Watercolour pencils offer a versatile medium, combining the precision of coloured pencils with the blendability and wash effects of watercolours. The basic idea is to apply the pigment like a regular pencil and then activate it with water to create paint-like effects.
Basic Usage: Drawing Dry and Activating with Water
The most common way to use watercolour pencils is to draw or colour on paper with the dry pencil first. You apply the colour to build up layers and intensity, just as you would with traditional coloured pencils. Once the colour is on the paper, you then use a wet brush, water pen, or sponge to apply water to the drawn areas.
You'll immediately notice how the color changes once it's activated; the colors become much more brilliant and vibrant as the pigment dissolves and spreads, similar to watercolour paint.
Key Techniques for Watercolour Pencils
There are several methods to utilize watercolour pencils, offering different results:
- Draw Dry, Add Water: Apply colour to dry paper, then use a wet brush to dissolve and spread the pigment. This allows for control over where the colour is placed before activation. When working around detailed areas like the edges of flower petals, take care to work slowly around the edges with your wet brush to maintain control and prevent bleeding.
- Wet the Pencil Tip: Dip the tip of the pencil directly into water or touch it to a wet sponge before drawing. This allows you to draw with intense, wet colour directly onto dry or wet paper, similar to using a paint stick.
- Draw on Wet Paper: Wet the paper first using a brush or sponge, then draw directly onto the damp surface with the dry pencil. The colour will immediately dissolve and create soft, diffused lines or washes.
- Lift Pigment from the Tip: Use a wet brush to pick up colour directly from the pencil tip and apply it like paint onto the paper. This is useful for small details or creating washes from concentrated pigment.
- Layering: You can layer colours both dry and wet. Apply a dry layer, activate it, let it dry, and then add more dry layers to build depth or add new colours before activating again. You can also layer wet washes over dry, activated layers.
Tips for Success
To get the best results from your watercolour pencils, keep these tips in mind:
- Control the Water: The amount of water you use greatly affects the outcome. A little water creates strong, vibrant lines and small washes, while more water produces softer, more spread-out washes. Too much water can oversaturate the paper.
- Use Suitable Paper: Watercolour paper (cold-press or hot-press) is ideal as it can handle multiple layers of water without buckling or tearing. Heavy drawing paper can also work for lighter applications.
- Test Colours: Always test your colours and techniques on a scrap piece of the same paper you are using before working on your final piece.
- Layering is Key: Build up colour gradually through layering, both dry before adding water and by adding subsequent wet washes.
- Different Tools: Experiment with different brushes (round, flat), water brush pens, and even sponges or cotton swabs to apply water and create various effects.
By exploring these techniques and controlling your water application, you can harness the full potential of watercolour pencils, moving between precise drawing and fluid painting effects within a single artwork.
