We draw with colored pencils. Techniques for drawing with colored pencils

Drawing with colored pencils is in many ways similar to using a black lead pencil.

But there are several specific features.

1. Has color transparency.

2. Complexity and subtlety of color is achieved by overlaying several colors.

3. Experience in drawing with a simple pencil is required.

4. Colored pencil is difficult to erase with an eraser.

The techniques used are also largely similar, let's look at them.

1) Shadows and toning
When creating shadows and tones, make linear movements from side to side. And don't forget to change the pressure on the pencil to create different color saturations.

2) Hatching
Do the shading with quick, repeating lines, leaving small gaps between them. When cross-hatching, apply the lines at the desired angle. You can use different colors or shading in several layers to give the necessary structure.

3) Curls
The required surface or shade can also be created using circular repeating lines applied with one or more pencils.

4) Directional lines
Short lines directed along the contour or in the direction of the hair (grass, fire), located close to each other, can create quite interesting effects.

5) Layers
Layer layers of color on top of each other. The line left with a colored pencil is transparent, this will help us achieve an interesting effect.

6) Engraving
Engraving - two large layers are placed on top of each other, after which the top layer is carefully thinned out with a blade or pin so that the bottom layer appears.

7) Polishing
Polishing is created by densely overlapping several color layers, so that no bright places, i.e. the surface of the paper was completely filled with color.

Experiment with various techniques, studying their essence and achieving maximum results.

For color drawing you need paper good quality with a fairly rough surface. Again, experiment with paper types to learn the properties of each. You also need high-quality pencils, with bright, clean and even color. An excellent example of such pencils is the STABILO All line. With these pencils you will get real pleasure from drawing.

Colored pencils are a universal tool that anyone can use to draw. They don't require any special skills and are ideal for first sketches. We chose 8 tips from the book “The Diary of a Naturalist Artist” - try creating your first painting right now.

1. Mix colors by shading

Pencil colors rarely match the desired shade. A huge set is not the solution: it is difficult and inconvenient to wear, and finding the right color takes a lot of time. Better buy a medium set and learn how to compose colors. The main colors are sky blue, yellow and magenta. You can get other shades from them.


Diary of an artist-naturalist

Usually the color of the pencil is intense and saturated. In nature, the tones are more muted. Therefore, another advantage of mixing is the ability to tone down pure colors to natural shades.

2. How to hatch in layers

To learn how to hatch in layers, you need to consider two points. First, choose slightly grainy paper. Do not press too hard on the pencil, otherwise the paper will be polished and the pigment will not stick to it.

Secondly, the black pencil for the shadow looks unnatural - it seems “glued on”. Therefore, use complementary colors for shadows. Their pairs lie on a circle opposite each other:

  • magenta and green,
  • blue and orange-red,
  • yellow and violet-blue.

Use color circle to define colors for shadows

Combining an object color with a complementary color produces a muted brown or gray shadow. Here's an example of how to use shades to depict shadows.

1. Start drawing the orange ball with a shadow additional color- blue.

2. Place a layer of dark orange on top of the shadow.

3. Add other colors: yellow, red and green. The drawing will glow with glimpses different shades.

3. Choose the right stroke technique

It is the stroke technique that affects the result and speed of the drawing. Choose the appropriate option for the desired effect.

  • Small, light, round strokes ideal for even coverage and maximum control. The lead crumbles less, colors blend easier. Requires perseverance, but depending on the mood it is very relaxing.

  • Scribble- fast and interesting technique, but not as accurate. The smaller the scribbles, the more accurate the result. The texture will be visible in the finished drawing.

  • Lines- a series of parallel lines. Same fast technique. Draw the lines at an angle that is comfortable for your hand. Control the pressure and do not increase it at the end of the stroke, otherwise streaks will remain.

  • Cross stroke- a series of intersecting lines. The more layers, the smoother the texture: subsequent layers hide the unevenness of the previous ones. Cross strokes can be applied with the same color to deepen the tone, or with a different color if you want to change the shade.

