What would be the equivalent of colored charcoal?

Question: What would be the equivalent of colored charcoal!?

I am a huge fan of using charcoal (mostly for drawing portraits of people), and I would love to be able to do my drawings in color!.

So, I'm looking for something thats colored but is about the same texture as charcoal and that I can just use on ragular paper!.

I've been looking into pastel chalk pencils, but I'm not sure if that is the best for what I'm looking for or if there is something better!. Can someone PLEASE help me decide what will work the best for me!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

It's been a while since I've used chalk pastel pencils, but, if I remember correctly, they're pretty similar to charcoal!. However, if you want something that's even closer to it, I'd recommend you try regular chalk pastels instead!. They're really soft and really easy to blend, and you can get them in a ton of colors!. For a stick pastel that's firmer and less messy, check out the Prismacolor Nupastels!. They work great too, but I still think you'd be better off the with the regular square ones!.

Here are a few links for you!. The first one is for the Nupastels, and the last two are for your average stick pastels!.
http://www!.dickblick!.com/zz200/34a/
http://www!.dickblick!.com/zz200/05/
http://www!.dickblick!.com/zz219/30/

Hope this helps!Www@QuestionHome@Com

You can use pastels!.
I think they are technically called soft pastels!. They are a chalk like stick that gives the same texture and feel of charcoal sticks!. You can find them in similar containers to what charcoal sticks come in!.
I use both intermitedly!.
http://www!.dickblick!.com/zz200/24/Www@QuestionHome@Com

Dry pastels would be best, as I can't think of any other way to apply dry pigments without making a complete mess!. Charcoal is much more erasable than pastels, which may present a problem, but theoretically, the blending and response of pastels will be similar to charcoal!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think chalk pencils would be the closest!. Have you considered using regular charcoal on colored paper!?Www@QuestionHome@Com