Tag: colored pencil

4 best papers for colored pencil drawing

In this episode I list 4 different surfaces for colored pencil drawing I use the most often. There are many more drawing papers of course. Share your ideas in the comments on YouTube or in messages on Instagram

To watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LdXTinmciDc

Subscribe & rate this podcast on Spotify and Apple | Show your support for the podcast: here | Host: Veronica Winters, MFA | veronicasart.com

How to use color harmony in colored pencil drawing

veronica winters colored pencil

When you begin realistic drawing in colored pencil, artistic aim is to copy what you see in front of you or in your reference. Beginners in colored pencil drawing pay attention to small things like details and textures, and they’re important. However they become truly important only when the basic drawing is in place. If you begin shading one spot and forget about the rest of your composition, you might end up having the colored pencil drawing that has no consistency or unity in color harmony and composition. In this article I’d like to share a few strategies I often employ using color harmony to create mood and atmosphere in colored pencil drawing. Let me give you some ideas how to use color harmony in colored pencil drawing so you can discover your own unique approach to drawing.

Another extensive article on colored pencil portrait drawing and the use of values and color: https://veronicasart.com/realistic-colored-pencil-portrait-drawing-guide/

On YouTube: https://youtu.be/kFdssDSWL3c

Color wheel for colored pencil drawing

While color wheel isn’t everything for colorful pencil drawing, you do need to know these basic definitions and color triads.

Definitions:

  • Hue – means color. Red, green, yellow, etc.
  • Value – means how light or dark the shading is.
  • Chroma – is the color’s strength or color intensity. Colors can be super intense or muted.
  • Value – the lightness or darkness of a color.
  • Color Intensity – the saturation or purity of a color.
  • Neutralized color – the color with less intensity that’s either grayed down or mixed with its complement.
  • Local color – the natural color of an object as it appears in daylight (green of the cucumber or blue of the blueberries). Art students see only local colors in objects rather than the colors of light and reflections.
This is a page from my coloring book titled “How to color like an artist“, in which I explain basic color theory as well. My art instruction book titled “The Colored Pencil Manual” has the entire chapter devoted to color theory for advanced artists.

I know it’s difficult to remember all the definitions and I strongly recommend buying a color wheel because it’s visual. You can rotate the dial to see complementary colors, triads, etc. I still use it every time I design my colored pencil drawings. You can buy it at any art supply store or on Amazon.

Color Wheel is available on Amazon.
  • primary colors are red, blue, yellow. If you put all three primary colors (making them equal in intensity) your colored pencil drawing will be screaming with too much color.
  • secondary colors are orange, violet and green. They’re mixed with two primary hues.
  • complementary colors in colored pencil drawing – are opposite each other on the color wheel. Complements intensify each other. You don’t want to have all the complements in one drawing for that reason. Red-Green, Violet-Yellow, Blue-Orange.
  • analogous colors in colored pencil drawing – are hues adjacent to one another on the color wheel.
Analogous colors: red-red-orange-orange
Analogous colors: green-green-blue-blue
  • triadic colors in colored pencil drawing –
  • split complementary colors in colored pencil drawing – are the colors on either side of a color’s complement. For instance, if your primary color is blue, your split-complementary colors would be yellow-orange and red-orange. Violet’s complimentary color is yellow, and its split-complementary colors are yellow-green and yellow-orange. Blue-purple and red-purple are split complementary colors. Red and green are opposite each other on the color wheel, so red-orange and blue-green are split complementary colors. Split-complementary colors seem to be less color-intense.

  • tetradic colors in colored pencil drawing – are a color scheme that uses four colors that are equally spaced around the color wheel. The four colors are made up of two sets of complementary colors, which are also known as double complementary colors. To be honest, I don’t think this color scheme is very useful although you can try it of course. I think it’s too many bright colors competing for attention unless you use as single dominant color in this color scheme.
  • monochromatic color harmonies- colors composed of variations of the same hue but different in color intensity and value. Red is a hue. Its monochromatic variant is pink and maroon.
koh-i-noor colored pencils review
color wheel_color intensity-color harmony blog
Color wheel & Color intensity:
Color Intensity – the saturation or purity of a color. Neutral colors are mostly browns but
Neutralized color – is any color with less intensity that’s either grayed down or mixed with its complement.

Colored pencils don’t mix to grey unlike oil, acrylic and watercolor paint. Therefore you need to use grey colored pencils to neutralize the color so that there are 1-3 dominant colors in the picture, and the rest are neutralized. By using the grey colors you create selective focus as well as beautiful, subtle color variations and texture. In the closeup drawing below you can see grayed down fabric. I shaded with some bright hues first and then added light greys over them.
Blue lily dream, 20x30 inches, colored pencil on art board by Veronica Winters
Blue lily dream, 20×30 inches, colored pencil on art board by Veronica Winters

How to use color harmony to create mood and atmosphere in colored pencil drawing

I’d like to share 5 drawing tips on using color harmony to make your colored pencil drawings more realistic.

1. Consider overall color harmony design in your colored pencil drawing

Decide on the overall color theme of your colored pencil drawing. Is it light or dark? Is it monochromatic or in full color? How do you decide? Look at your main reference to see the dominant color. Make that particular color your main focus in colored pencil shading. Everything else should be less color intense to support the dominant color. The color harmony you decide on may not be unique to you but you make it unique by choosing the unusual point of view, stroke or subject. Your choice of a dominant color(s) and contrast determines the mood in the drawing. For example, light blues and pinks look serene, while deep reds and blacks make us feel very differently.

veronica winters colored pencil drawing-how to use colored pencil for beginners
If you look carefully, the only dominant color here is light blue-turquoise. Everything else is grayed down using colored pencil shading in greys and less bright hues. The overall theme is light. The dominant color is present throughout the composition. Its reflected in the silver plate. It’s noticeable in the background and crochet.

2. Test your colors to decide on the best color harmony

Once you decide on your leading or main colors for your drawing, look at your colored pencils to pick the colors from that color family.

Test your colored pencils on your drawing paper to have consistent color harmony and shading. If you see lots of blue in your reference, test all your blues to see which ones look similar to your picture. Start testing these colors right next to your reference and you’ll notice that some colors are totally off and don’t look right as your main hue. If you have a big box of colored pencils, you have many similar colors. You don’t need to use them all in one drawing because you can adjust your pencil pressure drawing in one blue to get a range of blue tones that’s similar to a number of various colored pencils.

colored pencil techniques
If you’re testing dark blue colored pencils based on your reference, do you see that not all of them fit that particular color range? Many blue colored pencils are too light or too greenish to be considered for the dark blue range.