4. How to draw shadows quickly and easily

Shadows give the image volume and depth. Don't forget about them and don't leave them for later. Remember that it’s more difficult to add shadows at the end: it’s a shame to overlap thoroughly mixed colors, and the paper is almost completely polished. First draw the shadows, then select a local color for them.

  • Shade for shadows. Most shadows can be drawn with a Black Grape pencil. It's a muted purple and makes a convincing shadow when combined with most other colors.
  • Yellow shades. The most difficult things to draw shadows on are yellow objects. If there is even a hint of blue in the color of the shadow, it immediately turns green. "Help" - Greyed Lavender. Its pale purple shade when mixed with yellow it produces a nice neutral brown or grey.

5. How to go black

If you paint the shadows or background with only black, the painting will look flat. Liven up the shadows with complementary colors and the black areas of the drawing with dark pencils. Which ones? Indigo Blue, Dark Green and Tuscan Red when combined they give a rich black with glimpses of the original colors. You can start with a layer of black pencil and add one or more of these colors.

6. Why paper embossing is needed

So you draw green leaf and you need to get thin light lines on dark background. How to do it?

  • White lines. Press the paper with a thin, blunt tool (you can make one yourself from thin ballpoint pen with dried ink) - and the lines will remain white against the background of the colored pencil layer. It should be blunt so that the lead does not touch the embossing.
  • Colored lines. If you want thin lines of color, apply the color first, then emboss and put another color on top.

7. Use an odorless blending solvent

Most often, small areas of paper are visible in the drawings. An odorless solvent (white spirit) will help get rid of them, shade the strokes and make the color brighter. This is a common gasoline solvent from which harmful volatile substances have been removed.

Apply it over uniform, close strokes. For convenience, pour it into a brush with a reservoir and smear it over the design with a cotton swab/disc or shading. When the paper is dry, you can continue drawing: the texture is completely preserved. The odorless solvent can be used in combination with a colorless pencil - blender.

8. Colorless blender - also for shading

Another good tool for shading - a blender. How to use it? Rub the design in a circular motion. The colors will blend, the gaps will disappear, and the paper will be polished. The color layer will become uniform and bright. But it is only suitable for strokes that are close.

Color paintings have long been attractive for their colorfulness and have been in demand: they have been used to decorate houses and large halls for several centuries. To add color to paintings, artists use paints and pencils. Drawing with colored pencils appeared relatively recently, in late XIX century, when the simple pencil was invented. Later they began to improve it, give it different thicknesses, hardness, experiment with colors and use it in painting. During this period, it became possible for beginners to draw with colored pencils.

What attracts you to drawing with colored pencils?

This type of creativity is gaining great popularity. With his help, talented artists recreate the most complex color images. The variety of types and the point of a sharpened pencil allow you to emphasize the smallest fragments of the image.
This art is subject to anyone with a basic desire to create, be inspired, and learn. Yes! Just study! In our art school we are ready to teach all the intricacies of drawing using colored pencils. You don't have to be good at painting. The main thing is to have the desire to create.

How to learn to draw with pencils, subtleties and features?

During the training we cover several basic issues:

1. Who can draw?

Talent for artistic arts present in every personality. Some realize this themselves and begin to draw without any help, others have to develop this skill. This is regardless of age, race or nationality. Can you hold a pencil in your hands? Then you will become a good judge.

2. What to draw with?

We learn to draw with colored pencils, but what kind? There is a huge variety of pencils that differ in the hardness of the lead, the thickness of the rod, and the material from which the base is made. There is a designation that determines the degree of hardness of the lead: 1H is the hardest, 5B is the softest. This designation is indicated on the base of the pencil. Often used and watercolor pencils. Charcoal, chalk, and sanguine began to be used as a variety of colored pencils.

When redrawing from another image, you may be disappointed that what you got is completely different. This is the inability to choose the right tones. Each color has many shades. In the case of pencils, the situation is the same. We will teach you how to select correct view pencils.

