Fader: Tear off one square section of toilet paper. Fold it in half, then in half again so you end up with a small square. Place some cigarette or match head ash or rub some chalk on a sheet of paper, and smear it across the paper with the fader. Practice fading different colors together, if colored chalk is available. Practice with different amounts of charcoal or chalk laid down on the paper. Experiment with rubbing the fader first in the charcoal, then applying the charcoal-laden fader to the paper. Faders can be used to shade areas, such as shadows.
Blender: Cotton balls are your blenders. A blender is slightly different from a fader in that it can be used for larger areas, such as for creating sky or clouds. Experiment with different techniques, such as rubbing charcoal or chalk on the blender first, and then rubbing the blender on the paper. Use a different blender for each color.
Fine Blender: Cotton swabs are used to blend and fade small areas, such as fine detail work. Again, experiment with heavy lines or fine lines. Experiment with rubbing the fine blender on the chalk first, and then rubbing the color filled fine blender on the paper. Use a different fine blender for each color.
Hand Guard: Obtain a sheet of copier paper. Fold it in half lengthwise, then in half again across the short side. You should end up with a rectangle a quarter of the size of the original paper. This is your hand guard. Place the hand guard between the heel of your hand and the paper you are drawing on. When you are fading and blending your charcoal or chalk on the drawing paper, the sweat from your hand resting on the drawing paper is deposited onto the paper. This leaves wrinkles and oily areas. The charcoal or chalk do not blend well on oily areas.