3. Keep it simple to create consistent color harmony

Shade all shadows in one color first. Students love to jump around the picture, using all possible colored pencils to draw the portrait. Instead, pick one color to shade all your shadows first. Colored pencil shading in one color is key to create volume in portrait drawing.

veronica winters colored pencil
In this example you can see that I picked a single purple colored pencil to shade the deepest darks first. When I’m done with basic underpainting in one color, I shade with other colored pencils, layering them one by one.

You can make personal colored pencil drawings by focusing on a familiar subject that has unique story line or idea. For example, we all know how the human heart looks like but by designing my own composition and color scheme, I make my colored pencil drawing look different from everyone else’s.

blooming heart in steps-veronica winters colored pencil drawing
Here you can see that I used one dominant color – red for the shading of the heart and another one – dark green for the leaves. Because I created this colored pencil drawing on a light grey paper I also marked the highlights with white not to lose them by accident.

4. Add more tested colors to develop contrast in your color harmony

Most colors are warm and cool. This includes reds, greens, blues and even greys. Some are neutral like browns. You must consider how light or dark they’re. You can’t create a very dark shadow using light pink. You can’t shade around the highlight with a dark blue ( because dark blue is too dark for shading in the light).

Build contrast by having a range of tones in your colored pencil drawing going from very light colors to very dark ones. Of course, not all references call for it but keep it as a guideline for your art and colored pencil shading.

Most colors are warm and cool. This includes reds, greens and blues. Some are neutral like browns. You also must consider how light or dark they’re to build contrast in shading.

5. Look at your colored pencil drawing from a distance!

You lose all the details by looking at your art from the distance. You do see the inconsistencies in color, awkward shapes, weak shadows and highlights, or undefined edges.

If you consider all 5 rules you will be able to draw a photorealistic colored pencil drawing that has unity in color.

how to draw glass

On using color harmony to create unique and personal colored pencil drawings

veronica winters colored pencil art, mushroom heart
mushroom heart, 10×16, veronica winters colored pencil drawing

I’d like to share my approach to using color harmony to create unique and personal colored pencil drawings. I think it may be useful for advanced artists interested in colored pencil art.

veronica winters colored pencil

#1 Start with a good idea

Have a good idea in mind what colored pencil drawing you want to create. The idea is a visual story in color, subject or light. It doesn’t have to be the figure. It could be one object displayed in a unique light, rotation or point of view in artist drawing. This is the artistic vision and interpretation of a “boring” object that becomes fun to look at because of your unique interpretation of it. You can train yourself to see the world more creatively by improving your photography, reading, looking at art masterpieces and contemporary art.

I have a folder where I save art to learn from done by other artists. I study unique color choices, composition and subject. Sometimes, the subject isn’t new but the approach to drawing it is totally unique.

veronica winters colored pencil
lambent space, veronica winters colored pencil drawing, 19x25in

My idea starts from my imagination, reading, travel, emotions and thoughts. One day I imagined a seated figure with light passing through his body. I also imagined a rain of hearts above the figure. I made notes of this idea on my phone…I wanted to depict energy, chakras and the colors of the Universe in this colored pencil drawing of Buddha. I came home and started thinking of my references to illustrate this concept.

#2 Pick high-quality references for realistic colored pencil drawing

At first I wanted to paint a real person but I had no references of the pose. So I browsed pictures from my Thailand trip folder. I saw so many beautiful Buddhas and palaces there…And this green Buddha was made of semitransparent stone that looked like glass.

You need to pay attention where your references come from. Sometimes you can’t enter competitions drawing from someone else’s photo. Other times, you don’t have an emotional connection to the picture which is not yours. Or you need to get a photo release that takes time and effort. Personally I try to use my references but when it’s impossible to do, I go to Pixabay to find inspiration and you can too! Pictures are of high-quality and free for commercial use. The only problem with them is that they’re Photoshoped heavily. You must see if you have enough information to draw from as most filters remove warm/cool contrast from pictures.

This is my original idea designed in Photoshop. I used a combination of my pictures to illustrate the visual reference to draw from. As you can see I made considerable changes to the final drawing.

Picking the right references is not enough. They need to “connect” with each other in light and color temperature.

I always design my images around the main subject. I place it first and put smaller shapes around it. In this example, the largest shape is Buddha’s image and my design revolves around the figure. I used the ruler to make straight lines and place the hearts. I cut a heart-shaped template to have a consistent shape in my colored pencil drawing. I use Photoshop to plan the design as much as possible by layering and moving elements around the main figure to arrive at a perfect composition.

step-by-step drawing on canson colorline paper

#3 Decide on your color harmony in colored pencil drawing

This drawing has quite sophisticated color scheme. My color harmony is a combination of cool red, green and cool, bluish white.

My tip is to focus on picking 1-2 main colors in your color harmony. It doesn’t mean that you use just two colored pencils for that. It means that you pick the basic scheme, say, ‘yellow-purple’ and design your colored pencil drawing in these colors. The rest of them should be grayed down or become less prominent to support the main hues.

#4 Pick the right toned paper for your specific color harmony

veronica winters colored pencil
lambent space, veronica winters colored pencil drawing, 19x25in

I love drawing on Canson Colorline paper because it comes in a variety of bright colors. The texture is not overwhelming and colored pencils become very vibrant drawing on this paper. (I’m linking to this paper on Amazon but I find that DickBlick has better choices).

Once you picked you main color scheme, say ‘yellow-purple’, look at the color of your drawing paper. In general, don’t draw on yellow paper if your main color is ‘yellow’. Don’t draw on a purple drawing paper if your main color is ‘purple’. Pick the opposite color of paper (like green or orange) and test the colored pencils on it. Test a few colored pencils on it to see how either vibrant or dull they’re. Some colors may disappear on colored paper and others would be super bright.

#5 Have consistent shading in your colored pencil drawing

Begin shading the shadows first using one color. Don’t jump around the picture with many colors. Pick one color and shade all the darks with it. Mark the highlights with white colored pencil (or reserve the space for your highlights if you draw on white paper). Lastly, shade the middle tones connecting the darks with the lights.

Shade with the softest colored pencils, filling in large areas. If you start working with harder colored pencils like Polychromos, it might be frustrating to fill in large space. I save a lot of time and hustle for myself by drawing with the softest pencils like Prismacolor Premier and Luminance or Pablos, and then switching to harder pencils like Polychromos to work on the details in my colored pencil drawing.

Have fun creating your super vibrant colored pencil drawings with beautiful and unique color harmonies!

buddha art-veronica winters colored pencil
Lambent space, veronica winters colored pencil drawing, 19x25in, Canson Colorline drawing paper, lightfast colored pencils ( Faber-Castell Polychromos, Luminance and Prismacolor Premier colored pencils)

You can learn a lot more about color and color harmonies by taking my video course where I explain the properties of color and how you can design your images around color. I share my secret picking a perfect color scheme for my colored pencil drawings every time.

