What can you draw with wax crayons? Our simple three-step process includes

Today people know great amount various types arts in which any person can realize himself.

Encaustic: history

Wax painting Its roots go back to the distant past, so it is impossible to say with certainty where this type of art originated. But the technology developed in Ancient Greece in the 5th century BC e., has become the most durable and durable.

The essence of the Greek technique was that preheated paints (their composition included wax, resin, oil and coloring pigment) were applied to a heated base with a brush and a specially hot tool, and then the picture was melted using a brazier.

Encaustic painting was also used by the ancient Egyptians, for example, Fayum portraits- this is the most early works in this technique, which have survived to this day. Fayum portraits are small portraits that are made on wooden boards and covered with glue paint.

Encaustic as popular type of painting was widespread until the Middle Ages, and then interest in wax painting disappeared. And paintings painted with wax paints were extremely rare, but in the 19th century there was a real revival of this art form in Germany.

Encaustic painting at home

It is interesting that for encaustic painting the ability to draw is not so important, but a sense of proportion and color, imagination and mood are more important. Of course, encaustic painting is an expensive form of creativity, but to discover the artist in yourself and experiment with wax painting, you can use cheaper materials.

To paint a picture using the encaustic technique, you will need wax crayons, cardboard and an iron. Approximately, encaustic looks like this: wax crayons are carefully applied to a hot iron, and then transferred from the iron to cardboard. It is desirable that the cardboard be glossy, and the iron - with smooth surface(no holes).

It is also worth preparing a backing for the cardboard; it should be soft and twice the size of the cardboard. In addition, there should be several substrates, since they get dirty very quickly.

The iron must be turned on at minimum power and quickly apply crayons(several colors can be applied at once, they do not mix with each other). But do not take too long to apply the crayons to the iron, as crayons melt very quickly.

Encaustic: some techniques and types of techniques

Encaustic painting, like any type of painting, has its own basic techniques. For example, ironing is the first and easiest encaustic technique. The picture can be drawn using a print; the idea is that a hot iron is applied to the cardboard, and the mark is raised for a few seconds. You can apply the design using the edge of an iron, but this should be done when the main background has been applied.. And small details in the picture can be drawn with the tip of an iron.

Encaustic painting can be multi-layered, because the properties of wax paints allow the artist to layer one layer on top of another, and paintings made using this technique are distinguished by their special depth and structure.

Encaustic art is a beautiful and fairly simple form of creativity, but with the help of this amazing technique you can express yourself and your Creative skills. Encaustic does not limit your imagination; you can experiment, for example, like Jasper Johns, who combines encaustic with oil and collage techniques. You can also come up with your own technique for drawing pictures with hot wax.

Let's look at the four main techniques of wax painting: smoothing, imprinting, working with the sides of the iron (edge) and working with the tip.

The first technique is smoothing

Take glossy cardboard in A5 or A6 format. Start with this format. It will be easier for you to work.

Turn on the iron and adjust the minimum temperature.

Hold the iron with the sole facing up. Bring a pencil to the sole and start drawing along the sole, painting the surface of the iron.

The pencil should melt well and spread a little , but not much. Otherwise, adjust the temperature on the iron.

Now turn the iron over with the sole down and run it across the paper.

Use the iron smoothly and slowly, without pressing hard on the paper.

Look what happened.

Second reception:imprint.

Using this technique, so-called veins are created, characteristic of encaustic painting.

To do this, just apply the iron to the surface of the cardboard, and then slightly lift it.

Air will rush into the space between the iron and the cardboard, and veins will form on the surface of the wax.

Method three:working with the side of the iron (edge).

Use the sides of the iron to create white lines and add details to the drawing.

Using the smoothing method, apply wax to the cardboard. Then position the iron so that its edge slides across the wax, like the blade of a skate.

This is how they are created different lines, for example, tall grass.

Technique four: working with the tip of the iron.

Touch the tip of the iron (nose) to the wax, pick up some wax and paint with it.

Used for detailed drawing.

Drawing a blooming magnolia

So, let's talk about wax crayons.

They are considered to be for small children. But that's not true. There are many techniques for drawing with wax crayons. The main thing is to be able to use them. ABOUT different techniques you can read on the Internet. And I today I’ll tell you about melting wax crayons hairdryer

Here are the pictures you can make with wax crayons.

To work you will need the following:

Thick cardboard, canvas or hardboard. Frame. (I buy the most ordinary wooden picture frames at Auchan, they come with hardboard or cardboard inside. You don’t need glass. You can just take it out.)

Super glue. (I buy in small tubes. You may be able to find one that is less smelly. Although this still does not preclude working in a well-ventilated area.)

Acrylic for frame.

The gloves are thin.

The hairdryer is powerful.

Oilcloth cover the surfaces around.

Work clothes.

Small cardboards to hold crushed chalk to the glue.

