Tips for Working with Colored Pencils

Drawing is a great art medium but when it comes to adding color to your drawings, it's not always easy. Adding color to a drawing that you have spent a lot of time on can be a little scary because there's always a chance of making a mistake and colored pencils don't erase very well. Working with colored pencil is not as easy as it seems, it's not like coloring in a children's coloring books. There are many different techniques and tips that can help those starting out with colored pencils and it would be wise to read up and try to apply some tips and techniques. Here are a few tips for working with colored pencils.

Work with quality colored pencils to get better results
Quality is key when it comes to any art materials. There are many great brands of artist colored pencils and if you want a professional looking drawing, you'll need professional tools. If you are using the colored pencils you can find at your local grocery store, you will be very lucky if you get the results you are looking for. Prismacolor is the number one brand when it comes to colored pencils, but most of the brands you find at art supply stores are great also.

Know which type of paper works best with colored pencils
There are lots of different types of paper, some are very smooth while others are highly textured. The texture of the paper is called it's tooth. When using colored pencils on paper with a rough texture it can be hard to get the color to go on smoothly. With a rough texture, white spots that cannot be reached with colored pencils are more common, so you will most likely have to press down harder. Smooth textured paper always works well with colored pencils.

Work with blending tools when working with colored pencils
Blending tools are some of the best tools for working with colored pencils. A colorless blender is great for smoothing over the color and also for making the colors look more vibrant. Be careful when using this tool though, it can create a waxy buildup, which can often get in the way of your work. A blending stump is another great blending tool, and will not create any waxy buildup, but it doesn't do anything for the colors either.

Avoid putting your colored pencils in an electric sharpener
Electric sharpeners are great for normal pencils, but when you spend your money on quality pencils you don't want to put them through an electric sharpener. The electric sharpener eats away at them very quickly which means they won't last as long. To get the most out of what you paid for, use a hand sharpener, an x-acto knife, or sandpaper to sharpen your pencil.

Learn the techniques of colored pencils
Cross hatching, stippling, burnishing, scumbling, and more, are all techniques that create different effects when working with colored pencils. When you're first starting out, make sure you try each of these techniques to see which ones create which effects and which ones would work best for what you are trying to achieve.