Design your perfect color harmony by taking this course:
https://veronica-winters-art-school.teachable.com/p/color-crush-course-for-colored-pencil-artist-by-veronica-winters

Colored pencil drawing on Ampersand pastelbord

This board could be an alternative to drawing on colored paper but you must consider the disadvantages working on it in colored pencil.

I like to experiment with different surfaces drawing in colored pencil, searching for the most archival support for my art. Since most people find the colored pencil work inferior to oil painting and even pastel painting, finding the right, archival surface takes the fear away from your clients who wish to buy your artwork otherwise.

This slightly sanded, colored pastelbord by Amersand is similar to the 800 grit Uart paper, which is great for soft pastel painting. Just like the Uart paper, the pastelbord has similar advantages and disadvantages to using it in colored pencil drawing.

Advantages:

  • Ampersand offers a nice variety of colors: sand, dark green, white, gray, and other neutral colors. It takes much less time to shade on colored surface rather than on white.
  • Artworks look vivid drawn on this board.
  •  This archival surface is durable. It doesn’t bend or crumble, stays flat at all times.
  • It offers easy display without glass. Just make sure you fix your art beforehand with 3 layers of final fixative. Now you have neither glass reflections nor scare to transport the art!
  • The Ampersand pastelbords come in standard sizes that makes it super easy to frame them!

Disadvantages:

  • Colored pencil shading on pastelbord is limited. It accepts few layers of pigment.
  • It “eats” my colored pencils. If you buy expensive, lightfast pencils, they don’t last long drawing on this surface, and you’d have to replenish them quite often.
  • It’s best to use harder pencils on these boards. I use Pablos to fill in all the detail.
  • The boards cost more than the average drawing paper, of course.

rose colored pencil by veronica winters
Pink rose, 9×12 inches, lightfast colored pencils on pastelbord, in private collection
peacock feathers
Peacock feathers, 5×7 inches, lightfast colored pencils on pastelbord, in private collection

colored pencil manual veronica wintershow to color like an artist_coloring book_veronica winters
These art instruction books are on sale on Amazon!
One mistake every beginner makes!

Art Supplies:

Colored Pencils:

Drawing paper:

Spray fixative for drawings:

Other art supplies:

Tombow mono eraser: https://amzn.to/3yOVmMT

I’m an Amazon affiliate. You can find these brands at other art supply sites as well.

Colored pencil drawing on UART Paper: pros and cons to consider in your colored pencil shading

my-mother- -veronica-winters
My mother, 9×12 inches, lightfast colored pencils on uart paper, private collection

As I like to experiment with new art supplies once in a while, I gave a try using the UART premium sanded pastel paper. It comes in various grits and feels like a real sandpaper. It’s finest grit is 800, which is advertised as a perfect surface for colored pencil drawing.

All the drawings you see here were done on 800 grit paper, tan hue. This paper is produced for pastel painting and the 800 grit is made for colored pencil drawing. But is it really that perfect? Many artists say it’s their absolute favorite, but I found several considerable challenges working on it. Let me explain.

UART Paper review

a closeup of a drawing done on uart paper, 800 grit

Challenges & solutions:

1. The surface is not smooth enough for colored pencil drawing. The 800 grit makes the strokes look very textural, even when the colored pencil point is super sharp.
The solution isn’t using a paper stump for blending, rather applying Gamsol. It really “calms down” the surface and makes it a lot easier to shade with colored pencils after that. Gamsol melts the wax in pencils, spreads it around, and gives a painterly effect to my first layer.

Warning: if you are a beginner, you might be seriously frustrated with the result, because Gamsol creates loose edges on this paper, and its hard to keep the outlines intact with such approach.
veronica winters colored pencil
Nymph, colored pencil on uart paper, 9×12 inches

2. So the second solution is to use a soft, clean brush and blend the entire surface with it. Fix this layer with a fixative, wait till it dries and continue working on it shading in colored pencil.

colored pencil drawing
Steps: 1. Here you can see the paper’s texture when I drew with colored pencil on it. 2. Here you see the painterly effect that happens when I use Gamsol over it. 3. Here you see me work on the eyes with the colored pencil again, after the first layer has dried.

3. It’s easy to make and to spread dirt on paper. This is the case when you begin shading in colored pencil, especially if you use dark colors. The solution: Use the kneaded eraser to pick up the smudges and put a piece of paper underneath the palm of your hand.

4. UArt paper "eats" up your pencils because the sanded surface has a lot of texture. The solution: test your colored pencils to see which ones respond better to this paper. I find that Prismacolors and Pablos work well. You can blend them with a solvent, and continue shading with soft colored pencils over this layer. Another option is to work with Polychromos because they blend and behave like soft pastels. They're quite hard, so they last longer shading on uart paper.
colorful-dreams-sm-veronica-winters-colored-pencil

5. Details. After the paper dries (if you use solvents), it’s much easier to continue doing colored pencil shading. However, if you have small details like the eyes or finger nails, etc., it requires precision and patience to fill those details well. I use Polychromos colored pencils for shading the details.
The solution: the solution is to draw larger in colored pencil. In this post you see several drawings completed on 800 grit uart paper. With my third drawing done on this paper titled the “Colorful dreams,” it became much easier to shade because I increased the scale of the portrait. The eyes are not as small in this drawing as in my previous attempts. Still, it was taking a lot more time to fight with the surface’s roughness as opposed to working on smooth Stonehenge.

6. Pretty pricey paper. Selling at nearly $40 for 10-9×12 sheets per pack, you really can’t allow yourself to screw up at all. UArt paper on Amazon.

nicaraguan-boy-sm-veronica-winters-colored-pencil
Nicaraguan boy, 9×12 inches, lightfast colored pencils on UART 800 grit drawing paper

Advantages:

The more I work on it, the more I like it.

1. It accepts many layers of pigment, and it’s really great for soft pastel painting! I used to work with soft pastels but switched to colored pencil drawing because I find it more fun and archival.

2. UART durable surface is much stronger than a regular 80 lb. or even 100 lb. paper. It stays flat at all times.

3. Colors look much brighter on this paper in comparison to drawing on white paper. Colors pop and look gorgeous!

4. Accepts various media. You can make a painterly underpainting with the colored pencils and Gamsol, or use the watercolors or watercolor pencils like Neocolor underneath your work as this surface accepts various media. In my drawing titled “My mother” the painterly effect on her leather coat was a happy accident. Once I used Gamsol on dark colors, it melted with the blues I used for the highlights and created the leather coat effect.

