneous and controlled. Browse our full drawing supplies range at TTPEN UK.
Sketch freely. Draw precisely. Shop the REMSONG Willow Charcoal 25-Pack and Click Fineliner 9-Size Set today.
Free UK delivery on qualifying orders at www.ttpen.co.uk.
