using colored pencils...

[kellyink]

just about everything i draw, i use graphite pencils, ya know, 2b, 6b, hb, 5h, yada, yada, yada...and i blend using tortillions. know im trying to put together a portfolio so i can venture into the apprenticeship search. i have never used colored pencils before, but im sure it cant be much different than graphite. i just bought some prismacolor colored pencils, and was dabbling a bit just to see what they were like. my question is how the hell do you get the drawings so solid, and smooth looking? i mean some of the things i see looks as if they were computer generated. i dont want to go into a shop with a portfolio full of graphite drawings. that could get boring. i have done oil painting before. but carrying around those to shops just aint gonna happen. the few colored pencil drawings i did look nice, but the have that crayon look to them, when fading a color out it fades nice, but it doesnt seem to get into the grain of the paper, at a lighter pressure, if you know what i mean. should i try useing the tortillions to blend the color out? maybe that will fill the grain on the paper, i dont know........any help will surely be appreciated!!
thanks Tom........

[CropCircle]

Hey bro, to get that solid effect with your color pencils, you're gonna have to apply more pressure, almost to the point of breaking, and blends also help out! at least that's what I do!

Jason

[kellyink]

ok thats seems easy enough. what about doing a gradual fade useing one color, if i apply pressure in the lightest area, would i have to keep layering into the darker areas so it doesnt look monotoned, or is there a different approach, like say using white as an underlayment, and fading that back to where my darker areas will be, as to fill the grain. then taking my darker color and applying pressure at the darkest areas, and lessen the pressure as i move toward the lighter area.

[CropCircle]

ok, here's what I do. say I want to color a rose, I will lay in my reds, starting with my darkest red that I want to use, then use a lighter red, and so on and so forth until i get the desired reds, then here comes the unusual approach, I use black lightly in the darkest red, to get that shaded effect that I want if I want it darker I use more pressure on the black, then I go back with the white pencil, and use the same technique that I used with black! any of this sound confusing? if ya still have some problems, or questions just ask, I'll help the with best to my abilities!

Jason

[pookie]

i only used to draw in graphite for ages dude, then moved onto coloured pencils...never used prisma but have heard there easy to blend, i use derwent.
I know ppl who use the same brand and get the 'computer' effect by adding more pressure were as i dont like that technique, i prefer to layer my colours...yes more time consuming but in my opinion you get a smoother and better effect that way.
Especially if you was doing something on the realsim side, aint no extra pushing pressure gona work in that field.

[kellyink]

not confusing at all...that helps alot...thanks bro

[CropCircle]

yeah I hear ya pookie, realism is a totally different style, and requires a different technique! I would agree with ya. and different brands of color pencils do require different approach and tech.

Jason

[rot & roll]

Derwent "Inktense" water colour pencils are really vibrant and you can get great solid colour with them. Use a high GSM paper (thick) when using as watercolour. If you don't want to use them with water, hit the picture with a aerosol fixative. This will help prevent the image from fading and pop the colours out more. Any decent art supply should have all that kind of stuff...

[jadefoodog]

colored pencils are ALOT diffrent than graphite . they are a wax base so you cant use a tortillion to blend them you have to use a clear blender that almost never gives the effect you want


best method i can tell you for useing colored pencisl is to go back over them with markers once you have your colors laid out

[jadefoodog]

Hey bro, to get that solid effect with your color pencils, you're gonna have to apply more pressure, almost to the point of breaking, and blends also help out! at least that's what I do!

Jason

no point in wasting pencils lay in your base darks then go over your solids in marker and then you can go over marker with lighter colors if you try to go solid with just colored pencil it will eventually crack (unless its framed) because of the thickness of the wax

[L_Pease]

I like Prismacolors and Derwents best myself. Both are very soft and work great for blending. The best results if you're drawing tattoo related art will come with tracing paper. Start off lightly with the mid-tones and build them up a little. Then go in with your darker colors and finally with your light colors and a lot of pressure on the light colors to blend the total color range (hope this makes sense). After all of that, take your black and very lightly build up the shaded areas to your liking. You can add white highlights now also. You have to use a lot of pressure for the whites. If you work back and forth with your colors increasing pressure with each pass, you will get that computer generated color blending that you're after. Tracing paper really makes a difference with colored pencils though. You'll be amazed. It takes a little practice, but you'll find out what works best for your style.

[CropCircle]

I've never tried the marker technique, I will have to give that a whirl, thanks for the tip. I was just explaining what I myself do, but the marker thing sounds like a good one!

Jason

[pookie]

If you work back and forth with your colors increasing pressure with each pass, you will get that computer generated color blending that you're after. Tracing paper really makes a difference with colored pencils though. You'll be amazed. It takes a little practice, but you'll find out what works best for your style.[/QUOTE]


i rest my case lol

[COMPTON]

Hi, I know that I may not have much credibility on this forum, but I have been waiting to make my first post worth while. Anyways I have had quite a bit of experience with prisma, and I know it is damn near impossible to get nice colorfades and "computer-like" art. But my suggestion is to use your finger to smooth your gradients and also use your fingers to smooth out that "crayon" look you get. It seems that the oil on your fingertips really help smooth out gradients and bigger patches of solid color. Of course, if you have large fingers like I do, you won't be able to get into small areas. But give it a try

[kellyink]

great help guys thanks, i will try every tip offered and see what i like.