5. The paper is at its best when you work large. I discovered that 9×12″ is just too small to work on subjects with tiny details, like the boy’s face here where I had a hard time keeping up with the anatomic accuracy.

Because this paper is designed for pastels, the colored pencil shading technique should be close to pastel painting technique. What do I mean by that? Draw from dark to light. Shade with dark pencils first. Fix the layer. Continue shading with lighter colors over it. You’ll see the effect it’s producing. Quite awesome and so different from regular colored pencil drawing on white paper!!

Hopefully these pros and cons will let you make an informative decision buying the uart paper and having fun with it. 🙂

Other artists working on this paper:
Linda Lucas Hardy & Lisa Ober

video courses by veronica winters
Check out free previews of my video courses

If you’d like to take your colored pencil drawing to the next level, check out free previews from my video courses. Click on the image above to learn more!


Colored pencil shading on uart paper, step-by-step tutorial

how to draw on uart paper-veronica winters colored pencil
Cosmic joy, step by step drawing by veronica winters, colored pencil drawing on uart paper

Here you can see the steps drawing in colored pencil on uart, 800 grit paper.

  1. In the first step I applied major lights and darks very loosely.
  2. In the second step I blended everything with a soft brush. You can see a very dark left corner there. This is how I tested the solvent on it.
  3. In the third step I applied Gamsol over the entire drawing, letting it dry. This is an underpainting.
  4. In the forth step I began layering more color aggressively.

What I love about this paper that the colors looks super vibrant and I love working from dark to light on it. (I apply much darker colors on purpose to lighten them up in subsequent layers).

The UArt paper accepts many layers of color. In the final image I use a touch of oil-based paint pen by craftsmart to draw those tiny blue dots. This marker has a pearlescent quality that’s subtle and beautiful. I hope that this short tutorial helps you in your creative pursuits.

Check out all my colored pencil drawings!

veronica winters colored pencil

The One Colored Pencil Technique you must master to create Photorealistic Colored Pencil Drawings

Colored pencil shading techniques

If your aim is to create photorealistic colored pencil drawings, you need to master the very basic drawing concepts, which includes colored pencil shading. Whatever subject you draw in colored pencil, it’s important to control your pencil pressure to achieve realistic result.

Pencil pressure

For instance, when you press on your pencil very lightly, you won’t be able to achieve rich darks or create enough contrast in colored pencil drawing. At the same time if you’re heavy-handed, your drawing may become too muddy or overworked quickly. So it’s all about finding that perfect balance in colored pencil shading.

colored pencil drawing of Jasmine by veronica winters-pencil pressure- colored pencil techniques
This is my colored pencil drawing done on pastel paper, which has a lot of texture. Paper’s texture is the number one enemy of every colored pencil artist. I had to do lots of paper’s tooth filling doing colored pencil shading. My pencil pressure played a big role in it because I had to increase my pencil pressure a lot shading with a very sharp colored pencil. This was true for both black and white colored pencils. I could of used a solvent to do colored pencil blending to achieve a different effect but I left it untouched. I wanted to preserve this sketchy feeling in this colored pencil portrait.

You do need to increase your pencil pressure in colored pencil drawing when:

  • you try to blend some areas with light pencils shading over the dark layers
  • you blend the areas around the highlights
  • you want to build up contrast in progression
  • or when you work on textured paper and have to do lots of filling of a paper’s tooth.
colored pencil drawing of flower of life by veronica winters-pencil pressure- colored pencil techniques
This colored pencil drawing closeup shows several colored pencil shading techniques at once.

#1 I shaded with white colored pencil over the dark area using a unique stroke to create the texture I wanted. While some dark is showing through, I applied the white colored pencil with medium pencil pressure.
#2 I did a lot of shading with colored pencils on the light side of her face using a very heavy pencil pressure to raise the lights as much as possible. White colored pencil sits on top of all other light colors I shaded with there.
#3 I shaded with a light pencil pressure to create that purple circle so that some previous layers still show through it.
#4 I used a very light grey colored pencil to shade over the purple with heavy pencil pressure. It lightened up and blended the area.

Check out available video courses here: https://veronica-winters-art-school.teachable.com/

Colored pencil techniques: colored pencil shading in white and off-white colors

When you work on your colored pencil shading using heavy pencil pressure, the area becomes very waxy and so filled with the pigment that you can’t layer more color over it. That’s the desired outcome. However, if you feel like you want to add even more color to that area, spray it lightly with a fixative. Wait for it to dry and shade over it again.

colored pencil drawing of Ice Maiden by veronica winters-pencil pressure- colored pencil techniques
This colored pencil drawing was done on a white matboard with various pencil pressure to blend some areas and to create contrast. In the following closeups you can see 3 colored pencil blending techniques used.
#1 I used white colored pencil and medium pencil pressure to lighten up the geometric shape. It also blended it.
#2 I used a very soft white colored pencil (Luminance or Prismacolor Premier or Pablo) to shade around the highlight leaving the highlight itself uncolored. If your colored pencil is hard this kind of blending is difficult and incomplete.
#3 I used soft, light grey colored pencil and a very heavy pencil pressure to blend the area shading with colored pencils.

I hope that this article helps you in your creative colored pencil drawing and you also find some new colored pencil drawing ideas. Controlling your pencil pressure shading with colored pencils is a must. So next time you draw, pay attention how you press on your colored pencils and observe what results you’re getting. If you’d like to learn more about colored pencil drawing, check out these art books or watch my free videos on YouTube. You may find your answers there. 🙂

colored pencil manual veronica wintershow to color like an artist_coloring book_veronica winters
These art instruction books are on sale on Amazon!
Professional Drawing paper for Colored pencil drawings I use the most often…

Art supplies on Amazon

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Pros and cons drawing on wood in colored pencil

In this article, I’d like to share my experience doing colorful pencil drawing on wood. I list both advantages and disadvantages working on wood.

The advantages of colored pencil drawing on wood

  • The panels are very durable and stable. They resist warping.
  • The panel has a 1-inch depth, which is good for wall display.
  • Wood panels prevent warping.
  • The panels look like paintings that aid professional presentation and make people more excited to purchase art. Drawings on wood don’t need a mat.
  • Because the wood surface is so stable it accepts many materials and techniques in addition to the colored pencils. For example, I tested it adding acrylic inks to its surface. I also added Fine Tec iridescent colors with a tiny bit of water, various markers, acrylics, resin, glass, diamond dust, glitter. The possibilities are endless!
  • The wood panels accept layers of color when primed with the right primer for drawing that I list below.
  • You can play with the negative space of the wood panel by not coloring the entire surface, rather allowing it to show in art because it has it’s own pattern and color.

veronica winters colored pencil-portrait painters
“Celestial Day“, 16x20in, colored pencil on wood panel

Drawbacks in colored pencil drawing on wood

  • It’s much harder to draw on wood panels in comparison to drawing on bristol vellum paper! It can be frustrating to fill in the surface.
  • The surface tends to “eat” the colored pencils.
  • Hard colored pencils may slide off of the surface.

