Mad Charcoal Review, Artist Josh Hernandez

I have been following, Mad Charcoal, artist Josh Hernandez, certainly the most amazing charcoal artist I have seen, for approximately two years now on Instagram. Not only does Josh produce some of the most amazing works of art I have ever seen, but his process is magical, to watch him throw charcoal dust at his canvas, plaster what to the untrained eye looks a mess, only to then, with a kneaded eraser, blending stump, painters tape and one or two other tools, pull an image out of thin air and finalise with a genuine masterpiece.

Not long ago, Mad Charcoal released his own branded charcoal kit and after reaching out to him asking about the set, he very generously and kindly sent me a set to review, here on the channel for all of you guys. If you are unaware of Mad Charcoal, now is the time to head over to the Mad Charoal website and Instagram platform and watch a master in action.

On sending the Mad Charcoal set to me, Josh was very clear that I was to be 100% honest about the set, good bad or indifferent. As far as Josh was concerned, honest feed back was important to him as it would help him improve the set if needed and provide the ultimate set for fellow artists. I don’t know Josh on a personal level, only what I have seen from his social media platforms and brief back and forth on email, but one thing I feel was very clear from Josh, is his desire to make art accessible to everyone, no matter the level or financial state of the individual and this is a point we will cover in great detail further into the review.

As always, before we get into the actual review, I have also completed a YouTube Video Review of the Mad Charcoal Set, a speed drawing of the artwork created with the Mad Charcoal set to aid in my demonstration. Finally I have added a series of still images on The Art Gear Guide of the artwork from start to finish and throughout the drawing process; this is for those who don’t like speed drawings and offers you the ability to see the artwork enlarged and in your own time. Simply click on the relevant links and you will be transported immediately to the review you wish to know

Mad Charcoal Set Contents

Taking into consideration that the Mad Charcoal set was sent to me to review, I was unaware of the price, so when I opened the package I was incredibly impressed at the premium packaging and delivery of the set. I immediately looked up the price of the set, expecting it to be a hefty price tag, but was blown away to discover the price.

As you can see the box is eloquently branded, a dark gunmetal grey with a black “Mad” branding in the centre. To access the set, the box opens via a magnetic flap on one side of the box. On opening the box you are presented with a QR Code printed on the inside of the lid, along with “Unleash the Madness” printed above it. On scanning the QR code, you are instantly transported to the Mad Charcoal website.

There is a foam cover, covering the set, with only the Mad Willow Charcoal set exposed. On removing the cover you are presented with the entirety of the set. From left to right you see the Mad Kneaded Eraser, below this is three sticks of compressed Mad Charcoal, all three with the Mad logo printed in white.

Everything in the set is firmly protected in a rubber foam like protective inlay, very similar to how the Caran d’Ache Luminance colored pencils are protected and the Museum Aquarelle. Next we have the Mad Willow Charcoal tube and again, this is a black tube with crystal clear white print.

New we see the Mad Charcoal powder set and for those of you who have used Pan Pastels, you will be very familiar with this form of medium, or a make up eye shadow tray. To help access and apply the Mad Charcoal powder, there is also a Mad Charcoal spatula or palette, complete with spare rubber covers.

Next you are presented with three woodless charcoal pencils, all printed with the Mad logo on the barrel. The woodless charcoal pencils, are covered with a very thin film, allowing the artist to apply and use the charcoal pencils, without the mess of charcoal all over your hands. The protective film on the barrel is more noticeable when you are sharpening the pencils. At the very end of the set you are presented with a paper blending stump and again the Mad logo is printed along the side, giving a premium feel to what is otherwise a simple blending stump, but with the Mad logo printed, it strangely makes the item feel unique.

Finally, I was also sent a Mad branded pencil extender, this is not actually included in the set yet, and so was sent separately. It is worth mentioning at this stage, that every single item in the set can be purchased individually from the Mad Charcoal website. At the time the set was sent to me, Josh had just released a Mad Charcoal sketchpad, whilst I have not tried the sketchpad yet, I will certainly being buying one to test and demonstrate.

Mad Charcoal Performance

On opening the set and inspecting the items, the first thing I did was lay the individual charcoal pieces down on a sheet of white Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Velum paper. I know this may not be your traditional surface for creating charcoal art, but I wanted to try a series of surfaces to provide a more comprehensive review.

As you can see, the compressed charcoal sticks provide an excellent method to laying down large surface areas and when snapping a stick in half, you are able to apply finer detail. With cheaper sets of compressed charcoal, there is more binder than charcoal in the sticks and this lends for scratchy application, uneven coverage and low tonal value. With the Mad Compressed Charcoal sticks, this is all charcoal and very little binder, allowing for beautiful coverage, zero scratching and deep dark values.

The Mad Willow Charcoal is perhaps my favourite within the set. Most of you, when willow charcoal is mentioned, probably think of the thin sticks of willow, however, not with Mad Charcoal Willow. As you can see from the images, you are presented with three thick sticks of willow and when applying them to the velum paper, with varying pressure you can achieve gorgeous tonal value changes.

