Home › Forums › Explore Media › Colored Pencil › How to obtain a perfectly smooth, even application of color ?

Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
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  • February 27, 2018 at 12:04 pm #452114
    Bleuvenn
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        Hello.

        How do you proceed to create a gorgeous fine and even application of colored pencil ? (without using blender pencil or blending solution: only colored pencil, paper and your skill ;) ).
        I use Polychromos, Pablo and Luminance and I want to achieve smooth, flawless texture. I use pencils with very sharp points.

        How do you hold your pencil and what kind of strokes do you use ? I think there are several ways to obtain good results.
        I use elliptical motions and work around in a circular way but I am not entirely satisfied by my results (and unfortunately for me, I am a perfectionist).

        Thanks :) .

        February 28, 2018 at 4:23 am #574016
        tiago.dagostini
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            People do that with patience and a lot of pressure(I avoid using any pressure as a vampire avoids the sun).

            But you should ask yourself.. why you want to achieve that? What distance your work is supposed to be gazed upon? 20 cm? then people might notice the under paper.. 2 meters? Then a cover that would look like swiss cheese at point blank will look perfect smooth at that range.

            Of course it is your decision, but one must point that different mediums have different strengths. When you want to get a smooth perfect cover, paint is far superior (and you can go over it with colored pencil later). Embracing your medium peculiarities usually makes working with it less frustrating.

            "no no! You are doing it all wrong, in the internet we are supposed to be stubborn, inflexible and arrogant. One cannot simply be suddenly reasonable and reflexive in the internet, that breaks years of internet tradition as a medium of anger, arrogance, bigotry and self entitlement. Damm these internet newcomers being nice to to others!!!"

            "If brute force does not solve your problem, then you are not using enough!"

            March 1, 2018 at 12:14 am #574026
            Demera
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                I certainly would not bother using pencil technique alone. Colour pencil is slow enough as it is. Solvents and burnishing speed up the process and are perfectly legitimate tools.

                The paper used is probably just as, or more important than technique if you just want to use pencils strokes alone.

                March 1, 2018 at 4:12 am #574017
                tiago.dagostini
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                    I certainly would not bother using pencil technique alone. Colour pencil is slow enough as it is. Solvents and burnishing speed up the process and are perfectly legitimate tools.

                    The paper used is probably just as, or more important than technique if you just want to use pencils strokes alone.

                    Or you can just like the way unburnished pencil works look and enjoy the little light speckles like some of us :)

                    "no no! You are doing it all wrong, in the internet we are supposed to be stubborn, inflexible and arrogant. One cannot simply be suddenly reasonable and reflexive in the internet, that breaks years of internet tradition as a medium of anger, arrogance, bigotry and self entitlement. Damm these internet newcomers being nice to to others!!!"

                    "If brute force does not solve your problem, then you are not using enough!"

                    March 1, 2018 at 6:57 pm #574027
                    Demera
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                        Or you can just like the way unburnished pencil works look and enjoy the little light speckles like some of us :)

                        Yes, this too. I like the soft texture look, but I don’t use it myself.

                        March 7, 2018 at 3:14 pm #574021
                        brissie
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                            It horses for courses, depends on the paper you use and even the pencil and what look you want to achieve. Im working on Stonehenge right now and some pencil colours in th FC brand go on more smoothly than others. The Zest-it doesnt blend as well on this paper so I used a brush to try and get it deeper into the tooth but it also lifts the lead. I shall just accept the grainier look and at a few feet away it all looks smooth. So like Tiago said it depends!


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                            March 7, 2018 at 5:58 pm #574025
                            Bleuvenn
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                                Thanks a lot for your replies :) .

                                And yes, I have a real preference for unburnished pencil but I don’t want to have colored pencil strokes noticeable ;)

                                March 8, 2018 at 4:15 am #574018
                                tiago.dagostini
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                                    Thanks a lot for your replies :) .

                                    And yes, I have a real preference for unburnished pencil but I don’t want to have colored pencil strokes noticeable ;)

                                    That is less related to blending and more about how you apply the color. Use several thin layers and the strokes will be invisible.

                                    "no no! You are doing it all wrong, in the internet we are supposed to be stubborn, inflexible and arrogant. One cannot simply be suddenly reasonable and reflexive in the internet, that breaks years of internet tradition as a medium of anger, arrogance, bigotry and self entitlement. Damm these internet newcomers being nice to to others!!!"

                                    "If brute force does not solve your problem, then you are not using enough!"

                                    March 16, 2018 at 9:18 pm #574023
                                    smudged-blue
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                                        I like to use very small circle type strokes, many light layers, keeping even pressure and super sharp pencil points. It takes a long time to get that smooth look but well worth it in my opinion.
                                        I personally do like to use a colorless blender pencil, but it can still be achieved with just colored pencils.

                                        Sonia.
                                        My photos available as reference
                                        "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." ~ George Bernard Shaw.

                                        March 18, 2018 at 1:38 pm #574024
                                        Anne58
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                                            Great answers folk. Thanks to Bleuvenn for the question

                                            March 18, 2018 at 11:53 pm #574019
                                            clydeine
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                                                Paper has hills and valleys. The key to smooth layering is to get that colored pencil in the valleys without damaging the hills. There are a number of ways to do that from using a stiff brush to push it in, OMS (odorless mineral spirits), blending powder, etc. Frankly my favorite is to use a lighter color of the same hue and lots of light layering. You crush the hills(tooth) you can not add more layers..

                                                March 28, 2018 at 9:12 pm #574022
                                                ddattler
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                                                    I’ve been using colored pencils long before the blenders were introduced. Sharp pencils are great for details, but I find that patience and practice are required to get the smoothness you are seeking. I use the more blunt pencils to smooth out the blend, but I always keep a scrap paper to practice on before I mix the colors on my piece of Artwork. Some colors blend better than others.

                                                    http://wildlifearts.com
                                                    Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know. ~ Rembrandt

                                                    In Art, Learning to see is at least as important as the actual creation of Art. ~ George Benedict,

                                                    April 6, 2018 at 9:56 am #574020
                                                    clydeine
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                                                        I like to use very small circle type strokes, many light layers, keeping even pressure and super sharp pencil points. It takes a long time to get that smooth look but well worth it in my opinion.
                                                        I personally do like to use a colorless blender pencil, but it can still be achieved with just colored pencils.

                                                        Well I agree with smudged.. if you dont think uneven gradation or specks of white show your wrong..they do.. I like realistic work and find that smooth gradation is the manner to achieve that. I like smudge, do tiny circles or light layers and where tone meets, I work very diligently to maker sure they blend together so lines dont show. I think OMS dulls the color. Colored pencil is time consuming yes and if you want to rush a piece, you will find there are drawbacks to that. After 9 years I have found that one must have a lot of patience and be willing to cover all the white in light circular layers blending back with lighter colors is the way to go.

                                                        April 6, 2018 at 8:38 pm #574015
                                                        Delofasht
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                                                            My trick is to put a thin piece of craft foam under my paper to act as a cushion, that softens pencil strokes. As for the white fleck fill, just sharpen the pencil and get in there after filling most of the area with a flat color. Biggest factor in getting flat color application is paper choice though, heavier the weight smooth papers tend to be easier to fill the tooth without fleck showing, in my experience at least.

                                                            - Delo Delofasht
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