Charcoal originally comes from carbonised wood (most commonly willow). It has been one of the most widely used drawing tools since the 19th century for studies, sketches, and fine art drawing. A charcoal drawing can only be preserved by using a fixative so that the carbon does not come off.

While natural charcoal comes in stick form, there is also charcoal pencil, whose core is strengthened with a binder and a specific firing process to make it more resistant.

Charcoal is also available as compressed charcoal: in this case, it is charcoal powder mixed with a binder.