Artistic Technique Ideas

Colored Pencils

Colored pencils are an easy way to start with Artistic Templates. Using them is relaxing and low stress for any skill level. The pencils allow for precision in creating detail and fine lines as well as being a very clean medium to work with. Colored pencils are a great medium to experiment with because they require very little investment and do not take up a lot of space. Also, they are somewhat erasable, which is great if you are just starting off with techniques. These Artistic Template Technique Ideas are designed for beginners and are based on personal experience. Artistic Template is not sponsored by any of the products listed. The products listed are based on personal recommendation and experience. If you already have a basic knowledge of colored pencils and have preferences, we would love to hear how you incorporated them with Artistic Templates.

Materials:

PAPER

If you have bought a digital copy of an Artistic Template and are printing out a copy yourself, you want to choose a paper that has no sheen or gloss to it. The more matte the paper, the better the pencil color will stick to the surface and do not wear off over time. You also want to choose a thick paper. As you add layers of color with the pencils, thin paper will become wavy or tear. The texture of the paper is very important. You want your paper to feel rough under your fingers. When you look at the paper on a side angle it should remind you of a topographic map. The rough surface helps the paper grab the color of the pencil. To create the picture seen on this page of the souring shuttle launch, I used plain white construction paper. I like the thickness of the paper. I highly suggest that if you are in the experimentation phase and unsure of what technique you prefer, using construction paper is an economical way to play with Artistic Templates. Using construction paper is also great for coloring as a stress reliever.

Here are some recommended paper pads that have a better quality paper. The paper will have more tooth to it so it will be easier to layer color. If are planning on using an Artistic Template to create a frameable piece of art, using a higher quality paper will give you the best long term results:

Stonehenge Drawing Pads

Strathmore Colored Pencil Paper Pad

TIP: If you are buying the paper in a drawing pad, you should consider a pad that is not bound by a spiral. The fabric glue binding makes it very easy to remove paper so it can run through your printer to start your Artistic Templates project. Otherwise, you need to be sure with scissors or an exact-o knife to get a good straight edge.

TIP: If you are doing a scene that has a predominate color, such as tan or gray, you can start with a paper in that tone, such as Strathmore’s Toned Tan or <a href="http://www.amazon visit here.com/gp/product/B008D2TV70/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B008D2TV70&linkCode=as2&tag=gameempo01-20&linkId=QATPHKMF42WJWZHT” target=”_blank”>Toned Gray. For example, a predominately desert scene looks great on toned tan paper! Be careful with grey paper though that your printer still prints the Artistic Template clearly on your paper choice (artistic templates print in grey tones).

PENCILS

The pencils you chose to create your Artistic Template will give you different results. You can get pencils that have a softer tip that creates a smooth effect more like oil pastels than the map pencils you used in school. You can also get pencils with a hard tip that will create a more striated look. For the picture of the soaring shuttle seen on this page, I used hard tip colored pencils. You can see the texture of the pencils in the work. It also allowed me to create fine lines and shadows around the shuttle itself. I specifically used Crayola 50ct Long colored pencils. I like this expanded set because of the different shades of neutral colors it contains, such as tan, peach, light grey, and sienna. The neutral colors are great for layering in shadows and depth into your piece. Unlike paint, it is not easy to blend colors to make other colors with colored pencils and having a variety of choice is a good thing.

Here are some recommended pencil sets. If you are going to experiment with advanced techniques with the pencils such as burnishing and different types of blending, buying a set that has a softer, waxier tip would be a good investment. Note that both brands also provide hard tip pencils though the soft varieties are listed.

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils

Derwent Colorsoft Pencils

Tip: You want a pencil that fits well in your hand. If you don’t like using pencils because it gives you hand cramps after a while, the pencils you are using are probably too small (or short) for your hand and you are having to tightly grip the pencil.  (You could also be holding the pencil too tight in general and need to loosen your grip).

ACCESSORIES

Beside the pencils and the paper, there is little else you need to use colored pencils to create an Artistic Template masterpiece. You may want to consider these accessories as you develop your technique and decide you enjoy colored pencils as a medium.

• Pencil Sharpener – Sounds simple. Think about the effect you want in your piece and sometimes it helps to give your pencil a little freshening up with a sharpener to get the look you desire. I personally prefer manual sharpeners for my art pencils over electric but it is based on preference. A lot of people prefer the electric sharpeners, especially if you are the type to wear the pencils down to nubs and it takes an effort to give it the out-of-the-box point again. The most important thing about a sharpener is that it leaves the pencil with a clean edge. No jagged edges or a tip with multiple points/broken tips. I have also made the mistake of buying a pencil sharpener that was too small for the art pencils I was using. You also want to think about the mess sharpening pencils makes, especially the softer tips with the waxier leads. It is definitely a must to have a pencil sharpener that catches the shavings and saves you from hunching over a trashcan. All things to consider when looking for a trusted pencil sharpener. Here are some pencil sharpener recommendations:

Prismacolor Scholar Colored Pencil Sharpener

Staedtler Double-hole Tub Pencil Sharpener

Ohuhu Electric Pencil Sharpener

• Eraser – People gravitate to colored pencils thinking that any mistakes can be erased like a #2 pencil on a scantron. An eraser is not magic. When using colored pencils, I have never found an eraser that makes the paper like new. Most of the time when I am doing my own work, I pretend that an eraser is not an option. It is best used for lone stray lines and to correct a sketch. The best part about using Artistic Templates is it does the sketching part (the hardest part) for you! Dark colors, such as blacks and reds stain into the paper as you use them so erasing will eliminate the built up lead/wax but it will not remove the color entirely. The best kind of erasers to use on colored pencils are soft clay erasers. Clay in that sentence is about texture, not what it is made out of, they are made of rubber. You pull and knead the eraser when to surface becomes dirty. They work by pressing the eraser into the area you want to erase and the eraser lifts up the color. It does not work if the color has stained the paper as stated above but it will smooth out the paper and lighten the color, making it easier to layer new color over it. There are also electric pencil sharpeners that work on colored pencils. I think of it as sanding a piece of wood and you can easily put a hole in your paper if you are not careful. Erasers made of sand also work on colored pencils, though they are designed to remove ink. They are very abrasive so you have to be careful not to rub a hole in your artwork and the “sand” flakes off and makes a mess. I think they work fine, though you will still have stained paper if you use a dark color. Here are some eraser recommendations:

Prismacolor Design Kneaded Rubber Eraser

Derwent Battery Operated Eraser

Tombow MONO Sand Eraser

Tip: The better quality papers stand up to erasing better than cheap paper.

Tip: Remember that your Artistic Template is printed with ink and an aggressive erasing will also remove the template.

Those are the basic materials for creating an Artistic Template using colored pencils. It is a very fun medium to use and I hope you try it out on your own Artistic Template Projects.

Basic Technique for Colored Pencils:

How to Start:

The hardest part in starting a project is knowing where to start. Each medium has a different strategy in order to obtain the best results. Colored pencils are some of the more flexible to use because there is no wrong way to go about it. Personally, I think it works out best to start in background of the piece. Doing the background is a good warm up. It gives you time to figure out where the piece is going and to start putting the style together. In most pieces, the background is lighter so you’re not putting a lot of color investment into it. That is good because I often find that I revisit the background when I am approaching the end of the piece to add color and definition.

Things to Remember:

In colored pencils, light colors cannot block out dark colors. If you do a big block of black in the piece, definition cannot be added on top of it with a lighter color. When you use rough paper, one swipe over the paper with your dark pencil, however, does not saturate the paper and there is still room for other colors to land on the paper. That is how I think about color layering is leaving room for other color on the page until I am happy with the layered look. For example, in the piece of the space shuttle launch pictured, I wanted to create exciting flames coming out of the rocket boosters. I started with the lightest color, yellow (leaving white space has highlighting in the yellow) and circles it out to the edges. Then I picked the next lightest color and colored over the light yellow further out of center and circled that color out. I did the same for the different shades of orange and browns until I got the look I wanted while still having the eye catching light area at the “white hot” portion of the rocket flame.

Another thing to consider is that lining on the piece does not have to be done in a light color. The hardest thing about the shuttle launch piece pictured was dealing with the white negative space. I used light colors to create perspective on the side of the shuttle and a light tan to do the lining of the panels.

If you become stuck in your composition, some of the Artistic Templates are color rendered on this site to give you an idea of what direction to go in. For the pictured piece, I had a hard time visualizing the shadows of the shuttle and referencing the colored rendered picture helped me with that.

You can add a little water or solvent to a heavy penciled area and it will allow you to blend colors. You can blend with a brush or even a q-tip. This works best if you used pencils that are soft tipped and waxy. The blended colors have a professional pastel look and creates a blanket smoothness. You have to be careful with using water because you do not want to soak the paper. Additionally, using a sharp colored pencil on top of a saturated area will most likely result in tearing. Water can also make the colors bleed if you are not careful. This is a fun technique to use when you become comfortable with colored pencils but I do consider it an advanced maneuver.

You can use a knife or exact-o knife to create fine lines in the colored pencil artwork. The lines will have the same color as the surrounding and this will create subtle texture. The knife should cut through the wax buildup of the colored pencil and not the paper. This is a great technique to use to create definition in a scene that is monochromatic like a green forest or you want detail lines on an object that is already deeply colored.

Use of color:

A lot of people worry about being photorealistic with their artwork. Artwork is dynamic because of the use of color and the movement the relationship of the color creates. When referencing a photo, if the composition does not look appealing, your artwork can because of your creative use of color. Using colors opposite on the color wheel as your main theme is very appealing and makes the composition vibrant and the contrast creates interest. Additionally, using a monochromatic palette evokes emotion in your piece. Adding a surprising pop of color to the artwork, like a red umbrella on a sandy beach, creates drama.  It is a lot like picking out an outfit to wear to a party. Different color combinations create different moods. A black dress with a pop of red in your shoes and belt is very dramatic and classic. An outfit that mixes jewel tones and pastel tones is very hard to pull off. When you are trying to think about how to combine color, think about how you use color in your everyday life and don’t fret about following the picture.

Have fun with it:

Try different things with your Artistic Template. There are landscapes, still life, portraits, and genre scenes. You may find you prefer the detail of close up portrait of a butterfly or the more general strokes of a distant landscape. I find that I prefer different mediums for the different styles. You can even use an Art Template to create something truly unique. Try a picture of a bird. By using Artistic Template you can create a realistic representation but you can give your piece uniqueness by having fun with an abstract or whimsical background. Paint in cartoon flowers.