I highly recommend buying a very small panel to test all the materials and techniques on it first.

veronica winters colored pencil
Let it be, 12x16in, mixed media on wood panel. This colored pencil drawing has colored glass, glitter and resin to produce unique look.

colored pencil manual veronica wintershow to color like an artist_coloring book_veronica winters
These art instruction books are on sale on Amazon!

Art supplies list for colored pencil drawing on wood

how to draw on wood art blog by veronica winters

Wood Panels

Obviously, we can find many brands of wood panels suitable for colored pencil drawing. I happen to use Da Vinci Pro panels because they are sturdy and have a 1-inch depth that makes them look like paintings. I usually buy my art supplies at JerrysArtarama although some of them are available on Amazon.

Da Vinci pro panels come in different sizes and surface preparation. If you plan to draw on those, buy the panels that are NOT primed. You’ll prime them with one of the primers listed below. These panels come in primed for oil and acrylic painting and I find that even the smoothest, primed surface isn’t good enough for drawing. They’re made of birch wood and are available on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3OUEGw4

Art Primers for colored pencil drawing on wood

I did some colored pencil drawing on wood with and without a primer. I prefer using the primer to have that extra tooth in the surface to grab the colored pencils. Primers seal the surface to prepare it for drawing in colored pencil.

There are several primers that you can test to use to cover wood panels, panels and paper. All of them are quite similar but give a slightly different grip or tooth to the surface to apply the colored pencil to.

  • I like Colourfix Primer because it comes in several colors!! You can tint the surface with this primer and draw like you draw on toned paper. https://amzn.to/3WKbwjm Colourfix Primer Clear 250Ml, Brand: Art Spectrum.
  • Golden Acrylic Primer for Pastels has more texture than the Colourfix but is also used for surface prep. You can find it here: https://amzn.to/43DNbzC.
  • Finally, there’s another ground with superfine texture for drawing –Golden Silverpoint/Drawing Ground. You can buy it here: https://amzn.to/3MSqbq1
Golden Silverpoint/Drawing Ground, how to draw on wood
Golden Silverpoint/Drawing Ground is a liquid acrylic used for the preparation of supports for drawing media. The ground is designed for the achievement of fine detailed lines on a permanent, lightfast, flexible ground. Developed for easy application, the ground has a very fluid consistency that will level as it dries. A single coat of Silverpoint provides a smooth, durable surface, ideal for use with a silverpoint stylus or other metals, such as brass, gold, copper, or even a steel paperclip.

You need to test them first to see which one will work for your colored pencil drawing. You might not like all of them.

Primer: https://amzn.to/3WKbwjm Colourfix Primer Clear 250Ml, Brand: Art Spectrum

Art Fixatives for colored pencil drawing

There’re numerous brands of fixatives for drawing. I recommend listening to the video with a technical cosnultant Ed Brickler to understand the differences and to figure out which ones will work for you. I’m including some of the best ones below.

Grumbacher Final Fixative is an excellent spray to protect colored pencil drawing. Don’t buy Krylon fixatives as they can present problems.
https://amzn.to/3MT4WUO

Sennelier Delacroix Fixative https://amzn.to/3MT4WUO is also an excellent spray for pencils that has a super fine mist. Both sprays are hazardous and must be sprayed in a very well ventilated space or outdoors with low humidity levels.

One of safe fixatives is Spectrafix.

SpectraFix is a safe fixative for drawings. https://amzn.to/3OSNZfS Personally, I haven’t tried it yet but it was recommended to me by a technical consultant (watch the video below on that).
To read about fixatives and varnishes, go here: https://veronicasart.com/fixatives-varnishes-what-you-need-to-know-to-preserve-your-art/

How to frame colored pencil drawings on wood

This is a tough one! The panel has a 1-inch depth, which is good to prevent warping and it also aids professional presentation but it makes it quite difficult to find a proper frame for it. So you have to search for “canvas-depth frames” that would compliment your drawings. Regular frames won’t have enough depth to cover the panel’s sides.

You still must use a non-glare plexiglass to protect the drawing from UV-light and moisture.

veronica winters colored pencil, how to frame art
This is a colored pencil drawing done on a 1-inch, Da Vinci Pro wood panel. It’s framed with a canvas depth wood frame (rabbit width is 1 inch to accommodate the wood’s depth), UV, non-glare plexiglass. The result is that it looks like a painting, not a colored pencil drawing. There’s no glare and the colored pencil drawing looks vibrant and clear of reflections.

“Celestial Night” is a 16×20″ colored pencil drawing on wood. It’s framed with a non-glare plexiglass and solid wood, canvas frame. This colored pencil drawing has high-quality plexiglass with a much greater depth than glass, which offers superior protection from light. However, the wider the depth of plexi the less colorful it becomes because it absorbs some of the color in the original colored pencil drawing.

artist drawing for sale, veronica winters colored pencil
“Celestial Day” is a colored pencil drawing is framed with the UV-protective plexiglass with custom-cut real wood frame. The weight is over 10lb.

To read about framing of colored pencil drawings, go here: https://veronicasart.com/how-to-frame-art-on-paper-and-on-canvas/

veronica winters colored pencil drawing
Canvas float frame completes the look of this beautiful, colored pencil drawing titled “Alignment”. It doesn’t have glass or plexiglass.
veronica winters colored pencil
Summer Solstice is framed with real wood, black-gold canvas float frame and is ready for wall display! It has a coat of resin with glitter over the colored pencil drawing!

If you’d like to learn more about colored pencil drawing, take one of my video classes here: https://veronica-winters-art-school.teachable.com/

Art supplies:

Contact:

How to draw fur in colored pencil: the secret tool you need to succeed

When it comes to drawing realistic fur with colored pencils, there are a variety of techniques you can use to create texture, pattern, color, and shading that mimics the look of real animal fur. Whether you’re drawing long fur or fluffy fur, a cat tail, dog tail, or any other type of animal tail, there are a few key things to keep in mind. When it comes to creating realistic animal drawings, the texture of the fur can make or break the artwork. Colored pencils are a great medium to use when drawing fur, as they allow for precise and detailed strokes that can mimic the look of individual strands of hair. In this article, I’ll focus on drawing tips, ideas, techniques and a simple tool for drawing realistic fur with colored pencils on white paper. (I usually draw on colored paper and the colored pencil technique is different for that).

