Tip: Since this is the most common hold, your hand often rests on the surface you are working on. To protect from smudging the surface, place a sheet of paper or better yet, some glassine (smooth semitransparent paper) between your hand and the drawing surface.

With this position you can do circular strokes or linear strokes, you can follow contours easily and fill in the little holes or valleys in the paper, making smooth transitions or hard edges and you can press down with varying pressure.

With the writing hold, you are always using the tip or point of the pencil, unlike other holds where you use the side of the pencil point. This writing hold can vary, occasionally turning your hand over slightly or comfortably bending and curving your hand to suit the position of the paper or strokes you wish to accomplish.

Hold the pencil like you do when writing, but with a more relaxed grip and further away from the pencil point to have more range of motion and a lighter touch. For more precise control and to render finer details, you hold the pencil closer to the pencil point.

Similar to the handwriting position, but holding the pencil further away from the point, the underhand position helps for a very light application. Hold the pencil between thumb and index finger and rest the other fingers alongside the pencil. You will not have the same precise control as with the more typical writing hold, but you can work faster with this method sometimes if you need to cover large areas. You won’t be able to press very hard, so this is helpful when you need washes or layers of even color. Slant the pencil parallel to the paper as you maneuver the pencil in either linear or circular strokes. The whole hand and arm can move if necessary with this position.

Try this:

• Grip the pencil with the lightest hold possible
• Use more movement while working: hand, arm and even shoulder to loosen up
• Change the position of your hand or the paper, vary your posture and so on till you are comfortable
• Take breaks and gently stretch or flex your hand and fingers

The following video demonstrates how I typically hold my colored pencils:

The process:

• Apply a small amount of super-strong quick-drying glue to the end of one pencil.
• Match the ends of the pencils precisely and firmly press the pencils together, hold them still while you keep them pushed together till the glue adheres.
• Lay flat till glue sets.

It is possible for the glue to hold so well that you could sharpen all the way to the end of the stub as shown in the photo below. However, you may want to leave the other end of the longer pencil unsharpened if you wish to glue another pencil to it again in the future, or you could break the short stub off before the end of the longer pencil begins to be sharpened away.

It is best to glue pencils that are shorter. In the following photo the two examples on the left are suitable for gluing. It is possible to glue much longer pencils, but they become awkward to hold and to store away.

More Points & Tips for Gluing Pencils Together:

• The glue you use must be a very strong adhesive, one suitable for wood.
• Read the instructions on the glue packaging and take the precautions and warnings seriously.
• Use a small amount of glue, just enough to lightly coat the end of one pencil. Wipe off any excess glue with a paper towel quickly before it dries. It can become difficult to sharpen if the messy glue dries.

Hand-held Sharpener:

A metal hand-held sharpener comes in handy when your pencils can no longer fit into an electric sharpener, or if you choose not to use an electric sharpener at all. These work best when the blades are sharp. Discard or replace the blade of a sharpener that breaks your pencils.

A hand-held sharpener with a receptacle is convenient for catching pencil shavings and debris and a transparent receptacle is better as you can see when it is time to empty the shavings.

Hand-held sharpeners can produce a desirable sharp point, however, many artists experience bad luck using hand-helds with soft core colored pencils and prefer to use an electric sharpener.

The trick is to gently turn the pencil with only enough pressure for the pencil to have contact with the blade, if you force the pencil with too much pressure, or if you do not keep the sharpener steady as you turn the pencil, the pencil can break.

More Points & Tips for Using a Hand-held Sharpener:

• Do not turn both the sharpener and pencil, turn one or the other. If you’re turning the pencil, keep the sharpener straight and still.
• Sharpen your pencils over a wastepaper bin if your sharpener does not have a receptacle because you do not want any pencil shavings or unwanted pencil pigment messed on your drawing.
• Prevent over-sharpening by taking the pencil out and checking the tip a couple of times during sharpening.

The following video demonstrates how I use my favorite hand-held sharpeners.

