Today, I’d like to talk about one of my favorite drawing methods, the umber underdrawing method. The topic is choosing the best brown for an umber underdrawing.
The Best Brown for an Umber Underdrawing
The truth is, it’s not that difficult to chose a good brown for an umber underdrawing because most sets of colored pencils don’t have that many browns. A full set of Prismacolor Premier pencils has only two browns that I consider suitable for an umber underdrawing: Dark Umber and Light Umber. Yes, there are other browns in the Prismacolor set, but only those two are underdrawing browns for me. Why? Let me explain.
What I Look For in Underdrawing Colors
Medium Value Colors
The first thing I look for when choosing a brown for the umber underdrawing method is a brown that’s dark enough to produce good, solid dark values. But it must also not be so dark that it’s difficult to get good light values where needed. Light Umber is the lightest brown I consider when I’m planning an umber underdrawing. It is possible to get darkish values with Light Umber, but it takes a bit of effort.
Dark Umber is the darkest brown I usually use for an umber underdrawing. It’s quite easy to get nice, light values in the underdrawing, but if I’m not careful, I can end up with dark values that are a bit too dark for the underdrawing phase.
Most of the time, I use one color or the other, but I have combined them on some projects with more complex underdrawings. For example, I used both Light and Dark Umber for this landscape underdrawing.
Neutral Colors
The other thing I look for is a brown that’s fairly neutral. I want a brown that’s neither too yellow, too blue nor too green.
The reason to be careful is that the yellow, blue or green could create some problems when you start layering local color over the underdrawing. Remember that complementary colors tone one another down, so if you’re drawing something like a warm green landscape and you use a brown that leans toward blue, that could change the look of the final greens more than you expect.
I admit that the influence of a bluish brown on warm landscape greens will probably be minimal, but why take the chance? I’ve have enough experiences with colors doing unexpected things when combined, that I’m careful to use neutral browns in an umber underdrawing.
And that takes me right back to Light Umber and Dark Umber. Both are pretty close to neutral and work very well under landscapes and animals.
My Favorite Browns
Prismacolor Premier
I’ve already told you my two favorite Prismacolor browns—Light Umber and Dark Umber. Are there other Prismacolor browns I might try? Yes. Upon occasion, I’ve added Sepia to the mix.
From the newer colors, Chocolate is a brown I would consider for an underdrawing. Espresso is another, though Espresso is very dark and would have to be used carefully.
Faber-Castell Polychromos
My favorite Faber-Castell browns for underdrawings are Raw Umber on the light side and Walnut Brown on the dark side. In a pinch, I might also try Bistre, though it’s quite yellow.
Caran d’Ache Pablo
I haven’t used Caran d’Ache pencils for many drawings in which I did an umber underdrawing, but I do have Pablo pencils. So the browns I would consider for an umber underdrawing are Umber for darker underdrawings, and Chestnut for lighter underdrawings.
The Bottom Line on The Best Brown for an Umber Underdrawing
Most of the browns in most sets of pencils could be used for umber underdrawings. Though I haven’t tried them for underdrawings, I think even the Prismacolor French Greys would make excellent underdrawing colors. Those in the middle value range would be especially effective.
So take a look at the browns in your pencil collection, then give the most likely colors a test with color swatches or small drawings. You never know until you try them which colors will work best with your drawing style and favorite papers.
Look for similar colors in the pencils you use if you use something other than Faber-Castell Polychromos or Prismacolor.
And trust me: No time you spend doing tests like this is ever wasted. It’s a far better way to find the best brown for an umber underdrawing then experimenting on artwork!
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