Image of different pencil strokes

This is my 3rd short article in a sequence of site posts about making use of color pencil. In my previous content I coated the differences in Derwent’s pencil ranges and how to find your tension. It is now time to transfer on to some of the other things that can affect how your pencils work. We will be hunting at unique pencil strokes and, in my reward video, I include how your alternative of area can change how your artwork appears to be.


It’s all about unique strokes

Image of different pencil strokes
Here are a couple that I use the most in my very own function

Color pencils can be made use of to make the ultimate realism in your perform or can be free and painterly. It is all about the various strokes that you use to implement the pigment that makes the change as to the textures you will attain. Once once more it is vital to observe these approaches so that you have an understanding of which kinds to use exactly where and when.

Stippling

Stippling is accomplished merely by dotting or tapping your nib to the assist. A sharp nib will go away tiny dots whilst a blunt or rounded tip will leave even bigger marks. You can differ your strain and also incorporate distinct colors into the stipples.

I would use this technique on some thing like a dog’s nose.

Lisa Ann Watkins - Mac
Lisa Ann Watkins – Mac

Scumbling

When you want to produce a sleek texture then strokes these kinds of as again and forth or scumbling are best for this. Again and forth is simply that. You go the pencil in a back again and forth movement employing a steady, even and restricted laydown with a conventional force. Step by step the layers will construct up to create smoothness.

Scumbling is accurately the same approach but using a restricted circular motion when laying down the pigment. I will use this technique everywhere that I want smoothness or a shiny, glassy impact these as on eyes. Here you can see I designed up the shiny eye working with a mix of the two strokes until I accomplish the end I am aiming for.

Lisa Ann Watkins - eye detail
Lisa Ann Watkins – depth of eye

Hatching & Cross Hatching

Hatching and cross hatching is a good way of performing loosely and making various sorts of texture in your do the job. This pencil stroke will involve the laydown of lines parallel to every single other. You can range the thickness, width between and the tension of these strains. You can also then do a cross hatch which is yet another layer of hatching overlaid at a right angle throughout the preliminary layer. Unfastened circles are also a wonderful way of fairly pretty much producing additional looseness in your do the job. It also builds up an outcome very quickly. When once again you can range the stress and the size of your circles performing both of those clockwise and anti clockwise. This is great for free curls like in a poodle or for illustration on this sheep.

Lisa Ann Watkins -
Lisa Ann Watkins – Wallis

Striking stroke

The stroke most linked with making fur texture is the striking or tapered stroke. As with the other strokes you can fluctuate the pressure, way and also most importantly the size of these strokes. This will build a myriad of various fur textures. Use a firm strain at the foundation of the stroke and then simply just lift and flick absent to create the taper. This is surely one particular to follow and to mix with the other strokes stated higher than.

Practice tends to make excellent and it also helps to create your self esteem in your function which in switch shines by in the completed piece. Aura in this article is a perfect example of a mix of scumbling strokes for the eye, back again and forth for the chunks of fur and then quite a few, quite a few great tapering strokes for the texture.

Lisa Ann Watkins - Aura
Lisa Ann Watkins – Aura

Embossing

Image of embossing technique

One particular spin on these methods is to substitute your pencil for a stylus and then you can indent these marks into your assistance ahead of adding any pigment. This can then direct to even much more texture and depth to your work. The greatest way to find out far more is to consider a search at the video down below to see all of these strokes in action.

View the online video

https://www.youtube.com/view?v=hZtInbL7zG0

Watch a reward video about surfaces

As you can see from the information and facts so much, there is a lot that can affect the conclude result of a work developed utilizing color pencil. Placing it all with each other let us get a appear at just one past aspect that is as massive a component as that of our option of pencils to use. This is the paper or guidance that you pick out to use. Thanks to the creation of points like grounds and primers it implies that at present you can use pencils on any surface from wood to metallic. In this closing video clip of the collection I will how you a number of of the discrepancies amongst operating on some of the very best identified papers used with color pencils now. These are often referred to as possibly smooth or textured papers and I also incorporate the variation between doing the job on equally traditional white as effectively as black.

https://www.youtube.com/check out?v=WjqGw2nFl1o

You may be fascinated in my other weblog submit about My Critical Derwent Pencil Range & The Colour Pencil Tension Examination.


Lisa Ann Watkins BA(Hons), AFC, CPCAM, UKCPS is very well recognised in the world of coloured pencils as a multi award profitable artist & tutor

In July 2017 Lisa set up her first formal teaching channel on Patreon. Lisa creates in depth videos & written tutorials for her online students every month & now teaches over 300 people around the planet. She has also just launched her first reserve with Lookup Push.  Lisa is a member of the prestigious tutoring teams of renowned art educators this kind of as the SAA & Patchings Art Centre. She works closely with Clairefontaine and Grafix and is an official Brand name Ambassador for Derwent Artwork.

You can hold in touch with Lisa on her web site Animal Art by Legislation and on her instagram or facebook internet pages.