MODULE 1: COLORED

PENCIL RENDERING
ARC 1306: ARCHITECTURAL VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS 5
COLOR PENCIL
✓WOOD-ENCASED

✓CORE MADE OF PIGMENT AND WAX

COLOR PENCIL
TYPE BASED ON CORE
Wax Based Colored Pencils Oil Based Colored Pencils Water Soluble Colored Pencils
✓ Ideal for smooth blending, ✓ Suited for detailed work, ✓ Lay down color and blend
mixing, and achieving solid precision, and intricate smoothly, but prone to wax
colors. Great for portraits, subjects. Popular brands bloom.
cartoon-style drawings, and include Faber-Castell ✓ Blend well, versatile for both dry
anime. Polychromos. and wet techniques.
✓ Shines in its ability to layer and ✓ Offers precision, but may ✓ Similar wax bloom issue as wax-
blend colors. require more pressure for based pencils
✓ Generally cheaper, easier to intense color.
locate, and lighter than oil- ✓ No wax bloom issue, more
based cores. durable, and better for
✓ Prone to wax bloom (a cloudy sharpening to fine points.
haze over the pigment) in heavy ✓ Color output can be lighter;
layers. May be less durable due smears more easily
to softer cores
COLOR PENCIL
TYPE BASED ON CORE
Wax Based Colored Pencils Oil Based Colored Pencils Water Soluble Colored Pencils
COLOR PENCIL
TECHNIQUE
PENCIL HANDLING

Flat / Sideways Normal Vertical/Perpendicular

deposits pigment unevenly this is your typical holding Holding the pencil
and creates a very coarse position. This ensures a perpendicular to the
or roach look . This can be controlled application paper is advisable when
use for drawing textures that can deliver good creating sharper pencil
like rough bark, sand, and amount of pigment into strokes. Mostly applicable
rock or other uneven the tooth of the paper with in creating circular/
surfaces. each stroke. scumbling stroke.
COLOR PENCIL
TECHNIQUE
PRESSURE APPLICATION
Each line you make in a colored pencil drawing is important—and the direction (strokes), width
(sharpness), and texture (pencil core) of the line you draw will all contribute to the effects you create.

Varying the amount of the pressure you use on your pencil is an easy way to transition between values.
 COLOR PENCIL
TECHNIQUE
APPLICATION

Varying Strokes Hatching & Crosshatching Layering

Experiment with the tip of your Add shading and texture to your You can optically mix colored
pencil as you create a variety of work with hatching (parallel pencils by layering them lightly on
marks, from tapering strokes to lines) and crosshatching (layers paper. In this example, observe
circular scribbles. of parallel lines applied at varying how layering yellow over blue
angles). creates green.
 COLOR PENCIL
TECHNIQUE
APPLICATION

Burnishing
Blending Gradating Colored pencil catches in the tooth
To blend one color into the next, To create a gradation with one of the paper, so the layers can
lighten the pressure of your color, stroke side to side with appear rough. For a smooth, shiny
pencil and overlap the strokes heavy pressure and lighten your effect, burnish the layer by stroking
where the colors meet. pressure as you move away, over it with a colorless blender, a
exposing more of the white paper white colored pencil (to lighten), or
beneath the color. another color (to shift the hue)
using heavy pressure.
COLOR PENCIL
TECHNIQUE
CREATING TONE
Tone is the relative darkness and
lightness of colors. Some colors
are naturally lighter in tone than
others.

Note:
Start off with a light pressure on your pencil when
creating color mixes so that you can build the tone and
darkness in layers
 COLOR PENCIL
RENDERING TECHNIQUE
MARBLE

STEP ONE STEP TWO STEP THREE STEP FOUR

Marble is characterized by With very sharp beige and light-to- Continue adding thin. faint veins. With very sharp sepia and light
translucence that allows underlying medium pressure. create the basic Reinforce a few small segments of pressure. reinforce some of the
veins to show through like pale skin. veins with jagged lines that cross each veins with very sharp beige sienna and intersections of veins and indicate
This makes it easy to draw. because other in a few places. Darken some light pressure- Also, add a few very some veins that are at the surface.
blotchiness and jagged lines only add places in the cloud blue area with faint veins with sharp lilac and very Although there isn't much pigment on
to the realism. Begin with an overall sharp periwinkle and light pressure- light pressure. Continue building the the paper. finish with a colorless
light wash of white to provide a waxy bluish and pure Plish values blender to smooth some of the bluish
base for smooth blending of the light throughout. including between some and purplish areas and some of the
colors to follow. Then block in faint of the veins. faintest veins—this adds to the
blurry areas with sharp grayed lavender translucent effect.
and cloud blue using light pressure.
 COLOR PENCIL
RENDERING TECHNIQUE
WOOD

STEP ONE STEP TWO STEP THREE STEP FOUR

Smooth varnished or stained wood has Use sharp goldenrod with light Moisten a paintbrush or cotton swab To finish. use very sharp burnt ochre
a warmth and richness that shows off pressure on top of the burnt ochre to with odorless mineral spirits. and and chocolate with light pressure to
the wood grain- Make all pencil strokes add warmth. With very sharp gently apply it overall in the direction of reinforce some of the wood grain lines.
in the direction of the wood grain. Then chocolate and light pressure. draw the the wood grain to dissolve the wax and with very light pressure to add
use sharp burnt ochre and light grain lines. Don't worry about detail binder. This will eliminate speckles of some fainter grain lines.
pressure to suggest the areas where yet. paper showing through and intensify
the wood is darker. the colors. Allow the mineral spirits to
completely evaporate before
proceeding. approximately 15-20
minutes.
When a binder is not available use
white colored pencil.
 COLOR PENCIL
RENDERING TECHNIQUE
BRICK

STEP ONE STEP TWO STEP THREE STEP FOUR

Old bricks are fun to draw because Moisten a paintbrush or cotton swab In this next step. apply all the colors Draw the mortar with dull French gray
they are rough. imperfect and uneven with odorless mineral spirits and gently with a dull point: nectar. henna. beige 20% and medium pressure. allowing it
in color—and the colors vary from brick apply it to the bricks to dissolve the wax sienna. chestnut. and black raspberry. to be coarse. Finish by drawing the
to brick. Begin with an outline of the away- This will eliminate speckles of Experirnent with layering any two of bottom edge of each brick with very
brick pattern and a medium wash of paper showing through. Don't worry these colors, in either order. for a given sharp French gray 90%; make some of
peach on the individual bricks. about blotchiness. Allow the mineral brick. Allow them to be coarse, but the edges and corners a little irregular
spirits to completely evaporate before keep the edges crisp. Use a colorless to suggest that chips have broken off.
proceeding. about 15-20 minutes. This blender to smooth the bricks just a
is the base color for the bricks. little.
When a binder is not available use white
colored pencil.
REFERENCES
• Averill, P., Hickmon, S., & Yaun, D. K. (2012). Colored
Pencil Step by step. Walter Foster Pub.
• Dinhofer, L. (2017). Mastering colored pencil: An
essential guide to materials, concepts, and techniques
for learning to draw in color. The Monacelli Press.
• Gilbert, E. T. (2019). Drawing tools & materials: A
practical guide to graphite, charcoal, colored pencil and
more. Walter Foster.
• Howard, D. J. (2017). 101 textures in Colored Pencil:
Practical step-by-step drawing techniques for rendering
a variety of surfaces & textures. Walter Foster
Publishing.
• Wong, V. (2018). Love colored pencil. Quarry Books, an
imprint of The Quarto Group.