Coloured pencils revisited
Ian Sidaway rediscovers the joys of coloured pencils, with advice on application and blending techniques
Ian Sidaway rediscovers the joys of coloured pencils, with advice on application and blending techniques
A sdid millions of children, I cut my artistic teeth using coloured pencils. Mine were Derwent, made by the Cumberland Pencil Company. Other manufacturers, including Faber-Castell, Caran d’Ache, Koh-I-Noor, Lyra and Blick were also making coloured pencils at that time – nearly 70 years ago – and continue to do so.
The pencils available today are far superior to the products I used in my youth. This is primarily evident in the range of colours available: no longer do we have to make do with generic green, pink, light blue, red, or purple but can choose from up to 120 different hues, which in competent hands will deliver hundreds if not thousands of different shades and tints.
A range of 120 seems the gold standard on offer from several manufacturers, with many others offering smaller ranges; all are available singly or in sets. So given their ease of use, adaptability, availability, transportability and cleanliness, not to mention their relatively low cost, it is not surprising that they, for some years now, are increasingly being used by professional artists and illustrators.
Application
Coloured pencils, like graphite pencils, are essentially a linear instrument but by carefully varying the pressure applied and the direction of the stroke it is possible to blend together the applied lines to create an almost imperceptible transition from one colour or tonal value to another.
The sharpness of the pencil and the controlled, precise application make it possible to build up images that resemble photographs.
Not all coloured pencils are the same. They may be round or hexagonal. Round pencils can roll away but are easy to manipulate in the hand. Hexagonal pencils stay where they are put and are easier to hold for longer periods of time. Usually encased in cedar, the coloured core or strip will be wax-based or oil-based. In general terms wax-based pencils seem to be more readily available in a wider range of colours. When using heavy applications of dark colours in layers a wax bloom can build up, this can be mitigated with the careful use of fixative. Pencils with an oil-based core do not create a build-up of wax so fixative can be avoided. The core is harder, making it possible to create a sharper point but the colour delivery tends to be strong. Oil-based coloured pencils can be used with solvents like mineral spirits or turpenoid. These solvents can also be used with waxbased pencils but the results are not as successful, however you can use a colourless blender manufactured for the job. Both types of pencil can be used together so the choice is really a personal one. Watercolour pencils have a water-soluble binder, which means water can be used as a solvent and they can be used on a wet or dry surface, they do not burnish well but can be used to provide an underpainting for subsequent work with wax- or oil-based pencils. If at all possible use artist grade coloured pencils, they contain higher concentrations of pigment and blend well. Colour is smoothly delivered and they have a lightfastness rating.
My personal favourite is the pastel pencil, although they’re technically different as the pigment core does not consist of a wax or oil binder but a gum such as gum arabic or methylcellulose. They are heavily pigmented and deliver pigment well but this is easily smeared, although this makes blending easy. The judicious use of fixative enables multiple layers to be built up. They offer many of the benefits of using pastels but also offer some of the control and precision of a pencil, however fewer colours are available, which is not necessarily a disadvantage as mixing colours either optically or, as stated earlier, by blending is straightforward.
Supports
Coloured pencils can be used on most surfaces that have some tooth or texture, including wood and canvas. But for the most part your choice will be paper or card. For detailed work where a degree of burnishing and blending techniques are used to show smooth transitions between tones or colour without any apparent pencil marks, smooth paper with a very slight grain or tooth would be the best choice. For more expressive work, where your mark making is part of the finish, surfaces with a more pronounced tooth might be your starting point. Working on coloured supports is also possible; these can be created using watercolour pencils or watercolour paint or manufactured, such as Canson or Ingres paper. Remember that if you are going to work over any kind of watercolour it would be preferable to use a smooth watercolour paper rather than cartridge, which will buckle when water is applied. Illustration boards such as Bristol board is an excellent all-round support as it can take both dry and wet media with no deterioration to the surface.
Choosing the right support for the job is important. Choose the wrong one and you will struggle to achieve the desired results. The choice of supports is vast and will depend on your subject matter, working techniques and materials used. The right support will enable your techniques to work and help you achieve the image and degree of finish you are after. Experimentation is the key – paper supports are relatively inexpensive, thus making it possible to try a selection.
Techniques
There are three main techniques for achieving colour or tonal gradations. The first and perhaps the easiest to master is to allow the coloured pencil to mix optically on the support. An example of this would be to apply an open scumbled or hatched area of yellow that is then overlaid with an area of red. The result would read as orange. This overlaying of colour can be made many times – the trick is always to allow areas of the lower colours to read through.
Blending is slightly different in that a degree of physical distribution is achieved by applying a solvent or water if using watercolour pencils, or a torchon or paper stump. Blending pencils can also be used, or a colourless marker pen manufactured for the job. A blending powder is also available, which prevents the pigment of both oil and wax-based pencils binding to the support surface; the pigment remains floating on the surface and can easily be manipulated. If this is used the drawing needs to be fixed once completed or it will remain as fragile as an unfixed pastel drawing. The powder works best on non-absorbent surfaces like gesso.
Burnishing is similar to blending but requires the coloured pencil to be applied using a strong, even pressure so that the colours are more or less ground together as they intermix physically on the support. Colourless blenders can also be used to push the different pigments together. Burnishing usually takes place once the image has been all but completed, as the process flattens out the tooth of the paper, thus making the surface very smooth and slippery, which makes it increasingly difficult to add more pigment. When a drawing is burnished no paper will be visible showing through as pinpricks of white. This makes the colour look deeper and richer and it is the technique favoured by many. Burnishing does change the nature of the colour being burnished, so it’s a good idea to make test strips before committing yourself.
Remember also that coloured pencil can be removed either by erasing, using solvents or by employing sgraffito techniques. Erasing techniques can be hit or miss, depending on the paper used and the amount of pigment applied. Do practise before attempting to erase areas of a completed drawing. Practice, as with so many things, is key, so give those unused coloured pencils another try, the results just might surprise you.