Speaking Michelangelo

Speaking Michelangelo

nedeľa 11. augusta 2013

Test of Colour Pencils

My "big" comparing test of color pencils - Part 1

I have always been fascinated by pictures that I see on the internet. I often thought I might be able to create similar pictures, but the artists seldom share details about the materials or techniques they use. This gave me an idea to make a small (big for me) comparison of pencils I have and post it. Maybe, it can be helpful for some starting artists, even though I think the best is to try them out yourselves... :-)
I decided for the following rules for my test (one could call it methodology):
  1. I decided to use 6 colors – 3 primary colors (yellow, red, blue) and 3 secondary colors (orange, violet, green) from each set (it was not possible to do this with Derwent 24 Graphitint, because they offer totally different range of colors - see the photo below with the circle of brownish and greyish shades)
  2. In my Daler-Rowney sketchbook I prepared a chart to test the pencils (see photo)
  3. I arranged the colors according to the Chromatic Color Scale
  4. I used higher pressure at the edges and lessened the pressure towards the middle. I tried to blend the neighboring colors to see how they blend and what the individual layers look like…
  5. I used 7 different sets of color pencils, the 'special' ones were - watercolor pencils, Graphitints and Soft chalk pastel in wood pencil.
This is the result:

Except for the Soft pastel pencils (where I used my finger to blend the colors) the other circles are have not been blended yet (neither with paper, nor with any blending stumps, or fingers). I only use fingers for blending soft chalk pastel (it makes the surface of your finger dry and gives you better feeling when drawing large scale images). One should not use fingers for pencils (graphite or colors). Our skin is wet and greasy and if you are not careful you can easily destroy your picture... 
Well this is about it. My next post should be about individual experiences with each set of pencils and with a closer image of the circle above. I will also add some extra photos for you to see the ways the pencils can be used and some pictures that I have drawn with the pencils... (especially those water-soluble and the soft chalk ones are special). With some hints for shading... :-)
Please, let me know if this was helpful. I will be grateful for your comments, feel free to share your impressions or experience with the pencils. 
Thanks for reading.