Electric Sharpener:

With the need to sharpen your colored pencils frequently, it is good to have a quality electric sharpener with an auto-stop function and one that can also accept the wider width pencils.

More Points & Tips for Using an Electric Sharpener:

• Make sure you are supporting the pencil well enough to guide it straight and level into the sharpener and straight out again and hold it steady so it does not move while sharpening. Hold the sharpener firmly with your other hand if it tends to vibrate or shake while the motor or cutters are running.
• If your electric sharpener does not have an auto-stop feature, take care to prevent over-sharpening by learning to listen to the sound that is made when your pencil is sharp, or take the pencil out and check the tip a couple of times during sharpening.
• Keep your sharpener clean by sharpening a graphite pencil periodically, also empty the shavings before the receptacle gets full.
• To clean the inside of your sharpener, you could use a can of pressurized air. Spray outside the house so the pencil residue does not fly out over your work space.

The following video demonstrates how I use my electric sharpener.

A Few Extra Points & Tips:

• For pencils like Prismacolors where both sides are unsharpened, pay attention to which side of the new pencil you sharpen, do not sharpen on the side where the name of the color is printed.
• No matter which sharpener you use: whenever you pull the pencil out, most of the time some of the debris from sharpening the pencil will come out with it, this can pollute your paper while working, so wipe the pencil clean with your non-drawing hand, or use a soft cloth to clean the pencil before you work.
• The characteristics of your strokes will vary with the sharpness of your pencil. Depending on the type of paper or surface you use, or type of coverage you are after, you will most likely want to keep your pencils extra sharp at all times.

My Colored Pencils keep breaking, what should I do?

A:   If you are consistently experiencing breaking pencils,
consider these possible problems:

• You may be using too much force while guiding the pencil
• You may have the pencil slanted at an angle while inserting or during sharpening of the pencil
• The blade or cutters of the sharpener may be faulty, dull or clogged
• The pencils may have been dropped and the core inside the pencil might be shattered
• The wood casing surrounding the core of the pencil may be fractured or defective

Good luck with your colored pencil sharpening!

  - Colors are either warm or cool = temperature
  - Either bright or dull = intensity

The difference between tint, tone and shade:
  - Color plus black added = shade
  - Color plus gray added = tone
  - Color plus white added = tint

Exercise: Pick a hue and modify it with black, gray and white:

• On good quality white paper, with a graphite pencil and ruler, draw a series half inch squares, three rows of three squares
• In the first row, color in the first square using the hue you picked, color in the second with black and mix the third square with the hue plus black, not necessarily in equal amounts – use less black
• Do the same for the second row but use gray and mix the third square with equal amounts of the hue plus gray, and then the third row mix with white, but use a very small amount of the color first and add white on top
• Keep a note book handy for making notes

[Blue: Primary Color, mixed with its complement Orange: Secondary Color] ]]> http://coloredpencilpoints.com/defining-tints-tones-and-shades-apart-from-the-other-aspects-of-color/feed 0 http://coloredpencilpoints.com/achieving-depth-or-dimension http://coloredpencilpoints.com/achieving-depth-or-dimension#comments Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:07:06 +0000 Liesl http://localhost:8888/wordpress/?p=1420 Recognizing Values:

For a beginner it can be difficult to isolate or distinguish values from each other, some find it difficult to make distinctions between the various middle values and others consistently create works that are either unintentionally high key or low key. It is usually easier to determine distinctions between values with neutrals or an individual color, but it can be much harder when there are a combination of colors. Of course if your intention is to have a limited value range that is fine, but if you want to accomplish full contrast in your work, you’ll need to be able to see and apply a range of light, medium and dark values.

To render dimension and to create interest in your work, you will need to learn to use a range of values. Every pencil color can be lightened or darkened to create a range of values, some colors have more of a range than others and color mixing can be employed to achieve a good range.

