Today’s post follows up a previous post in which I talked about the colored pencil learning curve. Today, I want to talk more specifically about layering basics for colored pencil artists.
Why layering basics? Why not something more glamorous?
Because layering is the most basic of all the colored pencil skills. Once you master layering, everything else is much easier to learn.
Layering Basics for Colored Pencil Artists
You might be wondering what there could possibly be to learn. After all, you put your pencil on the paper and move it around. That’s layering. What could be easier? Why does it need a dedicated post?
I’m going to rely on personal experience to answer that question, and in my experience, layering colored pencil is not as easy as it sounds like it should be. I made a lot of mistakes when I was learning colored pencils. A lot of mistakes. I hope that if I share the basics I had to learn by trial-and-error, then you won’t have to endure the same process.
Does that sound good? Yes? Then let’s get going.
What is the Purpose of Layering?
In brief, the purpose of layering is to put color on the paper. It doesn’t matter what pencils you use or what paper. The principle is the same. As I said above, you put your pencil point on the paper and move the pencil around.
No matter how you hold your pencil (vertical, horizontal, or somewhere between) or what size your pencil (thin, thick, woodless), you layer color with the method I described in the previous paragraph. It doesn’t even matter whether your pencils are sharp or dull. You will put color on the paper.
The results will not be the same, and that’s what makes layering more difficult to master than it sounds like it should be.
Does How You Layer Matter?
Yes. It does matter.
On most papers, the sharper your pencil (and the smaller the pigment core), the smoother the resulting layer of color. That’s why most artists who teach tell their students to make sure their pencils are sharp.
You can layer smooth color with dull or even blunt pencils, but it may be more difficult.
You can also layer smooth color with larger pencils. Koh-I-Nor Progresso Woodless pencils and Prismacolor Art Stix are all pigment. They’re about the size of a regular colored pencil, but it’s all pigment. Even when they’re sharpened, the tip is still quite large. It takes more practice to layer smooth color with them than with a thinner pencil.
Demonstration #1
The sample below shows four strokes. The top stroke was drawn with a sharp Prismacolor Premier pencil.
The second stroke is from the corner of a Prismacolor Art Stix pencil. These woodless pencils are square in shape and about the length of a piece of chalk. I happen to have one old one that I’m using for this demonstration.
The third stroke is also from the Art Stix pencil, but I have used it enough that the corner is worn down.
The bottom stroke is from the flat edge on the end.
As you can see, the strokes are different widths. As you can also see, the wider the stroke, the more paper shows through. That’s not necessarily bad; it’s just the way the wider edges glide over the top of the paper tooth.
Demonstration #2
That also affects the way each pencil layers color. Here’s another sample. I used the same piece of paper and the same two pencils.
On top, is a color swatch layered with light pressure and the sharp Prismacolor Premier pencil. I used long, horizontal strokes and added more layers to get a darker blue.
In the center, I used the corner of the Art Stix pencil, but I used the same type of stroke and the same pressure. Because the corner was still quite sharp (not worn down) and because it wasn’t that much wider than the Prismacolor Premier pencil, the resulting color swatch looks pretty much the same. It is a little more grainy and it would take a little more time and effort to get the same smooth color as with the pencil, but it would be possible.
The bottom swatch was drawn with the flat edge of the end of the Art Stix pencil. I had to be very careful in making each stroke with this, and the color was still less than ideal. Part of the problem is that I don’t use pencils like this very often.
But the main problem is the width of the edge and the fact that the color isn’t getting down into the tooth of the paper.
Layering Basics for Colored Pencil: Pencils
The takeaway is that it’s easier to layer smooth color with sharper or smaller pencils. You can achieve a wide range of affects by using wider or duller pencils, but I recommend learning the basic layering skills with sharp pencils. Learn how to control stroke length, direction, and pressure first with sharp pencils, then see what you can do with dull or bigger pencils.
Does the Paper You Use Matter?
In some ways, the paper does not matter. Layering colored pencils works pretty much the same on every paper. You put one layer over another until you have the right color or appearance.
But in other ways, paper makes a huge difference. The two biggest differences are tooth and color.
Tooth
Tooth refers to the texture of the paper. The rougher a paper is, the more tooth it’s said to have. Bristol is very smooth, so it has very little tooth. UArt 240 grit Premium Sanded Pastel Paper is very gritty, so it has a lot of tooth.