How to draw fur with colored pencil

#1 Start with a good reference photo

Before you begin drawing, it’s important to have a good reference photo of the animal fur. Look for a photo that clearly shows the texture and pattern of the fur, as well as highlights and shadows. The more detailed the reference photo, the easier it will be to create a realistic colored pencil drawing. Take photo that has a clear division between light and shade (or highlights and shadows).

I found this free photo on Pixabay that you can use as a practice reference. There’s a clear light coming from the left and shadow on the right. The cat is very colorful and in focus. The fur patterns are simple to repeat.

#2 Use directional strokes in colored pencil drawing of fur

One of the most important factors to consider is the texture of the fur or the direction of the hair growth. To create a natural-looking texture, it’s important to use a combination of short, directional strokes in varying lengths and pressure levels. Depending on the type of fur you’re drawing, you may need to use different stroke techniques to create the desired effect. For example, for long fur, you may need to use longer, more fluid strokes to create the appearance of length and movement, while for fluffy fur, shorter, more jagged strokes may be more effective.

how to draw fur-photo with fur direction
Study the fur’s length and direction because different parts of the animal’s face will have slightly different coloring and fur’s length. Use short, directional strokes to mimic the look of individual strands of hair. Vary the length and direction of the strokes to create a natural-looking texture.
#1- These are rather wide stripes and fur’s patterns that WRAP AROUND the body. Most students draw them too flat. Observe how the animal’s fur wraps around the neck, stomach, etc.
#2 Copy the unique patterns of the fur as precise as possible.
#3 Some fur is rather long. Use multidirectional strokes to re-create it.
#4 This fur is very short but super soft with the blurry edge. Edges are important.
#5 These are rather long and sharp-edged hairs that wrap around the eye.
#6 Extremely short and multi-colored fur.
#7 Very long, directional strokes.

#3 Layering

Build up layers of color. Another important aspect in colored pencil drawing of fur is layering. Building up layers of color gradually can help you create depth and dimension. Gradual layering also helps you blend different colors together for realistic appearance. Use a light touch of colored pencil while layering colors, and build up the darker shades gradually.

Start with a light layer of the base color, and then gradually add darker shades to create depth and dimension. Use a light hand and short, light strokes to mimic the texture of fur. Use a variety of colors to create a realistic fur texture.

#4 Light direction: highlights and shadows

To create depth and dimension in your colored pencil drawing of fur, pay attention to the light direction. You must have both strong highlights and shadows to create some depth and dimension. Use darker shades in areas where the fur is more dense, and lighter shades in areas where the fur is more sparse or where highlights are present. Adding highlights can help create a three-dimensional effect and make the fur appear more lifelike.

how to draw fur in colored pencil step-by-step-veronica winters
Here is a short step-by-step colored pencil tutorial for beginners: 1. Layer the general pattern of the fur using light to medium pencil pressure. 2. Start with a light layer of the base color, and then gradually add darker shades to create depth and dimension. 3-4. Use Tombow mono eraser to lift out the lighter strands. Pay attention to fur’s direction to do the lift outs. 5-6. Build up layers of texture by layering the variety of colored pencils to create a realistic fur texture. Erase. Layer again. And finally take a very sharp colored pencil to draw fine strands that are darker than white.

Shadows

Use darker colored pencils to create shadows in the areas where the fur is more dense. Pay attention to the direction of the light source in your reference photo to ensure that the highlights and shadows are accurate. For that I make a separate image by converting the original photo to a black-and-white one. This way I can clearly see the light direction that I must copy.

Highlights

There’re several ways to draw the highlights in colored pencil. It depends on the drawing paper’s tone as well as your own preference. In this tutorial I focus on drawing the lights of the animal’s fur on white paper. In general, using a white colored pencil to add highlights to the fur can be ineffective. It works well when you do the following trick, however.

After layering the base of color, take the Tombow mono eraser and erase parts of the fur paying attention to its length, strength and direction. This becomes the foundation for texture. Then you start drawing around those “puled out whites”. Then take your drawing outside and spray it lightly with a final fixative. I recommend Sennelier or Grumbacher brands. Wait for it to dry completely!

To continue building up the texture drawing the animal fur, you can add refined lines in a very soft, white colored pencil. You can continue shading with darker colored pencils around the lights. And you can use the mono eraser once again to texturize the fur even more, shading in a slightly different direction. These are steps 3-6 in the drawing of the jaguar.

This drawing is a blend of fantasy and reality and therefore the patterns on the animal’s nose and cheeks are not real. They resemble the patterns of the overall design in my colored pencil drawing. Also it’s totally possible to use white markers to define the whiskers a lot more. I simply chose not to do it on this drawing.

#5 Adding refined texture in colored pencil drawing

To blend or not to blend, right? I think that the colored pencil blending is the opposite of drawing fur and texture in colored pencil. You want to imitate the texture in the cat’s fur or other animal fur. Therefore, you can blend the colors some at the first step when you’re layering the base but refrain from blending the animal’s fur at the end of the drawing process in colored pencil. Never use a blending stump or a piece of tissue paper in colored pencil blending. It’s ineffective and damages the surface. Use a sharp pencil to create fine lines instead. You need to do this towards the end of your colored pencil drawing process when you have the base shading done.

feathered serpent-20x30-veronica winters colored pencil drawing
Feathered Serpent, 20x30in, colored pencil on art board, Veronica Winters

Remember, drawing realistic fur with colored pencils is a skill that takes patience and practice to develop. Don’t be discouraged if your first attempts don’t turn out exactly how you’d like. By starting with a good reference photo, building up layers of color, using directional strokes, adding highlights and shadows, and practicing regularly, you can create stunning animal drawings with lifelike fur texture. Also be open to experimenting with different techniques, and trying new things until you find the approach that works best for you. With some effort and positive attitude, you’ll be able to create stunning drawings of animal tails with lifelike fur texture, pattern, and color.

colored pencil manual veronica wintershow to color like an artist_coloring book_veronica winters
These art instruction books are on sale on Amazon!

Check out the article where I show how to create fur texture and fur shading using scratchboard art. https://veronicasart.com/how-to-start-scratchboard-art-tools-techniques-tips-to-make-fur-texture/

Art supplies on Amazon:

Karen Hull artist interview podcast

Karen Hull: art interview with colored pencil artist & reiki master

My guest today is a colored pencil artist & reiki master Karen Hull. You might have seen her amazing art on Facebook before. I set down with the artist to have a conversation about her career discussing colored pencil art, inspiration, art marketing and much more. Karen shares not only her art tips but also talks about meaning behind her creative journey and how her desire to help people made her pivot to studying and working as a reiki master!