Make a gray scale showing a range of at least eight values:

• On good quality white paper, with a graphite pencil and ruler, draw a series half inch squares
• Use any artist grade black and white pencils making shades and tints of gray – or
  use Prismacolor’s White (PC938), Cool Grey’s 10% (PC1059), 20% (PC1060), 30% (PC1061), 50% (PC1063), 70% (PC1065), 90% (PC1067) and Black (PC935)
• Start with a full saturated black, the darkest value and gradually work towards white in at least 8 steps, it might take a few tries, but keep at it till you get some distinguishable steps between values
• Keep a note book handy for making notes
• Once you are done, you could put this up on your studio wall or keep it handy on your desk as you could use this for a value finder while drawing and coloring

Values Affect Other Surrounding Values:

The goal in the above exercise is to get even steps or intervals and gradual changes in a gray value scale, though sometimes in your art work you may want either gradual even changes or instead, rather stronger varied contrasts. The idea is to create interest, to capture the attention of the viewer and to make interesting value contrasts.

Examine this example, note that your eyes are pulled towards the area with greatest contrast, where the darkest value appears. However, nothing really stands out in this example, there is little to no value contrast in most areas – it is especially difficult to distinguish between the leaf and the background for the most part.

In these two examples, there is a vast value contrast between the leaves and their backgrounds. When aiming for value contrast, this does not always relate to only the background and foreground objects, this relates to the entire piece as a whole. As in this instance, even though there is an effective contrast between the leaves and the background, you also have to determine if there are enough varying values within the leaves themselves.

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Unlike mixing paints that fully combine together, colored pencil layers and mixes of color remain separate and visually mix together. Colors can be blended richly together with many layers. One of the unique qualities of this medium is that you are often times able to still see the various colors separately when you look close enough.

Make a color wheel:

• On good quality white paper, use any artist grade pencils, use your brightest and most intense colors, those that most accurately match the color names – I’ve used Prismacolors.
• Start with yellow, it is the lightest in value, at the top or 12 o’clock position, see below for the list of other colors and lay them out equally in 12 sections in a circle.
• Keep a note book handy for making notes.
• Once you are done, you could put this up on your studio wall or in a portfolio folder for future reference.
• You can research in books or online to find out more about the history behind the color wheel/color spectrum.

The pencil colors:

Canary Yellow (PC916), Hue: Yellow, a primary color, no red and no blue present.

Chartreuse (PC989), Hue: Yellow-green, a tertiary color, contains some yellow and some green.

True Green (PC910), Hue: Green, a secondary color, made up of the primary colors yellow and blue.

Aquamarine (PC905), Hue: Blue-green, a tertiary color, contains some blue and some green.

True Blue (PC903), Hue: Blue, a primary color, no green and no red present.

Violet Blue (PC933), Hue: Blue-violet, a tertiary color, contains some blue and violet.

Violet (PC932), Hue: Violet, a secondary color, made up of the primary colors blue and red.

Mulberry (PC995), Hue: Red-violet, a tertiary color, contains some red and violet.

Magenta (PC930), Hue: Red, a primary color, no blue and no green present.

Poppy Red (PC922), Hue: Red-orange, a tertiary color, contains some red and orange.

Orange (PC918), Hue: Orange, a secondary color, made up of the primary colors red and yellow.

Spanish Orange (PC1003), Hue: Yellow-orange, a tertiary color, contains some yellow and orange.

Primary colors:

These are yellow, blue and red. They can not be made up with a combination of any other color, so they are unmixed and pure. When these primaries are mixed together in varying combinations and layers or amounts, in theory, all other colors can be made.

The pencils I used for yellow and blue were obvious choices, but I had to try a few ‘reds’ before settling on Magenta. When mixing other ‘reds’ like Crimson Red (PC924) or Scarlet Lake (PC923) I noticed that the mixes were somewhat dull, this was especially obvious when mixing blue and red to make violet, the mix was slightly grayed and dull compared with the mix of True Blue with Magenta. Perhaps then, it could be that Crimson Red and Scarlet Lake have another primary color added to them? Possibly yellow. A pencil like Crimson Lake (PC925) seems to have some blue in it. Mixing all three primaries will produce grayed colors. So, using Magenta instead produced more pure colors.

