Day 1: Intro to Colored Pencils

Colored Pencil Worksheet 

Things to Know

1. Colored Pencil is made of pigment (color) and wax (binder).

2. Use a LIGHT even pressure – until the last few layers.

3. Use a small circular pencil stroke. This gives you more control over the medium.

4. Create dark values using COOL colors (blues, greens, violets) – dark colors are made with additional

layers, not more pressure.

5. Think of achieving the correct color (hue) as a custom building process, the more colors you blend

together the richer your final color.

6. To make a tint of any hue add white to the last few layers.

Colored Pencil Basics

How do I make a dark value of any color?

The secret to rich gorgeous color with colored pencil is not to use black to make a hue darker. Instead, use cool darks (Parma violet, dark green, indigo blue, blue violet, violet). These colors act as a “foundation” underneath and in between the local color (color of the object or area you are drawing).

How do I make a light value of any color?

Add white, but understand that the ratio of white to local color (the color you are tinting) will increase as the value sections get lighter on the value scale. Ex: In the lightest value the ratio will be 80% white and 20% local color/hue

How do I create an even distribution of colors?

This is the real secret, as most people tend to press really hard in the beginning and get too much wax on the paper which limits the number of layers you can apply and as a result your color is not as dimensional. Apply your layers lightly, using small circles. Using a light, tiny circular motion with the pencils allows for many layers while creating dimensional color at the same time. Remember, colored pencil is wax mixed with pigment. The paper will only take so much wax before the colors just “slide around” and don’t mix creating a flat crayon-like application.

How do I make a color “richer”?

When working with any hue, to create a richer, more dimensional color, use the analogous colors (and the lighter values of the hue) on either side of said hue. For example, if you are working on a red apple, consider the mid-tones in the apple and add oranges and yellows in with the red. In the highlight, consider pink and peach for the highlighted area instead of just using white.

How do I make black?

Chromatic black is so gorgeous in colored pencil. It is made up of Blue Violet, Violet, Dark Green, Indigo Blue, and occasionally Tuscan Red. You can always add some other cool darks to achieve a variety of blacks, but this is a fool-proof method for achieving chromatic