Chelsea Ward - Modern Colored Pencil: A Playful and Contemporary Exploration of Colored Pencil Drawing

A playful and contemporary exploration of colored pencil drawing

Chelsea Ward

When we first learn to draw, its likely that those first few scribbles are done with colored pencils. Colored pencils are a unique medium because their use spans so many age demographics and skill levels. From the youngest of artists to the more well-seasoned, colored pencils are a versatile material that yields colorful results, as well as an enjoyable process!

Unlike oil paints, which can take years to master and involve an array of chemical-ridden accessories, colored pencils are very accessible. With just a piece of paper and a few colors, you can create gorgeous drawings in a variety of styles, ranging from loose studies to cartoonish sketches, realistic renderings, and even an artfully designed coloring page.

Colored pencils are also relatively portable. Paints require easels and space for a palette and water jar, whereas colored pencils can be used in the car, on a plane, at a coffee shop, or right at home on your couch! With colored pencils, its easy to make your studio wherever you are in that moment.

In Modern Colored Pencil, well break down the variety of supplies you can use when drawing with colored pencils: different types of pencils and papers, and what to look for when youre shopping for your first box of colored pencils. Well also cover more in-depth information, like the color wheel, blending, and erasing, as well as how to use this knowledge to create more realistic illustrations.

Once we cover the basics, youll be ready for some step-by-step lessons and exercises. Well work through useful exercises to practice these new skills and incorporate them into your drawings. All drawing examples are broken down step by step and cover a variety of drawing subjectseverything from nature studies and everyday life to architecture, people, and animals.

By the end of this book, I hope youll be inspired to document the world around you with colored pencils. Now, time to sharpen those colored pencils and start drawing!

One of the wonderful things about working with colored pencils is that you can get started with just a handful of supplies. It doesnt take much to create colorful and expressive drawings. As you gain more knowledge and confidence with your tools, you can expand your arsenal to fuel your coloring adventures!

COLORED PENCILS

The most important supply is, of course, colored pencils! But where to start? It can be overwhelming going to an art store and seeing all the different brands and options available. Which set is best for your purpose and skill level? Heres a quick breakdown of what to look for when shopping for colored pencils.

Wax vs. Oil

Colored pencils consist of colored pigment with a binder, shaped and contained in a wooden shell. Manufacturers use different materials and mixtures for their binders, but the most common are wax- and oil-based binders. Some manufacturers use both but in different ratios compared to other manufacturers.

Colored pencils with a higher wax content are harder pencils. They can sometimes be more difficult to blend or erase, but theyre also the most common type of colored pencils on the market today. You can still create rich layers of color with wax-based pencils, but the richness is different compared to oil-based pencils.

Oil-based pencils are softer and therefore easier to blend, due to their more greasy, richer quality. They are also easier to erase when applied in light layers on the paper. Both types can give you beautiful and colorful results!

Wax-based

Colored pencil

Artist-Quality vs. Regular

Artist-quality pencils are more expensive than regular colored pencils, but the quality of your pencils will also influence the quality of your drawings. Artist-quality pencils contain more pigment and less binder, giving your drawings richer, more vibrant color. In the sample swatches here, notice how the artist-quality purple pencil adds richer pigment to the paper than a regular colored pencil.

Regular colored pencilsthe kind you used as an elementary-school studentcontain more binder and less pigment. This doesnt necessarily mean your drawings wont be colorful! You can still create gorgeous drawings with regular colored pencil sets, but youll find that its harder to seamlessly blend these pencils.

Artist-quality sets usually come in larger packs with more color choices, which can be a bigger investment from the start. Fortunately, you can still blend many shades of colors from regular colored pencil sets, so dont feel the need to invest in an expensive set of pencils when youre just getting started!

Artist

Regular

Colored Pencils vs. Watercolor Pencils

Colored pencils are naturally water-resistant, due to the waxy ingredients in the pigment binders. Watercolor pencils are exactly like they sound: water-soluble! These pencils lay down color on paper like a regular pencil, but with a quick stroke of water from a paintbrush, you can spread the pigment around like watercolor paint! These can be a lot of fun when working on backgrounds, or even for building up layers in your drawings. Well discuss when and how to use watercolor pencils in more detail later in this book.

Colored pencil

Watercolor pencil

Pack Size

Colored pencils are sold in a variety of pack sizes. From basic sets featuring just primary and secondary colors to full arrays with 100 colors, you have multiple options from which to choose! The color scales shown here demonstrate the difference in variation between an 8-color pack and a 20-color pack.

Larger packs are wonderful, but they can come with a hefty price tag! When youre getting started, dont feel pressured to buy the giant packs (unless you really want to), because you can still blend and combine the colors in smaller packs and achieve a wider array of colors.