The coloring book craze is leading many of us to sharpen up our colored pencils. I had a few of them from years ago and took a little trip last week to fill in the gaps (ahem).
I'm back with a video today with some tips and tricks to getting the most from your colored pencils. I'm still a Prismacolor fan. I've heard that the Irojiten - while wonderful - are not as soft. That may appeal to some of you. If anyone has tried the Spectrum Noir, I'd love to hear about them.
I enjoy using colored pencils on black or dark paper and will be pulling out a large sheet of Stonehenge to make a One Sheet, One Journal black journal sometime soon. The PDF guide to cutting your 1S1J is at that link. Both videos are linked below today's video.
My first coloring pages felt a little stilted but I feel my regular loose style emerging and I'm enjoying coloring even more now. Here's the video.
As usual, I really appreciate it if you use my links either within a post or on the sidebar. It won't cost you any more but it really helps to offset the costs of creating videos and maintaining my blog. BUT : Use What You Have :)
One Sheet One Journal Video
Fun with Coloring Book Video
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Great tips. Thanks
Posted by: Sue | 10/28/2015 at 09:48 PM
I went with Derwent Coloursoft Pencils. They are a bit "dryer" than PrismaColor but much more saturated color. Because of the higher wax content PrismaColor does blend easier. The Derwent are not scratchy. It's a matter of personal preference.
In the comments section of the previous video I do talk about why pencils break and how to avoid this.
Posted by: SusanJane | 10/28/2015 at 11:51 PM
Really LOVE these videos... very helpful! I've caught the coloring book bug also and it's FUN! I loved your tips about the grey and yellow pencils. I'll be trying those out for sure. I do have trouble with Prismacolors breaking.. it's really annoying. So.. I've just settled on cheaper brands. They get the job done but don't blend as well. THANKS!
Posted by: Emie | 10/29/2015 at 06:49 AM
Thanks Emie. So glad you are enjoying the videos. Which brands are you using?
Posted by: Diana Trout | 10/29/2015 at 08:26 AM
Thanks SusanJane. I just looked over there. Everyone else: SusanJane says that the leads inside of colored pencils can break via shipping, dropping and other rough treatment and that’s what causes the troubles. In other words, they are more fragile then they look. I’m a pretty big slob though and haven’t had any problems. I have a huge bag of Prangs for my younger students and haven’t had troubles with them either. So - who knows?
Posted by: Diana Trout | 10/29/2015 at 08:49 AM
Really loved watching you create your peacock. l now make my own drawings and colour them in but the colouring books out there are amazing and loads of fun. :).
Posted by: lynda howells | 10/29/2015 at 06:49 PM
My drafting table often rejected colored pencils (and other goodies) onto the bare cement floor! Trust me, I ruined plenty of pencils. I actually got this wisdom from several places because I was so frustrated. A pro on YouTube, a class, and from the Derwent site. Then I ordered some PrismaColor online and they were shipped bare in a bubble wrap envelope! Out of curiosity I sharpened six times on each -- utterly shattered. Both ends. Dropping or otherwise does not damage a pencil every single time. But often enough. Diana's got the right idea -- keep them in a box and take out only what you need (sort of the pencil version of a pallet).
Posted by: SusanJane | 10/30/2015 at 01:27 AM
Drafting tables with that darn slant! How many times has an X-Acto rolled toward me like the little train that could (and would). Bare cement is pretty hard :( I like my box but am finding that I have to really rattle through it a lot and with your warnings am think of another boon organizer
http://www.amazon.com/Boon-Stash-Multi-Room-Organizer-White/dp/B004OR1DZG/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-productsie=UTF8qid=1446205649sr=1-1keywords=boon+organizer
Posted by: Diana Trout | 10/30/2015 at 07:48 AM
That’s great that you are drawing your own pictures to color. That reminds me so much of when I was a kid. It’s different rom painting a pictures. I used to like to do that. Draw and color with crayons. There was a scarcity of blank white paper when I was a kid. I don’t know why that was but crayons and old newspapers were plentiful
Posted by: Diana Trout | 10/30/2015 at 07:51 AM
This is the one I was looking at. It's just putting them into the thing each and every time… sigh.
http://www.amazon.com/Colored-Pencil-Drawing-Organizer-Holder/product-reviews/B008L3ZL4I/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_summary?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=byRankDescending
Posted by: SusanJane | 10/30/2015 at 07:10 PM
lol. That is really nice but I’d never put them away
Posted by: Diana Trout | 10/30/2015 at 09:10 PM
Really LOVE these videos very helpful! Peacock creative is very beautiful, Great post!
Posted by: James kery | 01/30/2016 at 03:44 AM
I’m so glad you are enjoying the videos! Thank you :)
Posted by: Diana Trout | 01/30/2016 at 11:43 AM