3. What to draw on?

Usually paper is used. It, like the type of pencils, must be chosen correctly. It may differ in density, roughness, and shade.
We will teach you how to select the right materials so that the desired design is ultimately reflected on paper.

4. What to draw?

The main mistake novice artists make is the incorrect selection of images. To make it easier to remember all the rules and subtleties, you should start with simple drawing, containing a minimum of elements and colors. When your hand is already full, all the basics have been studied, we move on to complex tasks.

5. How to draw?

Exist various techniques, principles of drawing and methods of applying strokes. This part of the training is challenging and requires extra concentration and time.
Popular drawing techniques include:
- pressure. In the case of paints, the more you put on the tip of the brush, the more pronounced and intense the color will be. With pencils it’s different - the harder you press when applying, the more pronounced the shades will be;
— shading allows you to give a certain effect to the work: movement, volume, direction;
— layering and shading allow you to create the effect of a smooth transition of colors and tones.
It is especially difficult to draw images from life on paper.
The entire process of drawing can be summarized as follows:

1. We determine from what we will redraw: from nature, from memory or from a selected sample.
2. Select materials and the desired paper size.
3. Draw the main contours, transferring them exactly as in the source code.
4. Apply small contours.
5. Give the elements of the drawing volume, the desired color and light and shade.

6. When to draw?

Many today admire the work of other people, their hard work, popularity and do not realize that if they started yesterday, they would already be among such people. If you have the desire, time and goal, you can start learning immediately. Don't be afraid that it won't work out. Be afraid not to try.

7. What will happen in the end?

By completing a step-by-step course for beginners in drawing with colored pencils, you will learn how to create your own unique images and gain basic artist skills, and we will get a successful and talented student.

8. Where to apply the acquired skills?

Everyone can link their later life with creativity. There are cases where students creative schools became worldwide famous artists, art designers, popular bloggers in in social networks in this direction.


Why our drawing studio?

We love and appreciate our work! You have fun while drawing, and we have fun teaching you.
We work using modern, proven methods that are suitable even for beginners.
Our students are never left without results.
Join our team and make your dream come true today!

The eagle is a bird of prey with a large body, strong legs, long wings, sharp claws, short tail, massive beak and large eyes with good vision. All these features allow it to soar high in the sky for a long time, examine future prey and easily attack. Therefore, you should definitely learn how to draw an eagle, because it is quite common in Eurasia, Africa and North America.

Necessary materials for drawing such a bird:

Decories

The owl is a nocturnal bird that hunts at this time of day. And all this thanks to big eyes who see well in dark time. It won't be difficult to draw an owl. Especially if it's in a cartoon version.

Necessary materials:


Decories

Nowadays you can find not only ordinary forest hedgehogs, but also at home. They look very similar to their wild relatives, but have slightly different features that help them live well at home. So let's learn how to draw our favorite hedgehog, which has spines on its back and can also curl up into a prickly ball.

Any drawing begins with a sketch, where it is necessary to determine the overall size of the animal or object, and then move on to drawing large details. If you are drawing a hedgehog, then at the first stage it will be enough to draw a large oval. Gradually simple geometric figure will take on a natural appearance where prickly needles, short legs and an elongated muzzle with small features.

Necessary materials for drawing a hedgehog:


Decories

Deer are the real pride of the forest. After all, no animal has such a “crown”. In addition, the deer is a very graceful mammal. Therefore, it is very difficult to draw it in dynamics. So, for the first acquaintance with it, we will learn how to draw a cute cloven-hoofed animal in a simple pose. The structure of the head and body is very similar to a horse, but there are differences. For example, an elegant and short body, a short small tail, branchy elegant horns and a small head. All these traits give the deer its own personality and provide inspiration to learn how to draw.

