Colored Pencil -Drawing and Painting

Core d pe ncil me dium has come of age .! With the pione e ring work of Be t Be rge son and
availa bility of high quality color pe ncils,this is a me dium for se rious, profe ssional a rtists
as we ll, apart from kids scratching with che ap color pe ncils and amate ur artists.
I am a n a mate ur atitst who has practise d in diffe re nt me dia---oil,wate r color,acrylic a nd
now colore d pe ncil. I am still e xpe rime nting with this me dium--for almost thre e ye ars
now.This a rticle will give de finitive information/analysis of this me dium---base d ,of
course , on my limite d e xpe rie nce and pe rspe ctive .

To be gin with , se ve ral artists have contribute d gre atly to this upsurge of colore d pe ncil
me dium.Ann Kulbe rg took this to a high le ve l with he r inimitable books and portraits
done in CP.Flowe rs and fruits and pe ts have be e n glorifie d with CP drawings and
paintings.I also like Be rnard Poussin's book on this me dium...The re are se ve ral othe r
e xce lle nt books available for a 'se rious be ginne r'.The re is also a Colore d Pe ncil Artists
S ocie ty to promote this me dium.

Firstly I wa nt to put down what I conside r as the major advantage s of this me dium a nd
te hn the disadvantage s, so that this me dium ge ts its rightful place unde r the sun.As a
be ginne r, you may se riously we igh the se factors.

Advantages

1. Color pe ncils are e asy to use --no me ssing around with paints,oils,turps,mixing
the m,cle aning brushe s,ge tting stains all around the place or the dust that e manate fr om
soft paste l work.

2. You can start and stop the work at any time --no proble m of cle aning up or
drying of paints...This make s it ide al for house wive s and moms or busy profe ssiona ls
who have othe r work to do and inte rfe re with art work all the time .

3 This me dium ne e ds ve ry little place --just a de sk will do.Eve n an e ase l is not

ne e de d..a thick pad that is all..Ke e p all the pe ncils,sharpe ne r,e rase r and ble nde rs in a
large school-kids pe ncil box.

4 Colored pencils are great for detailed work, with sharp features.This is the
reason that many portrait artists have emerged in this medium.

5 You have lite rally 100 colors or more available ;you can also ble nd colors by
laye ring,ove r and ove r; You can do glazing a thin laye r of color ,as you do in wate r
color or a crylic.

6 The cost: we ll ---this is the most ine xpe nsive me dium,e spe cially for amate urs;
pe ncils cost only a quarte r pe r pie ce , to about $2 pe r pie ce for profe ssional high
qua ltiy pe ncils.The cost of support [pape r,mainly] is also le ss e xpe nsive .Compare d to
e ve n wate r colors, the se are ine xpe nsive ...You can try with che ap construction pape r for
initial ske tche s.

7 WE ge t diffe re nt quality/grade of pe ncils for trying in the be ginning.You have

profe ssional quality,the n stude nt quality [mainly for art stude nts ] and the n
studio/scholar type s for school kids..Try the m.What is more ,le ading brands produce
diffe re nt grade s in various price range s.
[S ome of the we ll-known brands are Fabe r -Caste ll, Lyra, Caran-D Ache , Kohinoor
and so on The se are top-quality,costlie r one s..
S ome of the le ss e xpe nsive one s are :
S te adle r,Prismacolor,Dixon,Prang,Fantasia,Cryola....As you can se e , many black-le a d
pe ncil ma nufacture rs have come into CP marke t and offe r diffe re nt range s ,mainly for
stude nt re quire me nts.The y may be calle d 'profe ssional' or 'artist' or 'pre mium' quality---
Note that top brands produce ine xpe nsive stude nt grade s also, be cause the stude nt
ma rke t is huge .
I will not re comme nd any one brand and not ye t signe d up with any manufacture r!.Tr y
diffe re nt brands.
You ca n a lso buy individual pe ncils of spe cific colors as a sample and try the m.
You have to look for ce nte ring of le ad in the wood case , bre aking of le ads,loose ning of
wood ca se , too much waxy or white coating or 'bloom', fading of colors.
Don't go by the ads and e ndorse me nts by some artists; buy a fe w brands and try the m
yourse lf....The quality and traits of pe ncils vary a lot. The le ss e xpe nsive one s have more
wax and le ss pigme nts or dye s! ]

8 CP pa intings are e asy to fix [spray with fixative and can le ave without framinng .

9 Color fa st pe ncils are available ,but are more e xpe nsive .You also have wate r-solu ble
pe ncils in a lmost all brands..