The same then was true for the Canary Yellow and True Blue, they mixed perfectly well to make the other secondary and tertiary hues. So, for the following exercise, if any of your primary colors lean towards another primary, your color mixes could be dulled or have a lower intensity.

Secondary and tertiary colors:

Each secondary color is a mix or combination of equal amounts of the primaries on both sides of it on the color wheel. A tertiary color is made up with combinations of a secondary with a primary. To make sure your secondary and tertiary colors are clean and not muddy, you would have to make sure your primary colors are pure.

Mix the primary colors:

• On good quality white paper, use any artist grade pencils, use the three primary colors yellow, blue and red.
• With a graphite pencil, draw a series half inch squares evenly spaced 3 per row and 9 rows in all.

Row 1: color the first square with red, make the red bright and intense, color the second square brightly with yellow, now in the third square – fill with an even layer of yellow, don’t push too hard, then over the top add an even layer of red, this will produce a beautiful orange, you can keep layering each color alternatively in equal amounts till your orange is rich and intense.

2: color the first square with orange, the second with red, now for the third square – don’t push too hard, make orange with even layers of yellow and red pencils, then over the top add more red to make red-orange.

3: color the first square yellow, the second orange and the third with a couple of even layers of yellow then a light even wash of red to make yellow-orange.

4: color the first square yellow, the second blue, and the third – fill the square with an even layer of yellow, don’t push too hard, then over the top add an even layer of blue, this will produce a beautiful green. You can keep layering each color alternatively in equal amounts till your green is rich and intense.

5: color the first square with blue, the second with green, now for the third square – don’t push too hard, make green with even layers of yellow and blue pencils, then over the top add more blue to make blue-green.

6: color the first square green, the second yellow and the third with a couple of even layers of yellow then a light even wash of blue to make yellow-green.

7: color the first square blue, the second red, and the third – fill the square with an even layer of blue, don’t push too hard, then over the top add an even layer of red, this will produce a beautiful violet. You can keep layering each color alternatively in equal amounts till your violet is rich and intense.

8: color the first square with violet, the second with blue, now for the third square – don’t push too hard, make violet with even layers of blue and red pencils, then over the top add more blue to make blue-violet.

9: color the first square red, the second violet and the third with a couple of even layers of red then a light even wash of blue to make red-violet.

• Now compare the mixes you made with the hues on your color wheel, it is fun to see how well they match and to notice how blending colors with layers makes them much livelier.

For the first time user, this kind of exercise could help you get to know the feel of your pencils and future exercises will help you get to know your colors.

To experience the effects you get when you use a sharp versus a dull or blunt pencil, draw several one half inch squares evenly spaced with a ruler and a graphite pencil on some good quality white paper.

• Keep a note book handy for making notes
• Use a darker color so you can see the effects clearly
• Fill in one square by holding your pencil the way you do when you write. Then in another square try holding the pencil at more of an angle while coloring, this way you could get more coverage more quickly, but do work whichever way is more comfortable and natural for you, or whichever way you get better results
• Then, try holding the pencil further and further away from the point and grip loosely while coloring. You will notice you have less control, but you will be able to produce a lighter touch the higher up you go
• Also try coloring in a circular motion versus a back and forth stroke or linear motion to see the type of coverage you prefer
• While working with either sharp or dull pencil points, turn or roll your pencil periodically while coloring to keep the application even and to prevent the tip from forming a flat edge
• Do not push down too hard when your pencil point is very sharp, notice the results you get when you use a lighter touch with a very sharp pencil
• Don’t worry about how many layers you use right now or how perfectly you can color in your squares, but it is a good idea however to get into the habit of working neatly
• Once you are done, you can save these to practice methods of erasing

Practice filling in some squares with various points, a very sharp colored pencil, a less sharp one and a dull (or blunt point).

