Colored Pencil
Colored Pencil Tools
Affiliate Disclosure
I am an affiliate for Blick Art. Some links below have my affiliate code, and I will receive a small compensation when you buy from these links.
♥ There is no additional cost to you. ♥
Pencils
These are products I own and use.
- Faber Castell Polychromos – I have been purchasing open stock pencils in colors I need for wildlife work.
- Derwent Lightfast – Set of 72 Absolutely stunning color and beautiful laydown.
- Caran d’Ache Luminance – I have been purchasing open stock pencils in colors I need for wildlife work.
- Derwent Drawing Chinese White – a nice and more opaque white for fine details.
- Derwent Drawing – Full set of 24 colors.
- Prismacolor Premier Soft Core Colored Pencils – Full set of 150.
- Blick Studio Artists’ Colored Pencils Set of 72.
- Blick Studio Artists’ Colored Pencils – 12 Grays
- Brush and Pencil Titanium White and Touch Up Texture
My Pencils
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Papers/Surfaces
These are products I own and use.
- Glassine This is what I use to place over my drawings to protect them while I draw, resting my hand on the glassine.
- Fabriano Artistico Extra White Hotpress Watercolor Blocks 140lb (300gsm)
- Arches Hot Press Watercolor Blocks – 140lb (300gsm)
- Legion Stonehenge Aqua Blocks Hot Press Watercolor Paper – 140lb (300gsm)
- Strathmore 300 Bristol Vellum – Affordable for beginners.
- Strathmore 500 Bristol Vellum Pads – Cotton/Archival Professional Series.
- Legion Stonehenge Drawing Paper Pads – Colors and Warm White
- Canson Mi-Teintes Pastel Paper 98lb (160gsm)
- Strathmore 400 Toned Tan and Toned Gray Mixed Media Paper 184lb (300gsm)
- Strathmore 400 Recycled Toned Tan Sketch Paper
- Fabriano Black Black– Heavyweight 300gsm Black Drawing Paper. Acid free and lightfast.
A Word of Caution
About buying papers.
Hover over to read.
Good quality papers are expensive and different artists like different papers for their own techniques. Never buy a huge amount of paper until you’ve tested it out on several drawings to see if it works for you.
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Erasers
These are products I own and use.
- Kneadable Eraser – for lifting graphite off the paper gently.
- Tombow Erasers – Ultra-fine 2.3mm round and Mono Zero 2.5mm x 5mm rectangular. These are used for “negative drawing” and fine detailing.
- General’s Factis Magic Black Eraser – Specifically designed for erasing graphite and charcoal it is also recommended to use on colored surfaces such as Canson Mi-Teintes, Strathmore Artagain & Toned papers and Stonehenge toned papers.
- Pentel Hi-Polymer – A good all purpose, dust free eraser.
- Staedtler Mars Plastic Block Eraser – LOVE this one!
- Faber-Castell Perfection Eraser Pencil – Learned about this one from Lisa of Lachri Fine Art. I purchased the one with the brush end. It is AMAZING!
- Derwent Battery Eraser – Another excellent tool for negative drawing! Especially nice for white whiskers.
- Dry Cleaning Pad – Used for removing graphite and smudges from your paper. It works beautifully.
Finding a good eraser can be key to getting your drawings the way you want them. Play around with various erasers and get a feel for what you like.
Sirius Black
Using Erasers
Whether working on portraits, landscapes or wildlife, erasers are your friend. Erasers can be used for “negative” drawing, adding highlights and softening edges.
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Blending Tools
These are products I own and use.
- Gamsol – Odorless mineral spirits used for blending.
- elf Concealer Brush is my new favorite for blending with Gamsol! It’s an inexpensive makeup brush that works like a charm. You can find them where you buy makeup.
- Brush and Pencil Powder Blender – This is wonderful for large areas and backgrounds! Must be used on sanded or gessoed paper and works best with oil based pencils.
- Brush and Pencil Final Fixative – Used to seal and protect your finished colored pencil piece. Prevents smudging.
- Various small brushes for blending with Gamsol. I currently use Taklon Bristle and Synthetic Hog hair sets Hobby Lobby brand.
- Various sponges for blending with the Brush and Pencil Powder Blender
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Never Too Many!
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Brother's Messenger
Contrast is Key
No matter what you are drawing you need to have contrast to make your images pop. Don’t be afraid to go dark, and reserve the white of the paper only for your brightest highlights.