Help me with colored pencils.

July 10, 2011 8:37 PM

I want to draw using color pencils. I have no idea where to start. Where do I start?

I go through periods of sketching and doodling, but I'm most definitely an amateur just trying out a new hobby. Other than reading The Right Side of the Brain years ago (most of which I've forgotten), I have zero art training. But I want to give it a try with colored pencils.

I suppose basic techniques would be useful, and I've found a few websites so far, but does anyone know a fantastic site or book? Should I get anything besides pencils and paper?

Thanks in advance.

posted by zardoz to sports, hobbies, & recreation (6 answers total)

Get the fullest set of Prismacolor pencils that you can afford. A good electric pencil sharpener that is not too pointy, or a razor blade hand sharpener. Have a piece of sandpaper taped down on the side for touch-up sharpening. Prismacolors can be built up into translucent layers. You can't really erase Prismacolor, but you can have a good, sharpened, eraser handy to lessen any damage done.

Try drawing on gray paper, with light and dark pencils. Pushing and pulling shadow and light.
posted by StickyCarpet at 9:00 PM on July 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Basic materials advice here.

Start with a small set of pencils and see how you feel. There's a wide variety of sizes and qualities. You may find you're quite happy with a small range of the basic colours, say a set of 12-18 pencils or you may find a larger set with a wide range of more subtle shades is to your liking. There's no need to spend a lot of money at the start, you'll figure out what works for you as you progress.

Also, experiment with different kinds of paper. There's a wide variety of papers out there and you'll find that certain kinds will just feel more 'right'. That refers to the 'tooth' of the paper, the weight, the colour and so forth. Feel free to run your fingers over the surfaces in the art store.

And, I would recommend getting decent pencil sharpener and eraser, you would be surprised at the difference this makes.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is still a good place to start from. Maybe look into taking a night school course or sitting in on a basic introduction to drawing course. As always, the more you do the better you will get at it. And, frustration is fine, it's part and parcel of drawing.

Finally, have fun and good luck with your new enterprise.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 9:01 PM on July 10, 2011

This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive answer, but the biggest challenge for me going between regular pencils and color pencils is value (the range of lights and darks). With regular pencils you're building value by using softer and harder leads and going over the same area using more or less pressure. Basically, the entire range of values is under your direct control.

But with color pencils, every color effectively has its own value range. Two colors laid down with equal pressure will not necessarily look equally bright. The magic skill is learning to suggest shading using color rather than just pressing harder. A common mistake is to think of shading as adding "black" to a color. This rarely leads to satisfactory results.

For example, to suggest a shaded area of a yellow object, you might use a layer of green or orange, depending on the kind of light you want to depict and so on. This kind of technique is rampant in the work of the Impressionists, where a stroke that is objectively of a certain color is used to suggest a value difference on the surface of an object that is supposed to be another color entirely (e.g., Monet's various haystacks).

This concern isn't really unique to color pencils. It's there whenever you work with a color medium of any kind. But it does take a while to adjust to (and a lifetime to master) this new realm of possibilities.
posted by Nomyte at 9:04 PM on July 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

before you commit to a large assortment of prismacolor pencils, you may want to pick up a small set or just a few colors of a few different brands to find a pencil that you feel comfortable with. prismacolor's pencils are wax-based, as compared to a line like faber-castell's polychromos pencils that are oil-based. and then there are things like watercolor pencils and pastel pencils that you may want to experiment with. if you just want to play around with color, there's a ton of pretty good student-grade colored pencils sets available quite inexpensively.

i have also heard lots of complaints about the decline in quality of prismacolor's pencils in the recent past, so look before you leap. but they are probably still the most popular brand, at least in the united states.

(disclaimer: i own an art supply store, and sell this stuff.)
posted by jimw at 9:39 PM on July 10, 2011

A question I asked a few years ago might have links and comments that you find useful.
posted by rtha at 10:19 PM on July 10, 2011

For what it's worth, I really love my Derwent pencils. There are a number of different types to choose from, including Artists, Studio and Coloursoft as well as several kinds of watersoluble pencils. You can find advice on basic techniques in the Hints & Tips and Literature sections on the Derwent website, and some nice examples of what you can do with coloured pencils in the Gallery section.

Using good-quality paper will save you from a lot of trouble, but, like Phlegmco(tm) says, you will have to experiment to find the type that suits you the best. And yes, a good pencil sharpener will make your life a lot easier.

Also, this book (Alyona Nickelsen's Colored Pencil Painting Bible) is great, although possibly a bit scary if you're just starting out.
posted by Jelly at 9:01 AM on July 11, 2011