>> One way to do it with a series of squares is to use a very sharp pencil in the first square, once the point dulls, don’t attempt to finish the square, do not sharpen the pencil but move to the second square and start coloring, once it dulls even more, move to the third square to color it in with the dull point and so on.

>> Then, sharpen your pencil and begin again in the first square and so on until the squares are colored in using the various points. You will notice, the first square will have fewer ‘white specks’ and more of the paper is covered than the other squares. The more your point dulls, the less color you get down on the paper and you have a more blotchy look.

Try applying the colored pencils with various degrees of pressure as well. Your goal is to get a neat even layer or wash of color. Try a square with a very dull point, then go over the same square with a very sharp point, notice how the sharper point will fill in some of the paper that the duller point missed.

You will see how often you need to sharpen your pencil to keep a good point. The sharper your point, the softer and more even your result will be, you can sometimes better control the consistency or density of color build up when your point is sharper.

Pick a square you have already filled, use another color – an even darker color, with a sharp point and color over it, you will notice the mixing of colors and can see through the top layer to the layer below.

You can increase the value or depth of color by increasing the pressure you use. The tighter you hold the pencil the more pressure you can apply and the more dense the application will be.

Practice working slowly versus working quickly, see if there is a difference in control over the overall look. Try another square with circular motion covered by strokes with up and down motions, or try coloring with vertical strokes covered by diagonal strokes. You may notice that even if you apply a medium to heavy pressure for your first layer, you will likely not be able to cover all the wholes or specks of white in the paper, to achieve that you would need to make repeated layers with a sharp point and a lighter touch.

It may help to see the process of learning what makes great artwork as learning to play a musical instrument. First you must learn to read the music, then learn how the instrument works, learn how to use it and combine all these together. You likely could not create a beautifully designed colored pencil masterpiece unless you understand what makes a work of art “work” or what makes it sing! Of course everyone has to start somewhere and the more you practice and do, the better you will become.

• Learn how to draw: You can learn if you do not yet know how to draw, anyone can. After all, this is the structure that will hold your entire piece together, if your drawing is off then everything else will be off as well. There are many helpful books to learn how to see as an artist and draw. One of the best is, “The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards. Either that or, the workbook, “New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook: Guided Practice in the Five Basic Skills of Drawing” by Betty Edwards.
• Study your subject: No matter what your subject is, be it an animal or a collection of still life objects, learn about what you are drawing. Study the make-up of the subject, it’s structure, characteristics and so on. Sometimes you will have to change the composition of a piece or add a piece of an animal for example, if you know their form or structure, growth patterns of the fur and characteristics, you’ll easily be able to add to or adjust your drawing. Besides all that, it makes it far more interesting to work with something you understand.
• Design and plan your piece: Learn the rules of composing a piece. There are many books on composition to help you understand. Many will argue that the composition is the backbone and it can make or break the piece. Don’t forget to also follow your intuition, be creative and make something your own, make it different and unique.
• Plan your colors and values: Do value studies and color swatches before you begin a piece. For a beginner this is very important because it can be one of the most difficult things to achieve in colored pencil if you are not familiar with how far you can push the medium.
• Make a line drawing: On separate paper or in a sketch book, make your full size drawing, either detailed or just the line drawing, you could map out where your highlights or shadows will be, this will be especially helpful to preserve your white areas. Do this on separate paper so that you will not be erasing or inadvertently impressing lines on your actual final paper. Once you are happy with your drawing, you can use a light-box or tracing paper to transfer your drawing.

Organizing materials and drawing space:

It is ideal to have a nice big well planned out studio, but not always feasible. No matter what kind of space you have and since you’ll be constantly reaching for pencils and other supplies, it is a good idea to make yourself comfortable in your work space and set yourself up in a way that will save you as much time as possible. There is no need to go into great expense to set up your drawing space.

