So meanwhile I have bought some oil pastels, a 12 colour pack by Faber-Castell. My main reason for buying them was to be able to fill larger areas with them instead of with coloured pencils.
They say you can blend them with your finger. It is possible, but rather difficult. They are not very creamy. As the finger method was not successful I tested some other methods. First I blended them with oil and with a little care and practice this would certainly work well. The problem is that it seems to create quite a mess in a sketchbook. So it's no option for me. I have then tried to blend them with a stump - works, but it is a lot of work to get a pleasing result. Next I tried it with a vinyl eraser and a kneaded eraser. Both work rather well, though you lose some colour and it looks brighter afterwards. Still, I think this could be a good way to create a background.
I am going to buy some kind of mineral spirit soon and see if this works for my needs. Maybe it would be a good idea to also buy a brush to use with it. I hope to be able to test this next weekend.
My process
While drawing part of a building in Mexico City yesterday I took some photos of the different stages of my drawing process. For a while now I have liked to draw in pencil first, lightly, to get the basic lines and forms right, then draw over it with ink and then colour things with coloured pencil. At first I wasn't sure if this combination of ink and coloured pencil would work, but I really like it.
It seems to be a rather rare combination, though. Judging from the few facebook groups I'm in and from what I see elsewhere most sketchers prefer ink and watercolour. I don't see myself using wet media, especially not in a sketchbook. So I have noticed that I never get as many likes on facebook for my work than others. Could be me, could be that I have only a bit less than three years of experience and it shows, could be that people don't like my combination of ink and coloured pencil so much. Whatever the reason, I will go on this way. I may buy some oil pastels to help me with larger areas. The coloured pencils I use also have a lead made of oil pastel, so they should match. Every now and then, when I need bold colours, I will use my Pitt Artist Pen markers. They are water-based and won't bleed through my not so heavy paper.
Anyway, here is the first stage of my drawing, the pencil sketch. It gives me the opportunity to correct stuff easily if things don't work out at first. Which they rarely seem to do.
Then I go over the pencil lines with ink, drawing in everything I know I want to include and also doing some hatching in the darkest areas.
Finally, more colour, trying to distinguish darker from lighter areas and bringing in some other colours where needed. I might also add some more details here.
(Photo reference with permission from Margaret Metcalfe)
It seems to be a rather rare combination, though. Judging from the few facebook groups I'm in and from what I see elsewhere most sketchers prefer ink and watercolour. I don't see myself using wet media, especially not in a sketchbook. So I have noticed that I never get as many likes on facebook for my work than others. Could be me, could be that I have only a bit less than three years of experience and it shows, could be that people don't like my combination of ink and coloured pencil so much. Whatever the reason, I will go on this way. I may buy some oil pastels to help me with larger areas. The coloured pencils I use also have a lead made of oil pastel, so they should match. Every now and then, when I need bold colours, I will use my Pitt Artist Pen markers. They are water-based and won't bleed through my not so heavy paper.
Anyway, here is the first stage of my drawing, the pencil sketch. It gives me the opportunity to correct stuff easily if things don't work out at first. Which they rarely seem to do.
Then I go over the pencil lines with ink, drawing in everything I know I want to include and also doing some hatching in the darkest areas.
Then it's time for some colour. I start with a light first layer. This way I have a guideline on my paper, telling me where which colour goes, and I can build up from there.
Finally, more colour, trying to distinguish darker from lighter areas and bringing in some other colours where needed. I might also add some more details here.
(Photo reference with permission from Margaret Metcalfe)
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