Come up with a plot. I usually draw rain, grass, sun rays, rainbows (long objects) or a heart. Sketch it for yourself. Understand where you will place your main characters. I usually draw little people. The form should be simple. Characters can become recognizable if you give them a certain hair color or draw a distinctive figure.

Don't forget to wear gloves. It will be very difficult to wipe crayons or glue off your hands and under your nails. I use thin ones. They are cheap and can be used for small jobs. They are sold in hardware stores, Auchan and hair dye stores.

Cover the frame with acrylic. And let it dry. You will touch it, perhaps with wet hands. For this reason, you cannot paint with gouache. No one touches the painting with their hands; you can paint on it with gouache. You can choose the color that you use somewhere in the picture, you can paint it to match certain furniture. I paint it with holiday gold, not in a large layer. Then the piece of wood is slightly translucent and the frame does not look deliberately pompous.

Or in chalk (for a long time).

or any paint (gouache or acrylic, there is no difference).

Don’t paint evenly; it’s still very difficult to paint evenly. Paint on the contrary with chaotic strokes. It will then look interesting on the contrary.

Leave the cardboard to dry.

Remove the packaging from the crayons. Using a blade (carefully), cut the entire length of the wrapper of each crayon. It will be easy to remove.

I almost never use entire crayons. If you need a 7cm crayon mark, cut off a third of the crayon. If you need a 15-20cm mark, cut off half of the crayon. That is cut the crayons into pieces.

Moreover, all crayons melt differently. Some melt quickly and leave a very long trail. For example, I really liked these.

Some have to be heated for a long time and then spread with your finger. For example, I didn’t like these crayons.

It’s better not to mix crayons from different companies in one picture. This will make the job a little more difficult. Although if necessary, please.

For example, in the following photo there are crayons from different brands. I heated all the crayons at the same time, some of them never flowed. Some simply softened a little when heated and flew off. I had to put them back in place and smear them with my finger.

But you can check crayons from different companies yourself.

We lay out the future melted pattern on cardboard similar shapes nearby to calculate the number of crayons. My painting will be on blue cardboard.

Glue crayons. Apply glue to the cardboard (if necessary, mark the cardboard in advance with chalk of a similar color) and press the chalk onto it for a few seconds. In sequence. Several are possible. Do not move the crayons, otherwise they will not stick well. Basically, 95 percent of crayons stick the first time. Glue the rest later. By the way, read the instructions on the glue.

I use this.

The result is a drawing.

Cover the surface with oilcloth around you. The chalk can splatter a lot. Although later you can easily wipe it off the floor or cabinets. But you can’t wipe it off sofas and soft coverings. Take a hairdryer and place the picture vertically so that the crayons have somewhere to drip. Try tilting or turning the surface a little more as you work. Or point the hairdryer in some other direction. This can allow your crayons to flow more interestingly. But basically the air stream directs the stream of crayons. Hooray. We melt the crayons with a hairdryer.

This is what a rainbow and flowers look like.

Now let's move on to the little men. Draw them in an inconspicuous color with chalk. I draw funny figures. Girls in dresses, boys in overalls. I simply draw small children as smaller in height or in strollers. Pay attention to the hairstyles.

We paint bodies ocher. Acrylic or gouache.

Apply glue to clothes and shoes.

Sprinkle crushed powder on top(I do this with a cutter) crumbs of crayons and press for a few seconds with cardboard.

We do the same with hair and other similar elements.

Don't forget to paint the mouth and eyes when the ocher paint has dried on the skin of your characters.

This is what the sun, flowers and a stroller look like.

This is what an umbrella and flowers look like.

By the way, this video has stopmotion with melted crayons. We did it with children at a summer camp in Bulgaria.

Happy creativity to you too.

Drawing wax crayons requires the artist to know the basics pencil drawing. In pastels, as when working with with a simple pencil, there are concepts of perspective and proportions.

The shape and texture of drawing objects are conveyed using light, shadow, color gradation and direction of strokes. First you need to understand how wax pastels behave on paper.

Try painting with one color different types paper (whatman, watercolor, pastel, cardboard or coated). This will give you an idea of ​​how wax crayons behave on different materials. Mix a few different colors, applying them to paper and rubbing. This will give you an idea of ​​how different colors mix and what kind of results you can get when mixing.

Wax crayons are sharpened with a knife, like regular pencils.

Drawing with wax crayons begins with a sketch, which is done with light strokes. The sketch can be made with a simple pencil or chalk of a dominant color future painting. The sketch indicates the outlines of objects that will be depicted in the drawing, as well as the outlines of white or light areas.

The next stage of the drawing is filling the sketch with color. Wax crayons, like oil crayons, are applied to the drawing in layers, from dark to light colors. If you need to mix two colors, then: first apply the darker one, then light color, then the colors are mixed by rubbing them into the paper with your fingertips.