10 You have two main type s--wax base d and oil base d...try the m..For many picture s , I
pre fe r oil base d.

11 With many type s of pe ncils,you can e rase the stuff...use kne ade d e rase r or e le ctric
e rase r.

12 You ca n mix with othe r me dia.Much has be e n writte n about muti-me dia paintings...Yo u
can use wate r-color and acrylic with CP...O il paste ls can be use d for some work with
CP....For instance , to paint a sky,try wate r-color along with CP.

13. You don't have to le arn 'color-mixing' which is a hassle with wate r colors...Just pick a
pe ncil with the color you want.If you have a se t of 24 or 36 color pe ncils,that should be
ade quate .
14. The ma te rials are e asy to carry for fie ld trips.

Disadvantages & Limitations

Now to the limitations and 'proble ms' with this me dium.

1 The proce ss of painting is slow and re quire s se ve ral hours.The spontane ity of
wate r-color or acrylic ---not possible he re with CP me dium,e xce pt for quick ske tche s.

2 O fte n you ge t ache s and pains ,in the arms and e ve n shoulde r joint, if you work lon g
with CP me dium. I use d to ge t this kind of pain ne xt day and stoppe d for a fe w days to
re coup....Now I am more care ful..

3 It is difficult to ge t bright,transpare nt picture s as one e xpe cts from wate r-color painting.
It is difficult to ge t thick,opaque and bright picture as you ge t from acrylic....The re fore in
te rms of brightne ss and tranpare ncy/opacity, CP falls be twe e n wate r color and
acrylic...many time s ,you ge t a waxy,pale r picture s.

4 'Wa x bloom' or white haze on the picture is to be tole rate d...The re are me thods to
re duce this..You can wipe with a pie ce of tissue pape r afte r a fe w days;use le ss
pre ssure and so on....Ye t this is a proble m to conte nd with.....The proble m is se riou s with
ce rta in bra nds of pe ncils....that is why I sugge ste d that you try with diffe re nt bran ds....

5 Though you can mix with othe r me dia, you may ge t patche s of painting e ffe cts tha t is
jarring or garish...again try with mixe d me dia with CP.

6 I ha ve not se e n many gre at paintings of landscape s with CP...May be ,I am still hoo ke d

on to wate r colors for landscape s...

7 As for still life paintings , try CP and oil paste ls...the e ffe cts are diffe re nt. The
brightne ss of oil paste ls is missing in CP.

8 Pe ncils can be frustrating if the le ads bre ak ofte n or you have le ads not ce ntre d
prope rly in the case or the case come s off or splits...Go for be tte r quality pe ncils--
Pe riod. { dont go by ads or e ndorse me nts}
9 Though I have use d diffe re nt brands of wate r-soluble CP's, I find the e ffe ct too wa shy
and unsa tisfying...I have stoppe d using the se wate r-soluble colore d pe ncils, e xce pt for
dra wing a nd ske tche s..

The Balance Sheet

In the final analysis, you have to draw the balance she e t, and make your own
judge me nt....we ll, this is not a cold analysis...If you like CP as a me dium for a pa rticular
type of painting, do that ,by all me ans..ke e p in mind ,howe ve r, the numbe r of hours you
spe nd on that..Each me dium is gre at in some re spe cts.Mixing or ble nding diffe re nt
me dium is only a compromise solution.

I have e njoye d hundre ds of hours of painting with the simple colore d pe ncils. I still
spe nd a fe w hours e ve ry we e k with CPs.Many of my CP paintings have be e n appre ciate d
and love d by frie nds,re lative s and those who wante d to pay.May be you can be come a
profe ssional artist with good income from CP work! You have to try and le arn the se cr e t
of succe ss with this me dium as with any othe r me dium:
PRACTICE,PRACTICE,PRACTICE.