Drawing Lesson: Colored Pencil Technique

In this lesson on how to use colored pencils, I will focus on the "direction of your stroke" and how it affects the movement and feel of your drawing. I will show you examples of the various techniques, then you can experiment by drawing one of the flowers pictured at the bottom of the page. Click HERE for a close up of this drawing to see the strokes.

The supplies for this lesson are included in the following Masterpiece Kits:

• Multimedia
• Multimedia Junior
• Watercolor Pencil and Ink

Lesson:

The direction of your stroke (in any medium) will add movement and feeling to your drawing.

Observe the swirling strokes in Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night". See how they create a feeling of movement to the sky!

Click HERE for a larger image.

In a colored pencil drawing, the direction of your strokes will create the following sensations:

VERTICAL: Creates a feeling of calm - like a steady rainfall is covering the page. An entire composition can be rendered this way for an interesting feel.

HORIZONTAL: Will "widen" the composition in the viewer's eye. I only recommend this for parts of a drawing, like a peaceful lake.

DIAGONAL: Creates tension and a stormy feeling.

SCUMBLING: This is a technique used to create a smooth, "strokeless" tone. Using a very sharp colored pencil and a very light touch fill in an area by using a circular motion. Start with very small circles and start to spiral around the center, creating a larger, circular area. Your pencil should be just touching the paper with no pressure from your hand. This takes a lot of time and is only recommended for advanced students ages 15 and up.

CURVY: Leads the viewer's eye around the composition. Good for rendering objects that have a curved outline.

Directions:

1. Read the lesson above on the various colored pencil techniques.

2. Print off one of the flower photos below. (Click on the small photo to see a larger version.)

3. Sketch it lightly on the white or tinted paper.

4. Color it in with colored pencils, using several of the techniques that you learned.

Click on the images below for a larger, printable version:

Try using strokes that project out from the center of the flower for this one. Use scumbling or a vertical stroke for the background.

Sunflower photo courtesy of US Dept of Fish and Wildlife Services.

Try vertical or curved strokes for the flowers with lots of layers of pink, orange and yellow. Just draw one tulip, if you like.

Tulip photo courtesy of www.geekphilosopher.com.

I suggest a diagonal stroke for the petals of this rose and a simple, green background using scumbling.

Rose photo courtesy of www.morguefile.com