The Mad Charcoal Powder is equally high quality, a firm tray of rich black charcoal, picked up and applied using the palette. The smooth rubber pads, included for use with the palette, pick up the charcoal with ease and allow for a smooth buttery application, layering with ease. When you watch Josh use this medium, it is a real treat and perhaps a little bit unconventional from its intended use, but of course, that is what art is all about, pushing the boundaries and finding new ways.

I know the kneaded eraser to most is just a kneaded eraser, not much to talk about, which ordinarily I would agree with, however the Mad kneaded eraser is incredibly effective. I have used a few different branded kneaded erasers over the past eleven years and I always return to the same brand, which is the Faber Castell Kneaded Eraser. However, the Mad eraser is much better at lifting out charcoal, it has a much tackier consistency than any of the others used.

Finally the woodless Mad Charcoal pencils allow for detail, they sharpen perfectly using a conventional sharpener. I found that once the pencils were sharpened, using a piece of sandpaper to refine the point was the best way to save the medium, also allowing for the capture of charcoal powder into a small container for use with the palette or blending stump.

I added the same test to the Strathmore Grey Scale Paper which is different shades of grey paper pad, each sheet of paper with an Ingres surface, which I personally find difficult to use, but it does lend itself to easily manipulation of the charcoal.

As always, I did complete some artwork, but I did ask a question on my YouTube video review that I would like to ask here also. When I first started reviewing art supplies I only included swatches and no artwork, but so many thought artwork was the best way to demonstrate and so I included art with every product reviewed. I have noticed lately that the speed drawing videos and still images added to the website don’t get a lot of people viewing them.

So I was wondering if the artwork is still wanted to help with the review. The only reason I ask is because creating the artwork, along with recording the process, editing the video clip and taking photos etc is all time consuming and if nobody is benefiting from the art, then there is no point in including it. I would really appreciate your thoughts on the idea in the comment section below.

The artwork I completed to help demonstrate the Mad Charcoal set was this iconic Eddie from the amazing Iron Maiden heavy metal band. The reference image is normally in color, but to demonstrate the charcoal I adapted it to black and white. I completed the art on Clairefontaine Pastelmat and it was half way through the process that I realised my mistake.

Because the pastelmat has an almost sanded surface, the charcoal gripped to the paper as soon as applied, which is of course the entire purpose of the paper. I would have preferred using a velum surface or hot pressed watercolour paper surface, allowing for easier manipulation of the charcoal and lifting with the eraser. This of course was only to do with the surface and nothing at all to do with the Mad Charcoal Set.

All in all I was really pleased with the final piece, I can’t tell you how nervous I have been during this section of the review. Josh Hernandez is a Master and so someone like me doing art with his product is so uncouth. Nevertheless I gave it my best and can only hope he is approving of the review and the final art demonstration.

Mad Charcoal Pricing

At the time of writing this review, when purchasing any of the Mad Charcoal products, by submitting your email address you get 10% of whatever you purchase, but this is obviously optional, you can purchase the products at full price without submitting your email address.

For the full Mad Charcoal Set on review in this article, artists in the UK will pay £38 for artists in the US you can expect to pay $49 and for artists in Europe you can expect to pay €43

As I mentioned, all of the items in the set, as well as the pencil extender and the new Mad Charcoal Sketchbook can be purchased individually on the Mad Charcoal Website, simply click the link and you can view the prices according to the part of the world you live in.

Mad Charcoal Conclusion

As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, Josh highlighted that he wanted an honest review of the product, good, bad or indifferent. Well, my take on the set is that not only is the price out of this world, given the premium nature of the packaging, but the quality of the charcoal is excellent.

If I had to really nit pick and suggest one thing, it is more to do with an addition, rather than any criticism of the mad charcoal selection. I think a white charcoal pencil or white compressed charcoal stick would be nice, especially for new artists.

The Mad Charcoal set is perfect for seasoned artists wanting to purchase a premium selection of charcoal or even new artists wanting to test and try charcoal as a new medium choice. The price of the set and even the individual items, make the set accessible to so many artists, giving them access to his quality products at a better than reasonable pricing.

However, if you are a new artists or a seasoned artists wanting to try your hand with charcoal, after you buy the Mad Charcoal set, Josh has two levels of drawing courses, life time access for both courses but here you will be taught by the amazing Mad Charcoal (Josh Hernandez), teaching you the magical methods he has adopted, teaching you how to produce the amazing art Josh creates.

If you would like to see the YouTube Video review I have completed on the Mad Charcoal set, simply click the link and you will be taken to the video. Alternatively if you would like to see an 8 minute speed drawing of the Iron Maiden Eddie I completed, click the link and if you are just not up on speed drawings, head over to my still images page where you can click on any image, which will automatically enlarge and allow you to zoom in, inspecting the art in your own time.