SUPPLY LIST COLORED PENCIL WITH MIXED MEDIA with Sarah Becktel Lesson 1: Introduction to Materials and Techniques Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media Board or Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media Paper Artist-grade colored pencils There are many high-quality brands available, so you can use whatever works best for you and your budget. Many colored pencil lines are available as both sets and open-stock (meaning you can buy individual pencils.) Look at the colors available in both the sets and open stock to choose what will work best for you based on the subject matter you want to draw. Fluid Acrylics Artist grade acrylics are recommended, but you can also use student grade. You don t need a huge range of colors. If you don t already have these, you can start with red, yellow, blue, and white. I ll be using the palette of color listed below but use the colors that you feel most comfortable with. My palette: Golden Fluid Alizarin Crimson Hue Golden Fluid Ultramarine Blue Golden Fluid Tranparent Yellow Iron Oxide Golden Fluid Van Dyke Brown Hue Golden Fluid Titanium White Golden High Flow Shading Gray Watercolors Artist grade watercolors are recommended, but you can also use student grade. Again, you do not need a big set of colors to start. I would recommend having red, yellow, blue, and whatever additional colors you re interested in working with.
Artist-grade technical pen with waterproof pigmented ink in Black or Gray Technical pens have a thin tip that distributes ink evenly. They are available in a number of different sized tips, which varies the width of the drawn line. Pigmented ink is generally more lightfast than dye-based inks. Dye-based inks tend to fade or change color. I ll be using Sakura Pigma micron pens in Black (size 01) and Derwent Graphik Line Maker Graphite (size 0.3), but you can use whatever brand and size you d like. Round watercolor brushes I typically use synthetic brushes in sizes 2, 4, 6, and 8. The size I use will depend on the size of my work (the larger the number, the larger the brush.) If you ve never used watercolor brushes before and aren t sure, I d go with a 4 and an 8- that will give you some versatility. I will be using Princeton Velvetouch Round Brushes. Large watercolor brush This is for applying washes of paint to a large area. You can use any type of brush designed for wash application. HB graphite pencil Kneaded eraser (and any additional types of erasers that you like using) Paper towels Small plastic containers or bowls for water and mixing color White paper plate I use this for my acrylic palette, but you can use whatever type of palette you prefer I use a paper plate that is slightly shiny or coated so that the paint does not absorb into the surface of the plate. Easy-to-remove or low-tack tape (3/4 to 1 wide) Blue painters tape is a good option A piece of thick cardboard, gatorboard, or hardboard (for taping down your paper/mixed media board) This board should be at least 4-5 inches larger than the paper or mixed media board that you are working on. 6 paint roller with a ¼ nap (optional) I use this to even out washes when I cover my entire paper with acrylic Instructions:
In lesson 1, we ll be getting acquainted with the materials and techniques I ll be using throughout the workshop. I ll be doing short demonstrations in this lesson, and then we ll focus on each medium in more detail during the next 3 lessons. First, I ll be drawing and shading an apple to demonstrate how I combine colored pencil with fluid acrylic. When first getting started with any medium, I recommend using a simple object as your subject, such as a piece of fruit or an egg. This way, you can focus on getting comfortable with the materials without having to worry about complicated shapes and textures. I draw out my apple lightly on a 500 series mixed media board with an HB pencil. I begin shading with colored pencil using small linear strokes to achieve a smooth, even coating. I want saturated color, but I don t want my colored pencil to create a thick, waxy coating. If my colored pencil layer is too thick, the acrylic will not be able to penetrate that layer and absorb into the paper, so I m applying the colored pencil with a light touch.
Next, I apply fluid acrylic on top of my colored pencil to deepen and intensify the color. I m mixing the acrylic to create colors that are close to the colors in my apple, and I m adding enough water to my mixtures to keep the color light and transparent. I cover the entire surface of my apple with acrylic, varying the color as needed. I keep my acrylic washes thin because I don t want to create a thick, plastic like surface with my acrylic paint. Once the acrylic layer is dry, I then go back and apply more colored pencil to further refine my drawing. I can go back and forth between layers of colored pencil and layers of acrylic until I feel the drawing is complete.
Next, I ll demonstrate how to use fluid acrylic to tone my mixed media board (or paper) with a color. I tape down the edges of my board onto a piece of rigid cardboard using blue painters tape. I mix my desired color with acrylic, adding paint to a small amount of water until I achieve the desired color and value. Then I use a large, soft mop brush to apply the acrylic mixture to my board. I apply enough to cover the board, but I don t want too much extra paint pooled on the surface. If the paint seems to be pooling at the edges or not spreading evenly, I ll use a 1/4 nap roller to even out the paint. I roll the roller across my board a few times in each direction with light pressure to absorb
any extra paint and even out the surface color. In our next lesson, I ll be completing a piece of art on one of these toned boards, so you may want to have one ready for next week. Next, I ll demonstrate how I combine watercolor with colored pencil. I have my watercolors squeezed out into a small palette, and I ve lightly sketched out some clouds with my HB pencil. I m using Strathmore 400 series mixed media paper and I ve taped down the edges to prevent any warping that may occur when I apply my watercolor.
I begin by lightly suggesting the shadows on the bottom side of my clouds with a violet grey colored pencil, and then I ll apply watercolor on top. I m working loose and I m loading up my brush with a lot of paint and water. If I apply too much paint in an area, I can easily remove some with a clean wet or a paper towel. I apply a violet gray and a warm pink to my clouds, and I apply a light blue to the sky area.
After the watercolor has dried, I shade over it with colored pencil to further develop and detail my sketch. I add detail to my clouds as well as a horizon line and the ground. Finally, we ll look at the ink pens. I use technical pens with waterproof, pigmented ink in both black and gray colors. I use hatching, contour hatching, and cross hatching to shade and build up value with these pens. If you haven t used these pens before, I d recommend just doodling a bit to get a feel for how they work, and again, try drawing something simple like an egg or a pear. Here I have an egg sketched out and I
shade it with the 3 hatching techniques I demonstrated. I m using both my gray and black pen because I find that having both colors gives me a little bit more versatility. But you can complete a full drawing with just one pen color- you do not need to have both. I ll be using technical pens in lesson 4, so I ll further discuss combining them with the other mediums at that time.