Gill Knox 09 Sep 2007

Hi Rebecca. First go and look at somewhere like Wetcanvas to their Coloured pencil forum for some help. your drawing will need to be a lot more realistic to wow the judges, so draw what you see, all the shading and colours. the more you look carefully at photos of people or objects the more colours you will see and learn to put in the tones that are there. using a really good HOT PRESS watercolour paper is best, pastel paper can be good too. Prismas are one of the best pencils - my faves, but there are Koh-i-noor, and also polychromos. your background is OK, but the figure does need a lot of work. It'sa pretty ambitious thing to start with, you might be best to start with something really simple, an apple, a glass, a bowl...all the best here's an example of realistic CP work

Gill Knox 09 Sep 2007

also, keep your first layers LIGHT pressure, close together tiny sprokes or circles, and layer a lot, some of mine have 20-30 layers.... but even if you only have 3 layers the ifrst ones are always very very light.....

Courtney Cameron 11 Sep 2007

Tha best colorpencil i use is prismacolors...it is truly tha best to me. what i do is i keep tha colorpencil sharp and maybe do about 3 or 4 layers of color...and my last coat of color i bare down a little harder for i can get a smooth look...it makes it look realistic. I did this one in prismacolors it took about 4 weeks but i did it off and on.

Angela Hernandez 15 Nov 2007

Try using a colored paper, I find it gives the work a look of unity. Chose a color that would close to your middle value. Also there are some very good books avalible on CP that you might want to check out.

Melanie Ferchaud 01 Feb 2008

I like to layer my colors..And use graphite pencil in between the layers, but very lightly. Then go over it with fixative. One guy I really like is Michael Gnatek. Maybe you can google him and find some of his colored pencil drawings. He is master of that!

Margaret Platt 19 Feb 2008

I agree with about keeping the first layers light..Hard to erase when a mistake is made!Personally, I use 2 different papers, 1), Bristol smooth, for a nice effeect to get sharp edges, and 2), I like pastel paper..comes in all different colors, works and reworks well if you touch is light enough, it is colorfast, and won't fade like colored paper will over time And,..it will give different effects, similar to pastels when a lighter touch is used. I also like the added benefit that if I don't want to decide about creating a background, the color of the paper becomes the background, and it's another color to include as part of the work! Good luck. I Love Prismacolors, and occasionally use Derwent, de[pends on what effect I want. You will just have to play!!

Joyce Geleynse 09 Apr 2008

I love coloured pencil too, and have just started getting back into using them, after a long time of neglect. I just discovered the fun of using a black paper (Strathmore). I also realized that it makes a difference when one uses only the BEST coloured pencils on the market.

Randy Nore 04 May 2009

I use to do alot of colored pencil works ( wildlife ) and the one thing that I can tell you that might help you to blend your colors is to go over the finished drawing with a white pencil or a light color such as yellow (depending on what your picture is going to be of ).The drawing I will leave for you to view is a frog that I did.I was not happy with the overall color of it until I went over the other colors with white and some yellows and very light greens. I hope this helps you....Randy Nore Ps....try not to go with just white as it takes away from the overall colors of the picture...

Randy Nore 04 May 2009

heres another to show that this also works with darker colors....like the others before me said...go light to start and do it harder to blend

J. P. 07 May 2009

Looks adorable and very sweet. If I was you, I try to add a little more "kick" to it by just increasing the tones and contrast, this makes the artwork come to life more. Make the black a bit richer if you can.

Here are a few tips, I use Prismacolor and Derwent pencils. My points are always very sharp with an electric Xacto sharpener. I apply layers very lightly, evenly and slowly - at first.

After every new layer, I blend and buff over it a little to get the color into the board, then I continue with my layers a little harder and heavier according to the effect I want.

I work from the center outwards and keep my hands off making contach with work by placing a piece of paper between me the surface.

Never bring liquids near your work. No matter how careful you are, accidents happen and coffee, coke, water, etc, spills and after that, is too late.

Below is a work in progress of Ava Gardner. 30x40

Keep it up and have fun, life with a good amount of art in it - is a good life

Lynnette Shelley 09 Jun 2009

I've been using "Woodless" Hardtmuth colored pencils lately (the entire pencil is made of pigment) and I like the rich color results I get. It's made by Koh-I-Noor. I also like using watercolor paper (heavy, textured) but that's just my personal preference. I also like to mix together the colored pencils with oil pastels too at times.

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