By Matt Fussell
Knowing how to use colored pencils is a must for any artist. I have seen colored pencils misused more than any other medium. We'll take a look at how to use colored pencils properly in the video tutorial that follows. But first, let's take a look at what makes a successful colored pencil drawing.
If you want to know how to use colored pencils properly then there are five things to consider. You'll want to color dark with the colored pencils-or build up the colors so that they appear heavily applied.
Secondly, you'll want to layer the colors. By doing this, you'll be creating colors with more natural depth that will look more realistic.
Third, you'll want to mix your colors. Colored pencils can be mixed just like any other colored medium. You'd never paint without mixing colors, yet so many people use colored pencils without considering mixing them.
You'll also want to take your time with colored pencils. Colored pencils are a medium that takes time to apply correctly.
Lastly, if you like to outline, save that step for the end.
The following video demonstrates how to use colored pencils through a drawing of an eye...
Video Transcription
Today we're going to take a look at how to use colored pencils. We're going to be taking a look at how to use colored pencils properly through this drawing of an eye. The first thing that I'm going to do is define the shape of the eye by drawing the contours with a dark brown pencil. We are then going to take a white colored pencil and start to define the light areas of the eye. We want to make sure that we define the highlight of the eye so that we don't muddy it up with darker colors later. I'm also going to go ahead and use a dark brown and a dark blue to define the pupil of the eye. I'm not going to use black at all in this drawing. Brown and blue together actually combine to make a more natural black, than the black that you might find in your pencil box. I'm also going to start to define the color of the iris. And I will use the colored pencils to draw outward from the middle part of the pupil. Because in everyone's eye, these lines kind of come out from the center. So, I want to define those a little bit. I'm going to do this with layers of color. I'm going to use some of the yellow and some of the blue. I'm going to darken it up with a little bit of brown. Now, I'm going to take my white pencil and burnish the colors that I have already put down. This is going to mix them together and make them look more natural. It will also make the highlight on the eye a little more realistic as well. I'll do the same thing on the corners of the eye with a little bit of brown, and a little bit of blue to make it darker. And then, again, with a little bit of white. I'll burnish them down and mix them together. I'm going to add a little bit of shadow underneath the eyelid so that it looks like it overlaps over the eyeball, itself. And I'm going to do this with brown and blue again and burnish it with the white. They make a product called a colorless blender that you can use for your burnishing but a white colored pencil works as well. Now, I'm going to start to define the skin tone around the outside of the eye. Since this is a light skin tone, I'm going to start with a white, and then I'll add a little bit of red, then yellow, and brown. Here I'm adding the yellow on top. And then again, I'll burnish it with the white. And with the brown, we'll add some of the darker values, some of the shadowed areas; to create some of the contrast that we need to make the eye look a little bit more realistic. It is extremely important that you layer your colors. Allow some of the mixing to happen naturally on the paper. Colored pencils are probably one of the most misused mediums that there is, because they are readily available. And people just don't know how to use them properly. If you remember to color dark, which means color heavily. Layer your colors. Mix your colors. If you do any outlining, do it towards to the end of the drawing. And most importantly, take your time. You can't really go wrong with colored pencils. So, I'm adding color, and as I am adding color, I am burnishing the color with the white. And this brings us just about to the end of our completed colored pencil drawing of an eye. I hope that this tutorial has helped you out.
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