Necessary materials:


Decories

You can do it at any time of the year, because they are very beautiful. For example, how to draw a swallow. The main part of the body is no different from other birds, but the tail is long and has a slit in the middle. That's why it resembles a fork. You can also notice another feature of this bird - its wings, which are curved, sharp and long. The color of the swallow in the drawing will be very simple. To color it, it will be enough to have three colored pencils - black, red and Brown. If desired, can be complemented with other shades.

Necessary art materials for drawing a swallow:


Decories

Father Frost and his granddaughter Snegurochka often feature on postcards and all kinds of Christmas tree decorations. However, there are other wonderful and good heroes. For example, a snowman. You can draw a snowman not only in the form of three circles, but also create an interesting illustration. In it we beautifully place the main character on this album sheet. We “dress up” him with a hat and scarf. IN right hand We place a gift, and on the left - a broom. Complementing the drawing small elements and color bright colors. This is how we get the drawing of a snowman on New Year 2018.

The sparrow is a very small bird that does not stand out very much in its feather color or singing. However, this is a very common bird in the forest, in the park, in yards or in your own garden. That's why you've probably seen such a small sparrow.

Learn to draw a sparrow

To learn how to draw a bird, you should determine its main features and be sure to capture them on paper in the sketching stages before applying strokes with colored pencils. When drawing, do not forget that it is small in appearance, it has a short tiny beak and small legs. In addition to the correct proportions, you should give due time to coloring the picture so that the color turns out natural, like a real bird. To do this, select as many different shades of brown pencils as possible. Take the black one with you too charcoal pencil, which will help color the eye, some fragments of feathers and give a stroke.

Necessary materials:


Dear friends! In my last article, I talked about the features of working with colored pencils, but now it’s time to put this wonderful artistic material into practice. In this step-by-step drawing lesson, using the example of drawing peonies, we will learn how to do outline drawing, learn about the features of working with colored pencils, learn how to select and mix colors.

Required art materials

✔ Thick sheet of A4 format (I use whatman paper, density 200 g/m); ✔ Ruler, sharpener, eraser; ✔ Simple HB pencil (I prefer to work with an automatic pencil); ✔ ; ✔ Set of Faber-Castell colored pencils. To work on each element, we will choose 2-3 primary colors, and several colors to add accents in the end. For example, to draw leaves, we need three shades of green: light, dark and in between. An intermediate color is needed to smooth out the transition from light to dark. I will use the following colors of Classic Color Pencils, Faber-Castell: - for petals and bud: 330, 319 and 325, 327 - for leaves: 370, 359 and 357 - for color accents: 327, 383, 378, 392 - for stamens: 309.


The next stage of work is the selection of references. If you already have artistic experience, then you can draw peonies from life, but for beginners I would recommend finding a photo on the Internet first. It will also be useful to see how other artists depict flowers. You can choose one photo and draw from it. But for the drawing to be interesting and not an exact copy, we will select different photographs and put together our own original work from this. It is not necessary to copy the entire image; somewhere we can spy a beautifully curved leaf or notice a picturesque petal. Look for interesting angles and details.


Step 1: Draw a sketch of the peony with a pencil

Let's start drawing our peonies with a pencil. Take a sheet of A4 format, using a ruler and a simple pencil find the middle of the sheet and draw auxiliary lines. Now we know exactly where the center of our future composition. Next, we very schematically outline the image of the peony. I decided to draw large flower, with several leaves. So that the flower does not feel lonely, I will add a bud to it. Such details are very important; they will make your work look more interesting. When making a sketch, we remember that it is better to place large elements at the bottom and leave more air at the top. This is why we determined the center of the sheet.


Step 2: Working out the details of the peony with a pencil

So, schematic drawing We have a peony flower in pencil. Now we understand where and what we will have. Our next step step by step lesson there will be more drawing detailed study. To do this, we carefully study references or nature. We draw the petals, leaves, bud, outline the stems. We try not to press too hard on the pencil, soft pencil We also don’t use it so as not to spread dirt on the sheet. We should get a fairly detailed, but light sketch.


