Home Forums Explore Media Colored Pencil Light colors over dark colors

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 43 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #455176
    Mr.Fox
    Default

        Is it possible to achieve a similar effect, with colored pencils?

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60zhX909jmQ&index=153&list=PL1E06AE28025AE554&t=0s
        (minutes 16:34; 36:33; 43:04; 52:15; 55:26; 1:05:50)

        Other examples here too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPqonVAXs4k
        The concept is the same.

        I’ve noticed that this is much easier to do with Prismacolor and Lumiance colored pencils but I’ve only seen doing this with white or light grey over black or very dark colors.
        Is it possible to do also with other shades?

        Are there any medium that could help to get this effect (for example blend colors with paint thinner or using the touch up texture on the area concerned)?

        #611481
        Pingpongfan
        Default

            Are you planning on doing landscapes? If you look up Geoff in the search section you will find “Waterfall WIP” which may give you some ideas. I think it was done early this year. He has also done some beach scenes and many other subjects eg animals and portraits.
            Vena

            #611479
            smudged-blue
            Default

                Usually with colored pencils it is not really achievable, light colors don’t go back over darks very well. However there are some surfaces that will allow you to put lighter colors back in over the top of darks to some degree.

                Pastelmat (which is a sanded type surface, can use up your pencils quicker and is really hard to erase mistakes on) or suede matboard (which can get very expensive and you can find it at a framing store and again hard to erase mistakes on). In my experience these two surfaces will allow light colors to go over darks to some degree. These surfaces make colored pencil much more opaque also.

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

                #611484
                Demera
                Default

                    I’ve only been able to get creamy light colours to go over dark, and only with a waxy pencil such as Luminance, Derwent or Prismacolor. A mid-toned transparent colour, such as a golden brown, will not show over a darker brown. My lighter coloured Polochromos don’t seem to show up well at all.

                    I can’t watch your video links right now but I’ll check them out later in case my reply isn’t on the mark at all!

                    #611496
                    Mr.Fox
                    Default

                        Thank you all for the answers.

                        Are you planning on doing landscapes?

                        I’ll do landscapes but also other things like vehicles and characters.

                        If you look up Geoff in the search section you will find “Waterfall WIP” which may give you some ideas.

                        Sorry, I wasn’t able to find it. Can you provide me some link?

                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAsgUMr1Llg
                        In this video, the guy compares the overlap of light colors over dark ones with two black circles. One circle is sprayed with Brush and Pencil Textured Fixative while the other circle is just burnished.

                        On the sprayed circle the result is better but a spray can only be used to cover a large area. It will cover also areas where I don’t need it and I’m afraid that working on the sprayed paper is not the same as working on the regular surface (and the guy says that the textured fixative will warp the paper).

                        I would need a more precise medium.
                        I’ve found this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-n6Udsc8ac&t=168s&index=17&list=PL1E06AE28025AE554
                        where she uses the touch-up texture (by Brush and Pencil) on a small area.
                        She uses the white color over a dark color; I wonder if it’s possible to do also with other colors, for example a light green over a darker green or over a dark brown…like in the videos I posted before.

                        #611485
                        Azuresong
                        Default

                            Typically with coloured pencils (or any other translucent medium) you will get better results working dark on light, it might take some getting used to but once you got your head around it it’s actually pretty straightforward. The only thing I do miss doing light on dark are feather / fur.

                            With touch-up texture / fixative it does indeed make white pencil show up a lot better, and if you want to use a different more translucent colour you can always use white first then glaze the colour on top.

                            #611471

                            I’ve only been able to get creamy light colours to go over dark, and only with a waxy pencil such as Luminance, Derwent or Prismacolor. A mid-toned transparent colour, such as a golden brown, will not show over a darker brown. My lighter coloured Polochromos don’t seem to show up well at all.

                            I can’t watch your video links right now but I’ll check them out later in case my reply isn’t on the mark at all!

                            Polychromos are made intentionally to be more transparent than other brands. That is usually considered a quality but hinders light over dark coverage.

                            You cannot use Oil and Acrilic techniques on other medias like CP, no matter how much you try you do not have the same coverage power. If you want to make something light you need to not paint it dark first or erase it. CP behave more like controlled water color than anything else.

                            The only drawing tools that I know of that you can share some techniques of painting are pastels.

                            "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!"

                            #611497
                            Mr.Fox
                            Default

                                I’ve also found this “tutorial” by an Italian artist:
                                http://alfioraciti.com/tutorial-matite-colorate-dipingere-una-coppia-di-leoni/

                                Just watch the last pictures: the light blades of grass over the dark area.
                                Was it made possible by the properties of those colored pencils (derwent drawing)?