[jadefoodog]

they make colored graphites now

[maxauto]

Hi, I know that I may not have much credibility on this forum, but I have been waiting to make my first post worth while. Anyways I have had quite a bit of experience with prisma, and I know it is damn near impossible to get nice colorfades and "computer-like" art. But my suggestion is to use your finger to smooth your gradients and also use your fingers to smooth out that "crayon" look you get. It seems that the oil on your fingertips really help smooth out gradients and bigger patches of solid color. Of course, if you have large fingers like I do, you won't be able to get into small areas. But give it a try

that works.. about a year ago i tried the prisma watercolor
pencils, after laying down a couple colors i use a q-tip to blend, sometimes dry and other times just a little damp but not wet. the damp only works with watercolor pencils but the q-tip also helps in blending dry color pencils, also gets into those small intricate areas without going outside the line..

[Chops]

I have used Prismacolors, and they draw smooth and blend fairly well. And as stated, using a good brand of pencils and the right kind of paper can make a HUGE difference. Personally though I like seeing a little texture on colored pencil pieces, along with more solid colored areas. But that's just my own taste.

I just tried out watercolor pencils the other day and those were fun to play around with. Haven't really done a full drawing with them yet, but it seems like I'll be able to do some neat stuff with them.

Just play around with different techniques until you find what works for you.

[Inkspressit]

Tracing paper really makes a difference with colored pencils though. You'll be amazed. It takes a little practice, but you'll find out what works best for your style.


Amen to that!!!!!,

Im picking you're refering to the tracing paper like used in Technical drawing (Drafting?), one of the real bonus's with it is not only can you get sweet blends and your whites to pop, but you can lay textured colored card etc behind the finished sheets and have them printed with Nice backgrounds....

I use fabers, cant get prisma etc over here...............

[Inkspressit]

Ok this pic aint that great... for a reason..

This is a set i did last year for the Sailor Jerry Swallow Fund auctions, done on the trace and copied with a textured paper backing...they look sweet

http://www.zootattoo.net/phpBB2/files/88_1.jpeg

[Inkspressit]

http://69.64.87.223/board/gallery/showimage.php?i=167&c=3&userid=2692

Posted a larger version of one of the pieces off the flsh done on the trace with the backing, a bit clearer.

[maxauto]

nice blend in color on the eagle wings. your entire technique is eye catching.
good work!

[Inkslngr]

just about everything i draw, i use graphite pencils, ya know, 2b, 6b, hb, 5h, yada, yada, yada...and i blend using tortillions. know im trying to put together a portfolio so i can venture into the apprenticeship search. i have never used colored pencils before, but im sure it cant be much different than graphite. i just bought some prismacolor colored pencils, and was dabbling a bit just to see what they were like. my question is how the hell do you get the drawings so solid, and smooth looking? i mean some of the things i see looks as if they were computer generated. i dont want to go into a shop with a portfolio full of graphite drawings. that could get boring. i have done oil painting before. but carrying around those to shops just aint gonna happen. the few colored pencil drawings i did look nice, but the have that crayon look to them, when fading a color out it fades nice, but it doesnt seem to get into the grain of the paper, at a lighter pressure, if you know what i mean. should i try useing the tortillions to blend the color out? maybe that will fill the grain on the paper, i dont know........any help will surely be appreciated!!
thanks Tom........


try using bristol paper, its very smooth and easy to get good blends

[kellyink]

thanks man....i'll try it out. see what happens

[AncientOne]

Get some books from the library. That should give you a better understanding. Although you got good advise here, study, practice, study, practice. Won't hurt. If you got the cash maybe take a class. I minored in art for 5 years in university and can't stess enough that tattooists should learn the fundamentals of drawing.

I think there are e-books you can download with a torrent client... Umm I think there called Drawing Pack or something like that. there are two packs I think... with like 20 e-books each.

Good-luck on your portfolio.

[speedrolius]

I use prismas on 11x14 100# bristol board for flash. I'll usually draw something out on tracing paper first, then transfer onto the board the old fashioned way (graphite on the back of the drawing) then build in the colors, blend with a blending pencil, black, white and occasionally light yellow to blend the warmer colors. Going over the color fields with the blending pencil will usually give me a nice solid covering. If there are spots that are tougher to get a solid color, I just add a bit more of the colored pencil and blend it in. I've had pretty good luck with the blending pencil.

I know when I started out drawing flash, my drawings looked like kids coloring book stuff, with white of the paper showing through. Takes some practice and some wasted paper to get it right.

Another big tip: DO NOT use standard cheap "drawing paper" that is super smooth. Your pencils won't blend at all. The wax will simply smear around the paper and look like shite. Your paper has to have a little bit of "bite" to it to grab that color and wax together.

Hope this was helpful!

[speedrolius]

Oh, I forgot to add... I only do outlines AFTER I put the color in. It makes for a shaper outline.

[speedrolius]

"sharper" not "shaper". Sorry.

[poconosrob]

lately I have been using my prizmacolor markers for laying in the solid color underneath then using the colored pencils for "topping in" the shadows and highlights. It helps control that coloring book look of the white showing through without having to burnish in the heavy layers of pencil.