• Keep your work area clean so that your paper will be clean, keep your drafting brush close at hand to brush your paper clean
• You need a large enough space that will accommodate the size of paper you wish to work on, as well as room for your pencils and tools
• You will need a smooth flat table or tilted drafting table or drawing board. The surface should be smooth so that you do not get indentations on your paper as you work. It’s important to have a comfortable chair with back support as well
• Of course your drawing space is the center of attraction and therefore you’ll need good lighting. Natural sunlight is best and having the light in front of you works well as not to cast shadows from your hand or pencil while drawing. Consider covering your paper when you’re not working on it for long periods of time. If you need lamps, try to use light bulbs that simulate natural daylight
• Keep your pencils and often used tools in close reach so that you don’t have to get up too much, if you have limited space, then keep at least one container handy and reachable with the pencils and tools you need for the particular drawing you’re working on. You could also have them on a shelf or table in front or next to you if they can’t be on the same table
• It is convenient to have all other supplies neatly stored in the same room but obviously not necessary

Storing your pencils:

It really doesn’t matter in which type of container you store your pencils, as long as they don’t roll off your table you’re good to go! Do keep them with the points facing to the top if you have them vertically stored of course. It is nice to have them in see through containers and helpful if the containers are not too tall, so that you can easily get to pencils that become shorter. It is equally fine to keep them in a horizontal container if you prefer. Either way, if possible – the more containers you have the better, because it helps to keep them sorted into different color groups.

Storing your paper:

Keep your papers stored horizontally and in a dry environment at room temperature and away from windows. Handle your paper with care, prevent paper from bending or scratching and inspect it before you work to make sure there are no flaws, like deep scratches or dents.

Liesl Huddleston, coloredpencilpoints.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Pencil colors to get started:

If you choose to start with a smaller set of Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils, I’d suggest the set of 48, the list of colors and their numbers are on the Prismacolor website. There are just two other colors from open stock that I would add to the set of 48 to have a really good range and they are Black Grape (PC996) and Pumpkin Orange (PC1032).

You could also study the various colors at your local art supply store or on web sites like    Blick Art Materialsthat sell open stock to see what you’d like to try, or if you’re following tutorials in books or online, you may wish to get the colors they suggest. If you are concerned about lightfastness, you can purchase a “Lightfastness Test Result Workbook” from the Colored Pencil Society of America – you will have to become a member first to acquire the book.

*** Most essential | ** Good to have | * Not necessary, but can be helpful

• A set or assortment of artist grade colored pencils***
• Electric sharpener***
• An assortment of archival papers***
• Graphite pencils, at least a 2B, 3B and a mechanical pencil***
• Sketch pad and note book***
• Reusable adhesive putty, for erasing***
• Low tack tape, for erasing***
• Drafting brush, for dusting paper***
• Soft cotton cloth, for cleaning pencils***
• Kneaded erasers***
• Tracing paper**
• Battery operated eraser**
• Gray Scale and Value Finder**
• Metal ruler**
• Colorless blenders**
• Paper cutter or trimmer**
• X-Acto knife, for trimming or scraping paper**
• Self healing cutting mat**
• Lamp/s, with daylight bulbs**
• Drawing board**
• Workable fixative, to seal finished pieces**
• Pencil extender**
• Non-Toxic Solvent**
• Brushes or Q-Tips for using solvents**
• Bristle (paint) brushes for blending*
• Hand held sharpener, just for back-up*
• Col-Erase pencils by Prismacolor, erasable pencils*
• Soft plastic erasers*
• Erasing shield*
• Frisket film, for preserving whites or erasing*
• Stylus or Embossing tool, for impressing lines*
• Light box*
• Sheet of slick paper, to keep under your hand while working*
• Very fine sandpaper, to either sharpen or dull pencil points*
• Containers, to hold your pencils*
• Portfolio, for transporting or storing your completed work*

Liesl Huddleston, coloredpencilpoints.com is a participant in the Dick Blick Art Materials advertiser program, an Affiliate is compensated for linking to the Dick Blick web site.