Colored Pencil TipsColored Pencil TipsColored Pencil TipsColored Pencil Tips

How to get the Best results

• Keep points sharp• Don't just use one color!

– use several layers of different colors together to add some spark and life to your drawings.

 •  Beware of over saturating your paper's surface with too much color– the color will start to no longer adhere to

the paper's surface. – It will also start to wear and possibly tear

the surface of the paper or board.

• Make sure to add a good range of values throughout your drawing, the more layers the darker the color.

• Make sure you apply all elements of design in your drawings-line, texture, shape, value, space, form and color.

• To add life to your work, try varying the color intensity in your artwork.

A. Basic Applications• Layering colors using 4 basic

directional strokes– Linear– Multidirectional (vertical, diagonal,

horizontal)– Bundling– Crosshatching

Basic Applications will help with Blending

• Blending is the process of layering colors and blending the layers of color together with layering techniques and/or combination of blending tools. – As a result you get rich photo like

works.

B. Pressure/Tonal Shading

• When working on a tonal drawing, work from light to dark.

• Keep pencil strokes even, and consistent in pressure and in direction.

• Start off with light pressure when adding layers of color and gradually increase your pressure

C. Burnishing

• Burnishing with color pencil can create a beautiful rich glazed look.

• Burnishing is layering multiple colors and then applying heavy pressure with a light color pencil or with a tool.

• The wax melds together and causes the drawing surface to become slick, filling up the entire tooth of the paper's surface.

• Burnishing is ideal for creating sparkling glass, polished surfaces, and metals.

• works best with a light colored pencil, such as cream, white, light grey or cloud blue, apply heavy pressure over layered colored area to be burnished.

• Burnish your light areas first so that you do not drag any dark pigment where you don't want it.

• A colorless marker/pen can be used to blend layers of color together. The marker/pen is great for making washes, or under-paintings in color pencil paintings

D. Layering• Layering is very important and can

be done in a variety of ways. – Monochromatic – Tints and shades of

one color• Ex. Light blue, medium blue, and dark blue

– Analogous – colors beside each other on the color wheel • Ex. Blue, blue-green, and green

– Complimentary – Colors opposite each other on the color wheel• Ex. Red-green, blue-orange, and yellow-

violet

E. Creating texture

• Find a fairly flat textured object and lay beneath paper and do a colored pencil rubbing onto the surface (known as frottage) of the paper in areas needed. – the heavier the pressure from the

pencil the more visible the texture.

F. Impressed Line• The impressed line

technique is used for achieving fine white lines, such as whiskers, whispy hairs, details in flowers etc, by using a blunt object such as a wooden stylus, or a rounded toothpick.

• Make sure the instrument you use has no sharp point, as it will tear the paper's surface.

• Make sure you mark the impressed line areas on your paper first, before applying any colors

• You may add light layers of color to the groove later, if you wish.

• You can also use a white color pencil to impress lines with or any other light color pencil.

• Press or indent your lines carefully, maintaining same constant pressure throughout the length of the whisker or hair.

• Decrease pressure or indentation near the tip or end of the whisker or hair, to suggest realism.

G. Sgraffito

• Sgraffito is scratching the surface of the paper with an exacto knife or any other similar object, in order to expose another color underneath on your paper. – Make sure you have applied several

layers of color before you begin this technique.

H. Circulism Technique• It is very similar to pointilism, but instead

you draw, overlap, and intertwine circles in various sizes and colors.– It is a great technique to obtain realistic skin

texture.

• http://www.mooresartgallery.com/texturetechniques.html