Popularized by Max Brödel

Max Brödel

Max Brödel was a medical illustrator. He was born in Germany, but eventually immigrated to the United States. In the late 1890s, he was brought to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore to illustrate for Harvey Cushing, William Halsted, Howard Kelly, and other notable clinicians...

, the carbon dust technique became widely used among medical

Medical illustrator

A medical illustrator is a professional artist who interprets and creates visual material to help record and disseminate medical, biological and related knowledge. Medical illustrators not only produce such material but can also function as consultants and administrators within the field of...

 and scientific illustrators in the twentieth century.

The namesake of the technique consists of applying carbon dust, obtained by rubbing carbon

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

 pencils against an abrasive surface such as a metal file, to a prepared surface via dry brushes. Highlights may be painted on or scratched out later in the process.