Today, I want to talk about workable fixative for colored pencils. Is it all it’s supposed to be or are you better off without it?
I’m addressing this subject now because I’ve recently had a couple of experiences that provided a bit of insight. Some of it was good, some of it wasn’t.
Since there is a wide range of opinions about fixatives of any kind, I wanted to share my experiences with the hope that they would help you make wise decisions. Hopefully without the less than ideal experiences I had.
Workable Fixative for Colored Pencils
Types of Fixative
First, let me explain that there are two basic kinds of fixative: Workable and final.
Workable fixative is designed to stabilize your work, and still allow you to work over it.
Final fixative also stabilizes your work, but the surface usually doesn’t allow you to add more color. If you choose to use a fixative on a work-in-progress, use a workable fixative.
There are also fixatives designed for dry media and for wet media. You want to use a dry media fixative for colored pencil art. Wet media fixatives are made for oils and other types of paints. They often contain a varnish of some type that might damage or discolor paper. You can try a fixative for paintings on your work if you use a rigid support, but do a test sample first.
Finally in this section, there are UV-resistant fixatives and non UV-resistant fixatives. I have heard that UV-resistant fixatives sometimes leave a slightly white or cloudy appearance when they dry. I have not personally seen that, but I have never used a UV-resistant fixative, either. Again, if you decide to try a UV-resistant fixative, test it on something that’s not important first.
My Experiences
I rarely use fixatives of any kind for any reason. I understand their usefulness, but have never found them to be particularly helpful in my work.
Having said that, I can also say that there are times when I have to do something different in order to finish a piece. When I reached that point recently, the most likely option seemed like fixative.
A current work-in-progress reached the point at which I was having trouble adding more color. The artwork developed through an umber underdrawing phase, and two rounds of color glazing, so there was a lot of color on the paper. When I started detailing, I had difficulty making marks.
There were also a couple of areas where unexpected and unwanted texture showed through no matter how much color I layered over them.
So I needed to find solutions. I didn’t want to blend with solvent because I don’t always like the resulting look. That left me in search of other alternatives. Workable fixative came immediately to mind.
Since I thought I needed to purchase a can (that’s how often I use it,) I watched several videos from different artists. Videos included review videos, how-to videos, and a few others.
Then I discovered I had a can of Prismacolor Workable Fixative (no longer available, by the way), and I decided to try it for myself.
But not on my work-in-progress!
Enter, three test pieces.
Test Number 1: Poor Results
My first test was on a sample piece for the Spring Storm Jelly Class I’ve been doing for Ann Kullberg. This particular drawing was close to completion, but still needed detailing, so it seemed like a perfect subject.
I put two light coats of Prismacolor Workable Fixative on it, waiting for about 30 minutes between applications. That gave each coat plenty of time to dry completely. After the second coat, I left the drawing alone overnight.
The Bad News
When I checked it the next day, the first thing I did was lightly draw a finger over part of the drawing. Did any color come off on my finger? Yes, but not very much. It’s possible that a third coat would take care of that.
What was more troubling was the appearance of the clouds. They seemed to have suddenly developed a lot of paper holes. My only explanations for that was that the clouds looked that way before I applied the workable fixative or that I didn’t have enough color on the paper.
I don’t think the clouds looked this way before the workable fixative. I like to think I would have noticed it the last time I worked on this piece, or when I looked at it the day I sprayed it.
The more likely explanation is that I just didn’t have enough color on the paper.
Still, it was disappointing and made me think there was no way I was going to use workable fixative on a nearly finished portrait. No way!
The Better News
This experiment wasn’t totally bad. I found it was very easy to add more color over the fixative. I added lighter, brighter colors in the sunlit area shown below, as well as the barn itself. Color glided over the workable fixative very nicely.
My conclusion on this test was that although the clouds turned out blotchy, I should be able to layer more color over them and finish them off properly.
Test Number 2: Good Results
My next test of workable fixative on colored pencils was with a work-in-progress.
Based on what I learned with the previous piece, I applied three coats of Prismacolor Workable Fixative to this piece. Once again, I waited for 30 minutes between coats and let the artwork sit overnight after the third coat.
This time, no color came off on my finger the next day, so that’s an improvement.
The sky also did not come out grainy looking, or like it was full of paper holes. There’s a lot of layers in the sky, possibly as many as 20 to 30, so it looks like the problem with the sky in the first test piece was not enough color.
Except that there were places on this piece where there was no color or just a few layers. I haven’t done much with the trees shown below, for example. But the fixative did not leave them looking blotchy. Could the difference be the color of the paper?
Both pieces are on Pastelmat, but the first piece is on Charcoal Grey and the second piece is on White. Still, doesn’t it seem like white paper would show through medium value colors just as much as dark paper would show through medium value colors?
Test Number 3: For Good Measure
I was also working on an ACEO while all of this was going on. I chose Canson Mi-Teintes (the smooth side) for it and was having difficulty finishing it due to the amount of color on the paper. So I decided to try the workable fixative on it. I applied two coats 30 minutes apart, then let the drawing dry overnight.
Despite the smoothness of the paper, I was able to add several more layers to the sky and finish the field and trees.
The paper didn’t buckle, but it wasn’t very big, either; only 3-1/2 by 2-1/2 inches.
Overall, I was pleased with the results.
Workable Fixative for Colored Pencils: Conclusion
So what did I end up doing with my work-in-progress?
I didn’t use workable fixative on it. Instead, I blended the background with odorless mineral spirits, then spent two days layering Prismacolor over the background with fairly heavy pressure until the background looked the way I wanted it.
Then I finished the detailing with very sharp Prismacolor pencils and medium-heavy or heavier pressure.
Yes, I thought about using workable fixative on it more than once, but I always remembered that first test. The last thing I wanted was to use workable fixative on this piece, and then have to fill in a bunch of paper holes!
I also didn’t want to risk ruining a piece so close to completion.
But the experience did prove the value of workable fixative in some situations. I need to find a replacement once my can of Prismacolor Workable Fixative is gone. I hear Krylon Workable Fixative is pretty good.
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