Review on Enhance Your Artistry with Nitram 700301 Charcoal by Tara Ford

I've been drooling over this brand of charcoal for a long time thanks to the stylish Youtube videos that Nitram has uploaded. You will see several artists create flawless charcoal drawings of plaster busts using Nitram products in a beautifully appointed studio environment. Each has an easel and inclined stick or 'bridge', and there are many white plaster sculptures to classify the landscape. Well I can't afford all the trappings of a fine atelier but I could at least buy a box of Nitram charcoal to see if it's any better than other brands. , natural, compressed or others. If you look at the cross-section of the baton, you don't see the tough little core that most wicker rods from other manufacturers have, and there are seam lines on the sides that indicate a mold is used. I would never call it pressed charcoal, however, as the texture is more porous or fibrous, like grapevine charcoal. Therefore, Nitram's proprietary formula/process must be different from other brands. Below are my first observations: - Very soft texture, produces velvety touches like willow stick - No sharpening required - Just start painting and twist the stick to create a fine edge or point - Very low dust levels - Most vines and Willows leave a nice mark that disappears when smeared or blown on, but no nitram - VERY easy to scrape off with hands and wipe off paper with a putty eraser - Feels firmer than it looks - you can use some pressure when shading . My sticks didn't break during transport either, except for a small tip - I don't really mind. - You don't get true black with this particular charcoal - just a dark (but not very dark) gray. That last point surprised me because most charcoals labeled "soft" or "extra soft" are darker than harder formulas. This is one of those rules that stays the same for both charcoal and graphite, but perhaps only applies to pressed grades. Nitram manufactures three grades of Fusains Acadèmie which are 5mm thick square sticks available in hard, medium and soft grades like many other grades of charcoal. I have a feeling they're more like compressed charcoal, but I'll confirm this if I get a chance to try one of these. Now the BIG question: Is Nitram charcoal worth the price? My short answer: Yes, when it comes to price, I'm not sure I really paid more for Nitram batons than for a box of 10 or 12 embers from other good brands. Whichever way you look at it, the sticks are around $1.60 when you pay around $8 (recommended retail price for that size) for a pack of 5, not including shipping or the special Prime price. It's slightly larger than General, but in the same range as Derwent, Cretacolor, Faber-Castel Pitt and other art-level brands. Nitram sticks are 8mm wide and 152mm (6 inches) long, while Derwent and many other brands are about half the length of compressed sticks. If you look at it that way, you're not paying a ridiculous price for charcoal because it should last a while. I plan to try one of the Academie boxes next time - probably B, which might be more akin to a pressed stick. as clubs. The only problem I have with Moyens batons is that I can't get a good black, but I haven't shot a star because I've never used willow or grape charcoal that could do that. Now if I have the same issue with Academie it might dampen my enthusiasm for the brand but for now this charcoal gets me five stars.