Before you start mixing the tones in the drawing, mix them on another piece of paper. This way you won’t go wrong with the choice of tones to mix. When you have distributed all the colors throughout the sketch, according to the intended composition, you need to rub them into the drawing paper. Shake off the crayon crumbs and gradually add color as needed.

Wax pastels should have a smooth, glossy surface through which the texture of the paper does not show through. In the end, the work is brought to perfection by applying highlights and shadows, drawing more fine lines And small parts. When finishing the work, you need to remember that by excessively pressing on the chalk used to draw on the erased background, you can move the wax already lying on the drawing. Apply finishing touches easily and carefully.

There is also a method for creating wax pastels called sgraffito. This translated means “scratching”. This is the same engraving method that we talked about when getting to know COLORED PENCILS.

For this method, you will need, in addition to paper and wax crayons, either a palette knife, or a stationery (craft) knife, or a special stack. Wax pastels are applied to the paper in dense layers. First light pastel, and then dark. Next, a drawing is scratched onto the surface using a stack (or other tools). Such a drawing will resemble an engraving. Using the scratching method you can create both two-color and multi-color works.

The following method of drawing with wax crayons is original and easy to perform. It is called “stained glass enamel”.

To master it, you need to place a metal or porcelain surface that can withstand the heat of tealights on a mesh stand under which lit tealights are placed. Even a metal sheet intended for baking dough or a ceramic flat pan will do. Placed on a warm surface newspaper sheet, and then drawing paper. Next begins the magic of drawing with wax crayons, which melt on a warm surface. Such work will have the appearance of bright and rich enamel.

The next technique of drawing with wax crayons is called “encaustic”. To do this, you need to take an iron with a solid soleplate (i.e., without holes for steam) and set its heating to minimum. You will also need wax crayons and thick cardboard with a smooth surface. Turn the iron, which is slightly heated, upside down and apply a design on it with wax crayons. Then we sharply turn it over and move it along the cardboard. We get fantastic abstract wax stains, which can then be brought to perfection by drawing more subtle and precise details. Masters can not only “stamp” abstract drawings, but also create real masterpieces by drawing details with the edge of the sole of the iron.

Another method is to wash the wax with turpentine or white spirit. Light strokes of wax crayons create a design, and then the wax is blurred with turpentine and a brush. Synthetic art brushes will come in handy here. You will get a surprisingly light, transparent like watercolor drawing.

The drawing can be done with children 7-10 years old.
The master class will also be useful for teachers additional education, art teachers and primary classes, passionate and creative parents.
Purpose of the master class: The lesson can be included in a course for beginners to paint with watercolors; the drawing is framed in a passe-partout and the frame can be used for a gift or interior decoration.
Target: draw autumn flowers, conveying their texture and characteristic features
Tasks:
Learn to combine in a drawing watercolor technique and wax crayons
Develop composition skills
Cultivate a love for nature
Develop aesthetic taste
Get the joy of creativity

Asters
The sun in the sky was surprised:
- What a miracle happened?
Maybe the stars were lit?
The asters have bloomed!

The whole earth is an elegant carpet -
Bright, colorful, ceremonial.
Variegated caps are blooming,
Like festive fireworks.

One hundred shades and varieties
These joyful flowers:
Pink, red -
The most beautiful! Tatiana Lavrova

Materials and equipment
. A4 sheet of paper
. Wax crayons
. Simple pencil
. Watercolor paints
. Container with water
. Squirrel brush No. 6

Sequence of work:

Flower drawing lesson in elementary school

Master class on drawing " Autumn stars– asters. Drawing with wax crayons and watercolors"

The drawing can be done with children 7-10 years old.
The master class will also be useful for additional education teachers, fine arts and primary school teachers, and enthusiastic and creative parents.
Purpose of the master class: The lesson can be included in a course for beginners to paint with watercolors; the drawing is framed in a passe-partout and the frame can be used for a gift or interior decoration.
Target: draw autumn flowers, conveying their texture and characteristic features
Tasks:
Learn to combine watercolor techniques and wax crayons in a drawing
Develop composition skills
Cultivate a love for nature
Develop aesthetic taste
Get the joy of creativity

Asters
The sun in the sky was surprised:
- What a miracle happened?
Maybe the stars were lit?
The asters have bloomed!

The whole earth is an elegant carpet -
Bright, colorful, ceremonial.
Variegated caps are blooming,
Like festive fireworks.

One hundred shades and varieties
These joyful flowers:
Pink, red -
The most beautiful! Tatiana Lavrova

Materials and equipment
A4 sheet of paper
Wax crayons
Simple pencil
Watercolor paints
Container with water
Squirrel brush No. 6

Sequence of work:

We draw ovals on a sheet of paper with a pencil - we outline the size and location of the asters’ flowers. We draw without pressing hard on the pencil so that the lines are barely visible. Asters should be approximately the same size. In order for the composition to be harmonious, 2 flowers should not be placed on the same line vertically or horizontally. Inside the large ovals we draw small ovals - the centers of the flowers.