First appeared as a video podcast on Youtube: https://youtu.be/irK-fysrWMo

Karen Hull artist interview podcast
Karen Hull, colored pencil & scratchboard demonstration

Follow the artist:

https://www.karenhullart.com/

Portrait drawing class on Craftsy: https://www.craftsy.com/class/step-by-step-photorealistic-colored-pencil-portraits/#

Support the channel/donate: https://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=XEALQ6AHQ22EN

Veronica Winters, M.F.A. | https://VeronicasArt.com | https://www.instagram.com/veronicawintersart/

How to draw textures in colored pencil realistically

How to draw realistic textures in colored pencil

Step-by-step realistic colored pencil drawing of a donut

To learn realistic colored pencil drawing techniques, you must consider:

  • drawing your subject and shapes correctly
  • understanding the difference between color and value in colored pencil drawing
  • making even shading
  • making creative compositions
  • understanding how the light turns the form

A full step by step demonstration of 10 donuts is part of my most recent art book The Colored Pencil Manual as well as my video course Complete Colored Pencil Techniques in 90 days.

veronica winters colored pencil drawing
Realistic colored pencil drawing tutorial: I spent about 5 hours drawing each donut and more than eight hours shading the background in this 12” x 14” drawing!

In this colored pencil drawing demonstration I don’t focus on basic drawing techniques but explain how to do shading, texture and color harmony. While I lay out the drawing sequence of every donut, the artwork is completed by filling in the background first and then layering one color at a time while working on all donuts simultaneously.

By shading the background first, I create instant contrast to work against drawing the donuts.
It took a considerable creative effort to make this arrangement of donuts for the photoshoot. I wanted to balance every texture, color, and shape in one composition.

Art supplies:

  • Prismacolor Premier colored pencils unless noted;
  • kneaded eraser
  • tracing paper (optional)
  • Grumbacher final fixative, for dry media, matte
  • a large sheet of printmaking paper, light gray (it can be replaced with Stonehenge Multi pad color either pearl grey or fawn). This project was completed on a very light gray printmaking paper that often doesn’t read as such in photography. It has minimal texture and the colors tend to blend on their own without employing additional blending techniques.
  • Color wheel – optional
  • The Color Chart is separate for each donut. In this example some of the textures are created with varied stroke applications, and Sakura Pentouch marker.
Sakura Pen-touch to place the brightest highlights. This pen can be replaced with another white marker of your choice.
how to draw in colored pencil on stonehenge
Stonehenge multi pad

Basic colors:

Prismacolor Premier colored pencils unless noted;

1. Terra Cotta 2. Sienna Brown 3. Mineral Orange 4. (Pablo) Yellow 5. White 6. Henna 7. Artichoke 8. Chartreuse 9. Yellow Ochre 10. Yellow Orange 11. 70% Cool Grey 12. Pumpkin Orange 13. Yellow Chartreuse

step by step colored pencil drawing of donut_veronica winters
Reference (top) with a color chart and step-by-step colored pencil drawing of a donut

Step 1

Tap all graphite lines with the kneaded eraser. It’s a light donut and graphite will show up once you begin shading. Begin drawing out the rotation of each fold with either terra cotta or sienna brown. While the color looks reddish here, it’s actually a warm brown that the author suggests you use for shading.

Step 2

Once you place the background colors (see the last two steps for instruction), you set the contrast to begin working on the donut. With a sharp point, place random white spots and shade around them with Pablo yellow. Add mineral orange into the brown to warm up the color.

Step 3

With every new step, you keep defining the edges to preserve the correct rotation and clarity in each section. You also work in short, directional strokes on every section to create volume. For that you need to keep rotating your drawing paper as you shade, so the strokes wrap around the forms and don’t become too linear.
Define the brown edges with henna and fill them in with this color in light pressure. Add warm, light greens—chartreuse and artichoke—shading around the yellow to create value transitions between the dark (browns) and the light (white). You shade from white to yellow to chartreuse to artichoke. After that the shapes turn to orange-brown shadows (that you’ve already done).

Step 4

Once the basic pattern of light and shade is in place, you can add variations to the colors seen in the light. The artist shades with yellow ochre, yellow orange, pumpkin orange, chartreuse, and Pablo yellow. Most of the time it is simply layering the same colors over and over again until the right contrast and volume are achieved. Add 70% cool gray into the form shadow in every section.
Texture: Reinforce the texture with white for small dots in the light and add just a few tiny highlights on the left side with the Sakura PenTouch

step by step drawing_donut veronica winters
Finished realistic colored pencil drawing of a donut

Don’t forget to use a final fixative on your colored pencil drawing. Spray it outdoors in a low-humidity environment. Wear a mask to protect yourself from harmful vapor.

Sign up to my mail list for art tips and news or visit the video courses page if you’d like to take your colored pencil drawing to the next level!

colored pencil manual veronica wintershow to color like an artist_coloring book_veronica winters
These art instruction books are on sale on Amazon!
koh in noor colored pencils review

Koh-i-Noor colored pencils & drawing paper review

In this article you’ll find information about Koh-i-Noor colored pencils and Koh-i-Noor drawing paper. I also include the video of these products you can find below. I’m not an affiliate and I write reviews for the art supplies I actually use in my drawings. Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth is a Czech republic manufacturer and distributor of art supplies and stationery. Founded in 1790 by Joseph Hardtmuth of Austria, this company makes affordably-priced, quality art supplies.

koh-i-noor colored pencils review

Koh-i-Noor colored pencils review

  • Lightfastness: varies, but good overall
  • Durability: fair
  • Softness: varies, on softer side
  • Price: very competitively priced
  • Pigment saturation/vividness: good

Koh-i-Noor Polycolor colored pencils, 72 colors

koh i noor polycolor review _veronica winters blog

I have a large, 72 colors set and I’ve done several colored pencil drawings using this set. Overall, these are good colored pencils for art students. They are not as creamy as Prismacolor Premier or Luminance but layer quite nicely that requires minimal blending drawing on smooth paper. So they’re ok for beginner art students.

Hardness/softness:

The softness is good but not great. Because they are not super soft like Prismacolor Premier, you can create lots of details drawing with Polycolor. I think they are good to draw details over the initial layering done in softer colored pencils. Drawing backgrounds and shading over large areas can be very time-consuming. Occasionally, they break during sharpening.

Color/pigment saturation:

Because they are not as creamy as Luminance or Prismacolor, they don’t have exceptional saturation/vividness. However, these pencils will pleasantly surprise you with their range of beautiful colors and fair color saturation. Some colors seem to be softer and more vivid than others in a set.

