Layering Smooth Color on Difficult Paper

As you may know if you’ve been following this blog long enough, layering smooth color is important in realistic art. It’s important for other styles, too.

As you may also know, I have two or three favorite papers and rarely try anything else.

But I do sometimes try different papers. The subject of this post is layering smooth color, but I want to focus on using difficult or unfamiliar papers.

Layering Smooth Color on Difficult Paper

Quite a long time ago, I bought a pad of Legion Lenox Cotton paper. I bought it because the description made the paper sound a lot like Stonehenge used to be. Another key factor is that the paper is made of 100% cotton fiber. No cellulose fibers. That means it’s very archival.

The paper is acid free and 92 lb, just a little bit lighter than Stonehenge.

I purchased a 9 x 12-inch pad in June 2022. It was July 2025 before I got around to trying it. Why did I wait so long? I don’t know, other than to guess that I put the paper in my paper storage place and forgot about it. That does happen.

All I’ll say about my first experience with Legion Lenox is that it put me off using this paper again. You can read the reasons why here. That is the reason I haven’t done anything with it since that first drawing.

Before We Begin…

To be perfectly honest, I had no intention of ever using this paper again. I just did not like it.

Then I decided to revisit Amy Lindenberger’s Colors: A Workbook*, and use this paper for the exercises. Why? Just to use up the paper.

*Contains an affiliate link.

I also printed one sheet with ACEO templates for practice.

I didn’t have to do very much drawing to remember how difficult this paper is to work with, and I gave up on the idea of doing the workbook exercises on Legion Lenox. In fact, I set that entire project aside for several weeks.

Then something amazing happened.

Retesting Colored Pencil on Legion Lenox Cotton

Don’t ask me why, but I agreed to provide a paper review for the October issue of CP Magic!, and I agreed to review this paper. That meant I had to work on it with more purpose than just sketching.

So I sat down with the first image for the review and started drawing. I used Prismacolor pencils to begin with. Because this artwork needed to be “good”, I kept my pencils sharp and was careful in making each mark. I used light pressure from the start because I’d already learned that heavy pressure was counterproductive.

It was as I worked my way through a series of swatches that the amazing thing happened.

What was it?

I was able to draw smooth color for every swatch except the one with the lightest value. That swatch turned out all right, but I hadn’t yet found a rhythm and the strokes weren’t close enough together.

The longer I worked, the more relaxed I became without losing focus on what I was doing. When the Prismacolor swatches were finished, I couldn’t believe how well they’d turned out.

So I repeated the process with Faber-Castell Polychromos. Same light pressure, same sharpness, same focus. Same result.

What did I do wrong before? What did I do right this time?

Tips for Layering Smooth Color on Difficult Paper

Here are the lessons I learned from this experience.

Tip #1: Light Pressure

Light pressure is always important for layering color, especially smooth color. On difficult papers, it’s doubly important, at least until you get comfortable with the paper.

Tip #2: Sharp Pencils

The sharper your pencils, the easier it is to layer smooth color. If you’ve grown accustomed to using heavier pressure on toothier papers, pay close attention to the pressure you use on softer papers. Even on difficult papers, sharp pencils are vital, especially when combined with light pressure.

But light pressure and sharp pencils aren’t all you need.

Tip #3: Deliberate Stroking

I can’t stress this enough (to myself or to you): Be careful in where and how you make strokes. Pay attention to the closeness of the strokes. Also be very careful in where strokes begin and end. This is very important when you use straight strokes, but it also makes a difference with scumbling (circular) strokes, and other types of strokes.

Tip #4: Stroking Pattern

It was very helpful to change the direction of my strokes for each layer. If I started with a vertical stroke, the next layer was applied with horizontal strokes. I also added layers of diagonal strokes, and, when necessary, scumbling (circular) strokes.

Tip #5: Focus

There are two aspects to focus.

First, when I started drawing, I had a purpose. I wasn’t just sketching or doodling, with no end result in mind. I had a specific project that required a specific result.

Second, I paid attention to what I was doing while I was working (see Tip #3). I paid close attention to where I started and ended each stroke, and I paid attention to the amount of pressure I applied. Even after finding a rhythm with drawing, it was easy to exert a little more pressure than was needed.

Tip #6: Patience

This may seem like a cheap add-on, but it’s not. One of the biggest differences in my results was that I didn’t hurry through my work. I worked until I started getting tired. I didn’t wait to start making careless marks; as soon as I started getting tired (or bored), I stopped.

Some days, I worked on the swatches twice, but I didn’t push myself beyond my ability to draw carefully.

You shouldn’t either.

Layering Smooth Color on Difficult Paper

The tips above are primarily for soft papers with smooth or medium texture. (Legion Lenox Cotton has medium texture). Some of them will work on papers with more texture, even papers like UArt Premium Sanded Pastel Paper and Clairefontaine Pastelmat.

It is my opinion that some of them will even work on watercolor papers and over base layers of watercolor or other water-soluble media.

But the best way for you to figure out which ones work best your paper is to try them. After all, that’s what I did!

Want to read more posts like this? Sign up for Carrie’s free weekly newsletter and be among the first to know when she publishes new articles.

Share this!