Step 3: Outline the pencil sketch of the peony with a liner

Now let's start working with liners to get a beautiful finished contour drawing. To begin with, let's take a liner with a thickness of 0.3 mm. Slowly, very carefully trace our sketch along the contour. We try to keep the line straight. As a result, our drawing will have a clear, complete outline.


Step 4: Draw the details of the peony flower with a liner

Our drawing lacks liveliness, so now we will add details. We take a liner with a thickness of 0.2 mm. If you are not yet very confident in your abilities, then you can first draw small parts pencil. We draw the stamens of our flower. We add veins to the leaves to make the design look even more interesting. Add some touches to the leaves and petals. When you have drawn everything, take an eraser and erase the entire pencil.


Step 5: Color the peony petals with colored pencils

The main principle is this: first we put a light shade, then a dark one and make a smooth transition using an intermediate color.

Ksenia Oskolkova

Now we will learn how to draw a peony flower with colored pencils. Let's start by drawing the peony petals. Using one petal as an example, I will show you how to work with colored pencils. Main principle like this - first we put a light shade, then a dark one and make smooth transition using an intermediate color. Take the lightest shade that you chose for coloring the petals, I use a 330 pencil. Carefully paint over it most petal, while adjusting the pressure of the stylus. At the top we can put the color more densely, towards the bottom we try to loosen the pressure of the lead, due to which the color will lie a little paler. Next, take the shade that you chose for the dark areas. Take a 319 pencil and paint over the dark area. We are not afraid that one color overlaps another, that’s how it should be. The border between colors will be rigid for now. To soften the border, take the light shade number 330 again and add several layers over the entire petal. We work carefully, trying not to apply too much pressure. Our first petal is ready. As you can see, there is nothing complicated, you just need to be patient! Guided by the same principle, we paint over all the remaining petals, with the exception of the inner ones, we will make them darker.


Step 6: Draw the inner petals of the peony with colored pencils

Now in our step by step drawing lesson we will draw the inner petals of a peony flower. We take a 319 pencil, which we used to draw the dark places on the petals. Paint it with this color inner part petal Next, take the darkest shade 327 and paint the bottom of our petal with it. Do not forget that at the very bottom we apply more pressure to the stylus; the higher we rise, the weaker the pressure of the stylus. To even out the color, take the lightest shade 330 and paint over the entire petal. We use the same principle with all the other internal petals.


Step 7: Draw peony leaves with colored pencils

We'll do things a little differently with leaves. First, let's put the main color, then select the light and dark areas and make a smooth transition.

Ksenia Oskolkova

Now it's time to draw the leaves of our peony. We'll do things a little differently with leaves. First, let's put the main color, then select the light and dark areas and make a smooth transition. I decided to make the leaves a rich grassy color. Therefore, my main shade will be 359. You take the color that you chose as the main one. We paint the entire surface of our leaf with it. Next, take a light shade, mine is 370, and paint the light areas of the leaf with it. The most dark shade We are working on the dark places of the sheet, I use 357. We see that the border is quite clear, now we need to soften it, make a smooth transition. Let's return to the main shade, let me remind you that mine is 359, and in our usual manner, apply this color over the entire surface of the sheet. We make several layers to smooth out the color transitions well. Our beautiful leaf is ready! In the same manner we paint the remaining leaves of the peony.


Step 8: Draw the stamens and bud of the peony with colored pencils

We continue to detail our peony. Let's take it yellow, I take 309, and paint over the stamens. Our flower is changing more and more. Now, using the same principles that I described above, we draw the bud of our peony. Take the lightest shade 330 and paint most of the petal with it. Next, use pencil 319 to paint over the dark area of ​​the petal near the leaves. Light shade 330 soften the border between colors. We do the same with leaves. We paint the entire surface of the leaves with pencil 359. We paint the light areas of the leaves with shade 357. To make a soft transition between colors, we return to the main shade 359. We apply this color over the entire surface of the leaf. Our bud is ready!