Tooth was what helps “grab” the color off your pencil and “stick” it to the paper.
Tooth is also what makes layering sometimes so difficult.
You see, in order to layer color so that you have no paper showing through, you must get pigment on every part of the paper. That means you need to get color down into the tooth of the paper as well as on top. That’s what makes sharp pencils so important so much of the time. The sharper the pencil, the easier it is to put color down into the tooth.
But that’s not always true. For example, I’ve discovered that the tooth of rougher papers like Pastelmat and UArt can be filled easily by dry blending. You dry blend when you use a brush, paper stump, or some other tool to move pigment around without solvent.
That works so well on textured papers like Pastelmat and UArt because they produce pigment dust. The dust can be pushed down into the tooth with a brush or paper stump.
That sort of unexpected result is what makes layering so complex.
Color
Drawing papers come in a wide range of colors. Even white paper can be cool white, warm white, or neutral. It can even be bright white.
Drawing paper also comes in a range of pastel colors, bright colors, and dark colors. The drawing paper with the widest range of colors that I know of is Canson Mi-Teintes.
The way the paper color affects layering has more to do with colors than with how you layer them. For example, on white paper, the color you see when you put it on the paper is the same as what you see when you look at the pencil.
But when you put the same color on black paper, the color appears different on the paper than it does when you look at the pencil. That’s because the color of the paper shows through the color you put on the paper and changes its appearance.
The more layers you put on the paper, the less the black of the paper shows through the colored pencil, but it will always influence the color. Even if you fill in the tooth of the paper completely.
There is a difference even with lighter colored papers. In this sample, I used the same two pencils on both samples. The difference in the resulting color is due to the colors of the papers.
Layering Basics for Colored Pencil: Paper
Here’s the takeaway. The smoothness and color of the paper either helps you or hinders you in achieving your goals for each drawing. Smooth and rough papers, white and colored papers each have advantages and disadvantages.
If you’re learning colored pencil, I recommend that you use a good, basic drawing paper. Look for something that’s neither ultra smooth or super toothy. Also stick with white paper.
Strathmore has a great line of drawing papers that would serve you well, but other paper companies also produce good drawing papers.
After you’ve learned the various basic techniques, then you can experiment with different kinds of papers and different colors of papers.
Layering Basics for Colored Pencil Artists
The type of strokes you use and how you use them also influence the way color looks on the paper. But I plan to talk about strokes in another post. The purpose of this post was to describe layering basics for colored pencils and the main things that affect it.
If you’re new to colored pencils, I suggest you bookmark this page while you’re practicing layering.
Even if you’re not new to colored pencils, it’s a good idea to review the basics once in a while.
Next, we’ll talk about different strokes and how to make the most of them.
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Carrie,
Thank you for the informative post reminding us on the importance of layering!
I believe that some of us may take the layering process for granted and overlook the importance of this necessary technique in our drawings…I’ll admit that I sometimes do and it unfortunately shows up in my completed drawings on occasion. Fortunately, your advice on layering can prevent this from happening.
I think that in my case, and others may agree to this as well, is that part of the reason that we don’t include enough layers, is due to the fact that we may be using a set of coloured pencils that spans the entire range of the colour spectrum. This can lead to us being content in using one, or maybe two layers of colour because the exact tone or shade of colour is all right there in one pretty little pencil…eliminating the need to layer which prevents us from filling in the holes of the paper and adding further dimension and depth to our drawings.
I can honestly say with confidence that some of my best and favourite drawings were completed by using a limited palette of coloured pencils. It forced me to layer a number of various colours in order to get just the right colour that I was looking for to match up with my reference photo.
Using a limited range of colours could be beneficial in prompting us to further hone our layering skills and remind us that even if we do have the luxury of a 150 set of colours to choose from, layering is still a key factor and should be included in all of our drawings.
Kim,
Thank you for your very kind words. You’re not alone in sometimes overlooking the importance and purpose of layering. I, too, sometimes skimp on the number of layers. I always regret it when I do.
You are also right about limited palette work. Some of the prettiest, most satisfying work I’ve ever done is completing the color charts from Amy Lindenberger’s excellent book, Colors: A Workbook. The charts on mixing colors turned out well enough I thought about displaying them. And they were all done with only 12 colors! Amazing!