Art students learned new charcoal drawing techniques when artist and educator Marjorie Perrin visited King’s Fork High School Wednesday.

The all-day Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Visiting Artist Workshop, sponsored by the Suffolk Art League, also involved students from Nansemond River and Lakeland high schools, as well as Nansemond-Suffolk Academy.

Students were instructed to bring a portrait to draw, King’s Fork High School art teacher Alicia Johnson said, and a few came with self-portraits.

King’s Fork High School junior Nicoles Williams, however, chose his favorite tennis player, Novak Djokovic, who proved a challenging subject to depict.

“His chin is about a third longer than normal,” Williams said. “It’s throwing me for a loop.”

He said it was his first time actually working with charcoal “standing up.”

“It’s pretty good for me … to get a feel for how to draw realistically,” he added.

Lakeland High School senior Sara Stinard said she had attempted drawing with charcoal once before, “but didn’t get too far.”

“This is the first time I have actually been taught the technique,” she said. “It’s really interesting; I enjoy it very much.”

Meanwhile, Savannah Simms, a junior at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, was one of those who chose a self-portrait.

“It’s a little difficult, but we have worked with it (charcoal) at school before, so it’s not too bad,” Simms said.

“It teaches a technique that you don’t have to figure out on your own. It makes it easier.”

Perrin concentrated on teaching a technique to give a three-dimensional effect, she said, adding that the students were quick studies.

“They are really fast. I teach adults also, and these high school kids seem to have a good foundation already.”