Price:

Koh-i-Noor Polycolor box sets are very competitively priced and are worth your dollars if you are a student on a budget. However I’d choose Prismacolors over this brand for higher pigment saturation and softness.

Lightfastness chart:

Here you can take note of the lightfastness rating. Koh-i-noor colored pencils vary in its ability to withstand the light, which is similar to the Prismacolor Premier. Most Polycolor colored pencils have a very good lightfastness rating. So, if the lightfastness is important to you, you can weed out all the fugitive colors out of the set from the get go (1-2 stars are fugitive colors).

This is one of the drawings completed using the koh-i-noor Polycolor colored pencils.

Koh-i-noor woodless colored pencils review

koh i noor woodless colored pencils review

These colored pencils are very similar to Koh-i-Noor Polycolor. They seem to be a bit softer, layer nicely, and some colors seem to be richer in pigment saturation than others. It’s nice to sharpen them to a fine point and then use the pencil on details and large areas alike, but their main problem is breakage. Two pencils broke in half by themselves when I began drawing with them.

This is one of the drawings completed using the koh-i-noor woodless colored pencils and a white pen on colored paper.

Koh-i-Noor Tri-Tone

These are really fun pencils to color with! Each colored pencil consists of 2-3 hues you can color with by rotating the pencil to change the color. They are pretty soft and vivid. You can really explore your funky side drawing with Tri-Tone. I think they are great for general coloring and gift-giving. They can be fun for both teens and adults to make small drawings or to work on a coloring page, but their main downside is considerable breakage during sharpening. The lightfastness is pretty good according to the manufacturer’s list.

 

Koh-i-Noor Drawing Paper review

koh i noor drawing paper and colored pencils_veronica winters blog

I absolutely love koh-i-noor drawing paper and its my favorite now! I only wish the manufacturer could come up with a bunch of bright colored papers. Koh-i-noor manufactures drawing papers with several surfaces: Bristol smooth, Bristol vellum and colored pencil. All of them have thick pages and accept multiple layering, which is great for colored pencil drawing. The surfaces are smooth, yet the minimal texture of Colored Pencil Drawing and Bristol Vellum papers aids to smooth and even layering that requires no blending with solvents, and some minimal blending with a pencil blender like Caran d’Ache full blender. Link to Amazon.

Koh-i-noor black drawing paper has very thin pages but the surface is truly amazing to work on. It is very smooth with just the right paper tooth to grab the color. The in & out pages feature is also really great because I can take a page out, draw on it, and then put it right back into the album for storage.

Here you can see how these koh-i-noor drawing pads look inside.

These are some of my drawings completed on koh-i-noor drawing paper.

The silent one, romantic pencil drawing by Veronica Winters
The Silent One, 9×12″, romantic pencil drawing, private collection, koh-i-noor bristol smooth

Check out all video courses here: https://veronica-winters-art-school.teachable.com/

 

Step by step drawing in colored pencil how to draw a gecko

Step by step colored pencil drawing tutorial for children: gecko

In this step by step drawing demonstration you’ll learn how to layer color in colored pencil shading on toned or colored paper. You will also see how to use solvents to blend the colored pencil drawing. This is a fun drawing project to complete for both kids and adults alike.

Materials:

  • Canson Colorline paper. This paper can be replaced with a similar, professional toned paper.
  • Prismacolor Premier colored pencils (colors are listed in steps); they can be replaced with other soft, colored pencils
  • Gamsol or Caran d-Ache full blender-optional
  • white transfer paper
General’s kneaded eraser

Step-by-step colored pencil drawing tutorial demonstration

Step 1 Define the shape and shadows

how to draw gecko

Sketch out basic outline of gecko on a sketch paper. Then transfer the outline onto your colored paper using white transfer paper. Keep the fine drawing paper clean of any residue at all times. I usually transfer the outlines using white transfer paper manufactured by Loew-Cornell. This paper lasts for years, and the lines are very easy to erase with the kneaded eraser. MAKE SURE YOU USE THE SMOOTH SIDE OF YOUR DRAWING PAPER!

When you have transferred the outline, strengthen some lines in colored pencil to separate between the shapes. The color of my colored pencil depends on the subject’s basic tone. If the subject is light, I use cream colored pencil to strengthen the outlines, if the subject is dark, I use dark brown to outline some shapes.

Use dark brown like raw umber and dark green to map out the dark spots and shadows on the lizard’s skin.

Step 2 Block-in the background

how to draw step by step
Block in the background with indigo blue and the same dark brown you’ve used before. (A combination of any dark colors would work well here). Add grass green and apple green in the background’s middle tone. Then add spring green in the light.

To strengthen the pattern on the skin, shade with a combination of violet, indigo blue, and dark green.
For the eye, use a sharp point of indigo blue and dark brown to outline the circle and to draw the iris. Shade the darker values (tones) on the left side of the eye, while deliberately using lighter tones on the right.

Notice that all colors look a lot more vibrant on colored paper as opposed to colored pencil shading on white paper.

Step 3: Blend the background

how to draw gecko

When you’ve completed shading in the background, use a solvent (like turpenoid or Gamsol) to blend the background and a few spots found on the gecko’s skin. Let it dry completely!

Make sure you use a small brush to blend the image with solvents that is not used for anything else. Solvents melt wax in the wax-based colored pencils making the surface smoother and darker.

Be careful using the solvent. Although Gamsol is a mild one and doesn't have the smell, don't inhale it anyways. Use a modest amount spreading the pigment around. To replace the solvent you can buy the caran d'ache full blender and shade the background with it.

Step 4: Colored pencil shading

When it’s dry, shade with the same colors in the background and add a few more over the entire background space. The colors are poppy red, aquamarine, light aqua, and limepeel. OVERLAP the COLORS to get rich tones!

Now let’s draw the body. You can shade the light areas of the skin with parma violet and cloud blue, using a very heavy pencil pressure.

It’s important to see how the skin pattern curves around its body.

Don't make straight lines and repetitive shapes. Create volume and dimension by curving the uneven lines around its arms and feet.

Step 5: Work on details

how to draw gecko step by step

Use a touch of canary yellow and light pink to shade the reflected light on the gecko’s bottom.

Step back to look at it from the distance and check your drawing for contrast, color and shapes. If needed, re-apply the background colors once again with heavy pencil pressure. Step back. Check tones and edges. Is it dark enough? Outline a few edges in its head with sharp pencils for additional crispness and focus.

colored pencil manual veronica wintershow to color like an artist_coloring book_veronica winters
These art instruction books are on sale on Amazon!

Check out all video courses here: https://veronica-winters-art-school.teachable.com/

Download free tutorials https://veronicasart.com/free-downloads/