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Tag: colored pencil demonstration
How to use color harmony in colored pencil drawing
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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On using color harmony to create unique and personal colored pencil drawings
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.
#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.
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.
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.
#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
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!
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.
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.
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Art Supplies:
Colored Pencils:
- Prismacolor 36: https://amzn.to/3PdrdvY
- Pablo 30: https://amzn.to/3c018Cg
- Polychromos: https://amzn.to/3yoTxF1
- Luminance: https://amzn.to/3P7lkBf
- Caran D’Ache full blender: https://amzn.to/3RkCBrO
Drawing paper:
- Bristol Vellum white paper: https://amzn.to/3nJxeVN
- Canson colorline toned paper: https://amzn.to/3yLd9EO You can buy a wide selection of paper at Dick Blick Art Supplies
- Colourfix primer: https://amzn.to/3WLDdbx
Spray fixative for drawings:
- Sennelier: final fixative https://amzn.to/3yqLOq8
- Grumbacher: working fixative https://amzn.to/3bL7k0X
- DON’T buy the krylon spray!
Other art supplies:
- Transfer paper: white https://amzn.to/3Ittcu7
- black https://amzn.to/3OSTnN5
- Gamsol: https://amzn.to/3yP8nGr
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
Here you can see the steps drawing in colored pencil on uart, 800 grit paper.
- In the first step I applied major lights and darks very loosely.
- 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.
- In the third step I applied Gamsol over the entire drawing, letting it dry. This is an underpainting.
- 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!
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.
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.
#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.
#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. 🙂
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Art supplies on Amazon
- Drawing pad, bristol vellum
- Kneaded eraser
- koh -i-noor drawing paper, colored pencil
- Tombow mono eraser
- Drawing fixative
- Sennelier fixative for charcoal and pencil has a super fine spray mist, matte, high-quality
- Gamvar varnish for oil paintings, satin
- Brush for varnishing oil paintings
- Color Wheel
- Canson Colorline drawing paper is available in many colors and various thickness. You might find better choices at art supply online retailers
- Molotow metallic marker, gold
- How to color like an artist, coloring book for children and adults
- The colored pencil manual, art instruction book
If you’d like to connect with me:
4 best colored pencil shading techniques
Learn how to create depth and dimension in your colored pencil drawings with these top four colored pencil shading techniques. In this article you’ll discover the most useful shading techniques that you can apply to any subject you draw. I also share some necessary tools that can help you create colorful pencil drawings.
Colored pencil shading techniques in art help create the illusion of depth, volume, and form in a two-dimensional artwork.
Before you begin drawing, place your paper on a hard and smooth surface. You can use the backing from your drawing pad. Don't draw on soft surfaces under your paper because your drawings will lack definition. It's much easier to create tight shading and sharp edges drawing on paper that has a field sketch board underneath it. They come in different sizes under many brands.
#1 Crosshatching in colored pencil drawing
Crosshatching in art definition:
Crosshatching is the most useful colored pencil shading technique that’s used to create a variety of effects in colored pencil drawings including volume creation and blending. Hatching involves creating parallel lines or strokes to indicate shading. The lines can be closely spaced or widely spaced, depending on the desired effect. By varying the density and direction of the lines, different values and textures can be achieved.
Cross-hatching is similar to hatching, but it involves layering sets of parallel lines in different directions. By overlapping the lines, darker and more complex shading with colored pencils can be achieved, creating depth with colored pencils. When I crosshatch the lines, I rotate my paper often to create tight shading with depth and volume. If you shade every object in one direction, you’ll make it look flat lacking volume. Crosshatching is the most useful shading technique for beginners and advanced artists.
#2 Colored pencil shading with tiny circles
I often use shading with tiny circles to blend colored pencils, to soften the edges around the highlights, to make transitions between the tones, and to add colorful dimension to my art. This meticulous method of shading with tiny circles allows for precise control in color application. Because we see no visible lines, shading with tiny circles allows artists to create subtle variations in light and shadow, adding dimension to colored pencil drawings.
Pencil pressure is important using this shading technique. The more pencil pressure you use, the more blended the surface will be. Usually, art students look for special tools and blending techniques for colored pencils, but most blending can be done with simple shading with tiny circles, drawing on Bristol Vellum paper!
#3 Creating contrast with strong and soft edges in colored pencil drawing
Creating depth with colored pencils involves artistic control of edges. Art students shade everything the same way. Therefore, art lacks contrast and definition. I make a creative decision what I want to have in focus and out of focus. This is where the edges come in. To define the edge you must use a very sharp point of colored pencil. Re-define and outline the sharpest edges during your entire shading process because they tend to disappear during shading with colored pencils. Step back from your drawing to see if they pop or not. I usually place sharp edges in my focal point.
Not everything must have a strong edge. Some edges must remain soft and muted as we see them in real life. Therefore, I intentionally blend, soften or crosshatch some of the edges to keep them out of focus. It’s one of the most useful colored pencil shading techniques.
#4 Shading with greys to blend the colored pencils
I love adding dimension to colored pencil drawings by shading with grey colored pencils over the previously applied color layer. It does two things. This shading technique does awesome blending without the use of solvents or time-consuming blending with pencil blenders. Second, this shading technique adds new dimension to color in art. By making some areas less bright, I’m able to control and bring forward major colors that are part of my overall composition and design. This is one of my favorite shading techniques for portraits because I can create depth with colored pencils, shading over local colors.
Normally I don’t use the stippling technique because it’s too time-consuming but if you have a subject calling for it, by all means use it. All four shading techniques can be used in colored pencil drawing of any subject – landscape, still life, portrait, etc.
If you’d like to learn more about colored pencil techniques, check out the video courses here: https://veronica-winters-art-school.teachable.com/
Happy drawing!
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Art supplies:
- Drawing pad, bristol vellum
- Kneaded eraser
- koh -i-noor drawing paper, colored pencil
- Tombow mono eraser
- Drawing fixative
- Sennelier fixative for charcoal and pencil has a super fine spray mist, matte, high-quality
- Gamvar varnish for oil paintings, satin
- Brush for varnishing oil paintings
- Color Wheel
- Canson Colorline drawing paper is available in many colors and various thickness. You might find better choices at art supply online retailers
- Molotow metallic marker, gold
- How to color like an artist, coloring book for children and adults
- The colored pencil manual, art instruction book
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).
#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.
#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.
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.
#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.
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.
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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:
- Drawing pad, bristol vellum
- Kneaded eraser
- koh -i-noor drawing paper, colored pencil
- Tombow mono eraser
- Drawing fixative
- Sennelier fixative for charcoal and pencil has a super fine spray mist, matte, high-quality
- Gamvar varnish for oil paintings, satin
- Brush for varnishing oil paintings
- Color Wheel
- Canson Colorline drawing paper is available in many colors and various thickness. You might find better choices at art supply online retailers
- Molotow metallic marker, gold
- How to color like an artist, coloring book for children and adults
- The colored pencil manual, art instruction book
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
Step-by-step colored pencil drawing tutorial demonstration
Step 1 Define the shape and shadows
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
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
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
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.
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