Home › Forums › Explore Media › Watercolor › The Learning Zone › Advice for painting watercolour over sketches
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January 24, 2023 at 4:23 pm #1499581
I’ve recently found time for art again after a couple of decades as an adult falling out of practice. I’ve been teaching myself how to use gouache and watercolour online but I feel like I’m still finding my feet in choosing a medium that works for me.
A lot of people seem to want the sketches they use for watercolour paintings to disappear but I like a more illustrative style where a loose drawing is still visible and watercolour is painted over the top. People seem to use ink in combination with watercolour (line and wash) but I was wondering if anyone could recommend a type of pencil/pastel/crayon etc. that works well with watercolour in the same way:
– Something fairly dark/black that will still have prominence after watercolour has been painted over it (i.e. darker than standard graphite pencils)
– Something that can be erased in the drawing stage
– Something that won’t smudge/bleed into the watercolour when you start painting over itI bought a Derwent pastel pencil yesterday and did some experimenting. It did smudge a bit after I painted over it with my watercolour. I tried spraying it with fixative before painting and this did stop the watercolour smudging it. The fixative caused my watercolour paint to take longer to dry/absorb into the paper but I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, as one of my struggles is paint drying too fast.
My second question is, would there be any reason not to draw with pencil, spray with fixative and then paint with watercolour? Would the fixative have any negative impact on my painting over time?
Cheers.
January 24, 2023 at 9:10 pm #1499594Colored pencils come either as oil or wax based, I believe. Either of them may do the job you’re looking for. I have read that the oil-based pencils show a deeper saturation. I can’t imagine that an oil-based pencil drawing will wash away with water like a pastel pencil would.
Pastels are very much like watercolors. They often share a gum Arabic binder. I’d use pastel pencils with watercolor if I wanted the two to blend.
A quick internet search for oil-based colored pencils should put you on track. I’d get a few open stock and put them to the test. And I, personally, would simply avoid using fixative here. Why complicate the process? The older fixatives often included a natural resin which may darken over time.
Let us know which colored pencil(s) you choose and how well they perform.
January 26, 2023 at 1:46 am #1499724I don’t mind the lines, in fact, I often use ink. An alternative is to use a light-coloured watercolour pencil which disappears when painted.
Doug
We must leave our mark on this worldJanuary 26, 2023 at 2:21 am #1499726I’ve used Faber-Castell Polychromos (oil-based, I believe) in the way you describe, and they resist smudging pretty well. Plus, almost all colors are lightfast. Of course no oil/wax-based pencil can be erased so easily as graphite.
March 6, 2023 at 7:51 am #1504863platinum carbon waterproof ink
My virtual sketchbook, one a day https://www.instagram.com/edmundronald/
May 29, 2023 at 11:48 am #1514948I know someone who likes the General’s Carbon Sketch pencil, I believe it is, for adding really dark darks to his pencil drawings– he describes it as being like a cross between graphite and a colored pencil. However, he doesn’t use it under a wash so I don’t know how it works for that. If I ever get him to let me try it, I’ll try to remember to give that a whirl and report back.
[FONT=Book Antiqua]--Kat
February 25, 2024 at 1:05 pm #1541584Another possibility would be to first draw in pencil, then pass over it with a pen and a suitable waterproof ink (like India ink on a dip pen or, as mentioned, Platinum Carbon Black, or any other such in a fountain pen). Then, once the ink is dry (shouldn’t take excessively long) paint over it with watercolor.
March 16, 2024 at 3:40 pm #1543266What Edmund and txomsy said. Platinum Carbon ink is the most waterproof I have found along with Yasutomo Sumi Ink which I use for Gongbi Painting. Find the right extra fine nib for your pen. A lot of writing pens are not going to be that fine.
Another option is a Micron 005 pen. Archival ink. Microns come in lots of sizes and colors.
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