                                #611486
                                Azuresong
                                Default

                                    Derwent drawing pencils are a lot more opaque than polychromos (and the trade off is that it is a lot softer so it’s hard to do finer details with them if you work on a smaller piece)

                                    And if I’m not mistaken (by looking at the larger image) he’s using a paper with quite a bit of tooth, which also helps the lighter colour to show up. Again trade off is you can’t do fine details with these paper

                                    Might I ask why you want to use acrylic techniques with coloured pencils? They are very different media and good at different things, Generally speaking you will never be able to achieve the same level o coverage / opacity with CPs as acrylic no matter which brand of pencil you use, and most of time this would be an advantage as it gives you a lot of control over tones and shades in the drawing

                                    #611498
                                    Mr.Fox
                                    Default

                                        Might I ask why you want to use acrylic techniques with coloured pencils? They are very different media and good at different things, Generally speaking you will never be able to achieve the same level o coverage / opacity with CPs as acrylic no matter which brand of pencil you use, and most of time this would be an advantage as it gives you a lot of control over tones and shades in the drawing

                                        I’m not able to use acrylic or other techniques that require a brush (especially if water is needed) because I can’t control them.

                                        With a super sharpened colored pencil I can do a lot more details and have more control.

                                        The only other solution is digital coloring but I’d also like to work with a traditional technique.

                                        Derwent drawing pencils are a lot more opaque than polychromos (and the trade off is that it is a lot softer so it’s hard to do finer details with them if you work on a smaller piece)

                                        And if I’m not mistaken (by looking at the larger image) he’s using a paper with quite a bit of tooth, which also helps the lighter colour to show up. Again trade off is you can’t do fine details with these paper

                                        This wouldn’t be good for me. I usually work on drawings that are not too big but full of details, and on smooth paper (comics and concept art).

                                        #611487
                                        Azuresong
                                        Default

                                            I’m not able to use acrylic or other techniques that require a brush (especially if water is needed) because I can’t control them.

                                            With a super sharpened colored pencil I can do a lot more details and have more control.

                                            I don’t mean “why do you want to use CPs”, but rather “why do you want to use techniques suitable for a different medium with CPs”

                                            As few people here pointed out CPs are a semi-translucent medium and isn’t normally the most suitable for light over dark techniques.

                                            Now there are a few ways you can make white pencils showing up better, but for other lighter colours there might not always be a more opaque option for it (e.g. light yellow / green if you are doing landscapes), and even if there is one these light colours (white included) won’t be able to cover the darker colour completely, like what you can expect from acrylic / oil

                                            #611499
                                            Mr.Fox
                                            Default

                                                I don’t mean “why do you want to use CPs”, but rather “why do you want to use techniques suitable for a different medium with CPs”

                                                The technique with acrylic/oil was just an example.
                                                I have to find a solution to make that sense of depth when the dark background can be seen through the lighter “objects” in foreground (that is achievable with acrylic or oil with the technique shown in the videos I posted)

                                                I hope the concept is understandable, English is not my first language and sometimes it’s hard to explain:angel:

                                                #611472

                                                This wouldn’t be good for me. I usually work on drawings that are not too big but full of details, and on smooth paper (comics and concept art).

                                                You could still try gouache detail painting with tiny 000 brushes. They are small enough that they are rather easy to control if you have patience.

                                                BTW brushes are harder to control than pencils and you will not be able to control them until you practice a lot… that is normal.

                                                "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!"

                                                #611500
                                                Mr.Fox
                                                Default

                                                    You could still try gouache detail painting with tiny 000 brushes. They are small enough that they are rather easy to control if you have patience.

                                                    BTW brushes are harder to control than pencils and you will not be able to control them until you practice a lot… that is normal.

                                                    I tried watercolor when I was at school but with disastrous results, too much water to use…

                                                    Shouldn’t water be used also with gouache?

                                                    I could simply try acrylic like in the videos above, without water, just paint.
                                                    But I’m a little scared about the finish result, I don’t want something materic.
                                                    And what about the paper?

                                                    #611488
                                                    Azuresong
                                                    Default

                                                        You can use either gesso primed paper or watercolour paper for acrylic, both work fine

                                                        I personally find a fine liner brush easier to use than pencil as it responds a lot better to your pressure and you don’t have to constantly sharpen it, but I can see why you find it hard to control if you just starting on it

                                                        As for doing dark over light, it does indeed take time to get used to in terms of creating depth and shading, but if you plan ahead when doing the initial sketching and stick to a small area at a time, it’s not as difficult to do as it sounds

                                                        Finally watercolour is one of most difficult medium to master so don’t feel discouraged if you don’t get the best result in the first few goes

                                                      Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 43 total)
                                                      • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.