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Pretty often people use their colored pencils as regular writing tools. However, for more realistic look of your drawing some more professional techniques should be applied. But are the professional techniques more difficult than just simple hatching? If you constantly ask yourself how to use Prismacolor pencils for better results, then this tutorial was specially designed for you by WoWPencils! Here you will find useful tips that you might have never known about and blending tendencies that will make your piece of art greatly stand out against the other works.
Blending Techniques
Straight to the point, there are a few methods that will be observed individually. The first one, the most common, is blending.
In fact, you might assume that there is nothing difficult with that, but when it comes to the real picture, everyone can come in nowhere because of being not familiar with its principles and basic rules. Luckily, they are all collected here.
Layering Colors
The simplest technique is layering. You can experiment by adding and covering the existing layer with a completely different color. Moreover, the parallel strokes add volume, and as a result, the existing drawing will look significantly different.
Nevertheless, there might be confusion since you can blend colors by layering them as well. Thus, whether you blend or layer, this technique is considered «layering».
Burnishing
Believe it or not, but burnishing is another way to make your art much prettier. However, usually this effect is achieved with the special tool – colorless blender. It plays a huge part: it blends colors together and the outcome shade becomes more saturated.
The reason is that this blender covers the whole surface of the paper. And if the surface is rough, all the blank patches are going to be evenly filled with pigment, so that they are uniform.
Don’t worry if you don’t have such a tool. As a replacement, you can use a pencil with slightly lighter shade of the main colors you used. The effect will be the same.
Bristle Brush
Another method is blending colors together with the stiff painting brush. However, for this technique, the waxy colors have to be liquid. Is it possible? Of course!
In order to make the pigments liquid you need to cover them with the special art solution. Once the colors become malleable, you can adjust the blending as you want.
Smudge Colors
Blending can be performed with various hand materials, such as fabric, for example. Its application is quite simple, the only thing you need to do is to cover the surface with the waxy pigment and then smudge everything around it with a piece of fabric. That’s it!
Depending on what outcome you want to achieve, you need to adjust the pressure and the frequency of smudging. If necessary, you can layer other colors and smudge again. You are welcome to experiment.
Mineral Spirits
This material is even more unusual. Using mineral spirits, which is usually used for wiping out the nail polish, will deliver an outstanding result.
Basically, the patterns appear because the wax texture of colored pencils is soluble and malleable. Thus, under the influence of liquid solution they begin to melt and form inimitable design.
Texturing Tips
Texturing is another trick that significantly influences the final result. In fact, making the particular texture with waxy colored pencils is much easier, than with a brush.
Hand tools can help you with your art project. For example, rough surface put underneath the paper can transfer rough texture while you operate your pencils as usual.
The same effect can be achieved even if the surface is already colored. For this purpose you can use a piece of sandpaper, just gently rub across the colorful film until you get what you expect.
In fact, impressive surface is also reached through coloring on paper with a lot of tooth. However, there is one simple rule, you constantly need to adjust the pressure you apply, since the more you press, the more smooth and even the surface will be. And vice versa, if you want to get more patchy area, then you shouldn’t press too much.
Finally, if the above-mentioned methods didn’t work, you can try another one. But make sure that you apply this method only when paper is already covered with waxy film. The next step is to take a stylus and make some grooves by scraping the film.
Sharpening Prismacolor Pencil
You might think there’s nothing difficult in sharpening Prismacolor pencils, since you can just use a regular sharpener for this purpose. However, sharpeners don’t always work as expected. In fact, because of the waxy texture and relatively wider core and wooden body of Prismacolor pencils, they become quite fragile. As a result, not all the sharpeners are good for them.
If you are already an owner of Prismacolor pencils, then you have already tried this out and know how challenging sharpening is. Thus, users constantly search for better tools, so you need to be prepared for this. As an alternative, you should know that many artists still use an old-fashioned way – sharpening with the knife.
Erasing Advice
You need to know that erasing the waxy pencils texture from paper surface is quite a tricky task. The regular eraser will only smudge it over the area rather than erase it.
That is why there are lots of art erasers that are specially designed for such purpose. However, there are a few alternative techniques, which can at least fix the problem a little bit.
The first one is an artist tape. Cutting a small piece of this tape then sticking it to the surface will delicately lift the waxy film.
The final recommendation is to be careful with your strokes. Always try to cover the area you color with light strokes, otherwise, it will be much more difficult to get rid of them when you need to fix some imperfections.
Fixatives and Prismacolor Colored Pencils
When the art piece is ready, you may want to have it for a long time without it being ruined or having changed much. For this purpose, there are special art supplies that can keep your picture the way it is for a long time.
The final fixative is usually a spray that seals all the layers and protects the picture from ruining. Once you have covered your picture with it, you can’t do anything else afterwards.
However, if you still work on your picture and you want some changes, though you don’t want to smudge the layers with the top ones, then it’s better to use the workable fixative.
Other Useful Methods and Utensils
It’s quite difficult to summarize all the methods according to their purpose. The reason is that they are usually applicable for various techniques. There are some simple rules that will help you make your drawing last long:
- Always make the first and basic strokes gently with no excessive pressure on the tool. This will help you make your drawing more malleable in case you decide to change something.
- Never try to achieve solid color. Instead, always experiment by achieving the same colors with mixing completely different shades, and don’t forget about gradients. This principle will add depth to your drawing.
- The same works for achieving black color. Try to mix darker shades of different colors in order to get deep and exceptional color.
- It doesn’t matter whether you start with, a light or a dark shade, especially if you are making a gradient.
- If there is no professional solvent, you can use some hand sanitizer instead.
- Don’t forget to apply watercolor pencils. You will definitely get an inimitable result.
- Don’t limit yourself by picking the right colors, since texture can significantly change the final look. Thus, try to work on various surfaces such as metal, wood, sand etc.
- The type of paper tooth can even replace some other surfaces if you don’t have them.
- If you are running out of your favorite pencil – don’t worry! Just insert a piece of the pencil that you have left into the special metal extender.
- Waxy pencils can be an auxiliary tool while you are working with oil paint. They will add more details to your art piece.
These tips and recommendations are not the limit. Lots of them are achieved while you are experimenting and trying something new. And, as you might have already known, you can get more experience only if you experiment.
In Closing
Colored pencils are wonderful tools for art purposes. Despite the fact that they are so nice and popular among numerous users, the majority still doesn’t know some things that significantly can improve the result that they are used to. That is why WoWPencils has created detailed overview of art techniques and tips, so that you know everything about them. Hopefully, it will inspire you to try them all, and who knows, maybe the next piece of art from you will become a world known masterpiece.
References
- Colored Pencils – Prismacolor – https://www.prismacolor.com/
- Drawing: How should One Use Prismacolor Color Pencils Effectively? – https://www.quora.com/