How to Draw With Colored Pencils & Pastels
Drawing with colored pencils poses a few issues that aren't present when drawing with normal graphite pencils. The main issue is that erasers are less effective on color than on graphite and so mistakes are difficult to erase. Sketches with colored pencils are often very loose and powerful images that include a range of strong colors.
Pastels are often used to color in images that have already been drawn, although you can create drawings using only pastels. These images tend to be very loose and often well rendered because of how well you can blend pastels together.
Different types of paper, in various textures, can be used in place of plain white paper. Canvas paper is coarse and bumpy and will change how your image appears. Watercolor paper is less coarse and much smoother but still has texture to it. Experiment with the type of paper to see the results you get.
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Instructions
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Instructions for Colored Pencils
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1
Decide what you want to draw and collect colored pencils in the appropriate colors. It is best to use a very light color to start sketching with. Artists and animators commonly use a sky-blue color at this stage. Remember to draw faint lines in a loose manner and avoid details early on.
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2
Build up and refine your drawing once your sketch has started to take shape. For this, you can use the same pencil and draw with stronger lines or opt for a darker shade of the same color. Either way, this stage is about bringing forth the details and refining your image.
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3
Finalize your image by using a dark or very strong color. Draw over only the lines you want to keep from your sketch and do this carefully. Black is a strong color and the one you might consider using, but it can flatten an image. Try using a dark brown or dark red at this stage instead.
Instructions for Pastels
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Take your pastels and, using a light color such as sky blue or pale orange, loosely sketch what you want to draw. The key to using pastels is to be loose as you have less control over the pastels themselves than you do with a pencil. It is also best to draw in large flowing strokes as it is difficult to be precise.
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Using the same techniques as above, you should now refine your drawing and add more details. Make use of how well you can blend pastels to create interesting colors. Or, if you are still refining a sketch, pick a darker shade of the previous color you used.
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Finalize your pastel drawing by using a very dark color to refine your image to its most detailed level. It is best to leave any blending to colors within the image's outlines, otherwise you will end up with a very blurred and smudged drawing. Finish your drawing by adding the colors you want and stick to the loose and flowing techniques above.
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Tips & Warnings
When sketching, keep your pencil strokes loose and faint. If you press too hard, the pencil will leave a furrow even after it is erased, and that will show when you go over it with pastels or colored pencils.
Use light hues to sketch and dark shades to refine.
Pastels are easy to blend using your fingers.
Pastels can be very difficult to control and smudge easily, so be aware of this.
Neither pastel nor colored pencil is easy to erase.
