Draw with colored pencils for adults. Drawing with colored pencils: multi-colored graphics

Colored pencils are a universal tool that anyone can use to draw. They don't require any special skills and are ideal for first sketches. We chose 8 tips from the book “The Diary of a Naturalist Artist” - try creating your first painting right now.

1. Mix colors by shading

Pencil colors rarely match the desired shade. A huge set is not the solution: it is difficult and inconvenient to carry, and searching desired color takes a lot of time. Better buy a medium set and learn how to compose colors. The main colors are sky blue, yellow and magenta. You can get other shades from them.


Diary of an artist-naturalist

Usually the color of the pencil is intense and saturated. In nature, the tones are more muted. Therefore, another advantage of mixing is the ability to tone down pure colors to natural shades.

2. How to hatch in layers

To learn how to hatch in layers, you need to consider two points. First, choose slightly grainy paper. Do not press too hard on the pencil, otherwise the paper will be polished and the pigment will not stick to it.

Secondly, the black pencil for the shadow looks unnatural - it seems “glued on”. Therefore, use complementary colors for shadows. Their pairs lie on a circle opposite each other:

  • magenta and green,
  • blue and orange-red,
  • yellow and violet-blue.

Use color circle to define colors for shadows

Combining an object color with a complementary color produces a muted brown or gray shadow. Here's an example of how to use shades to depict shadows.

1. Start drawing the orange ball with a shadow additional color- blue.

2. Place a layer of dark orange on top of the shadow.

3. Add other colors: yellow, red and green. The drawing will glow with flashes of different shades.

3. Choose the right stroke technique

It is the stroke technique that affects the result and speed of the drawing. Choose the appropriate option for the desired effect.

  • Small, light, round strokes ideal for even coverage and maximum control. The lead crumbles less, colors blend easier. Requires perseverance, but depending on the mood it is very relaxing.

  • Scribble- fast and interesting technique, but not as accurate. The smaller the scribbles, the more accurate the result. The texture will be visible in the finished drawing.

  • Lines- a series of parallel lines. Same fast technique. Draw the lines at an angle that is comfortable for your hand. Control the pressure and do not increase it at the end of the stroke, otherwise streaks will remain.

  • Cross stroke- a series of intersecting lines. The more layers, the smoother the texture: subsequent layers hide the unevenness of the previous ones. Cross strokes can be applied with the same color to deepen the tone, or with a different color if you want to change the shade.

4. How to draw shadows quickly and easily

Shadows give the image volume and depth. Don't forget about them and don't leave them for later. Remember that it’s more difficult to add shadows at the end: it’s a shame to overlap thoroughly mixed colors, and the paper is almost completely polished. First draw the shadows, then select a local color for them.

  • Shade for shadows. Most shadows can be drawn with a Black Grape pencil. It's a muted purple and makes a convincing shadow when combined with most other colors.
  • Yellow shades. The most difficult things to draw shadows on are yellow objects. If there is even a hint of blue in the color of the shadow, it immediately turns green. "Help" - Greyed Lavender. Its pale purple hue when mixed with yellow produces a nice neutral brown or gray.

5. How to go black

If you paint the shadows or background with only black, the painting will look flat. Liven up the shadows with complementary colors and the black areas of the drawing with dark pencils. Which ones? Indigo Blue, Dark Green and Tuscan Red when combined they give a rich black with glimpses of the original colors. You can start with a layer of black pencil and add one or more of these colors.

6. Why paper embossing is needed

So you draw green leaf, and you want to get thin light lines on a dark background. How to do it?

  • White lines. Press the paper with a thin, blunt tool (you can make one yourself from thin ballpoint pen with dried ink) - and the lines will remain white against the background of the colored pencil layer. It should be blunt so that the lead does not touch the embossing.
  • Colored lines. If you want thin lines of color, apply the color first, then emboss and put another color on top.

7. Use an odorless blending solvent

Most often, small areas of paper are visible in the drawings. An odorless solvent (white spirit) will help get rid of them, shade the strokes and make the color brighter. This is a common gasoline solvent from which harmful volatile substances have been removed.

Apply it over uniform, close strokes. For convenience, pour it into a brush with a reservoir and smear it over the design with a cotton swab/disc or shading. When the paper is dry, you can continue drawing: the texture is completely preserved. The odorless solvent can be used in combination with a colorless pencil - blender.

8. Colorless blender - also for shading

Another good tool for shading - a blender. How to use it? Rub the design in a circular motion. The colors will blend, the gaps will disappear, and the paper will be polished. The color layer will become uniform and bright. But it is only suitable for strokes that are close.

For a lesson on how to draw a tree step by step with colored pencils, we will need three colored pencils and one simple pencil. Colored pencils are brown and two green pencils (one darker and the other lighter). We will make a sketch with a simple pencil marked 3B or 4B.

How to draw a tree step by step

Let's start the lesson how to draw a tree step by step from a simple pencil sketch “3B” or “4B”. Lines with a simple pencil can always be corrected with an eraser, therefore, despite the fact that the drawing will be done with colored pencils, it is better to make a sketch with a simple pencil.

We draw a tree trunk and indicate the approximate shape of the crown.

Take a brown pencil and draw a tree trunk. Please note that I am trying to give the trunk different shades Brown. To do this, you just need to change the pressure on the pencil. When the tree trunk is ready, we move on to the crown - this is the next stage of the lesson on how to draw a tree.

In order to beautifully draw the crown of a tree, you need two green pencils - one lighter, the other darker. If you don't have two shades of green, you can use one pencil. Again, by changing the pressure on the pencil, you can draw with one green pencil.

So, we erase part of the sketch with an eraser and draw with a colored pencil. As you can see in the picture below, the shade is lighter in the middle and the shade is darker around it. I draw with small strokes in different directions.

Erase the sketch step by step and draw the tree crown in two shades of green.

If you use one green pencil, apply less or more pressure on it.

Thus, in the lesson on how to draw a tree, we drew the crown step by step.

But there is one more action that will help make the tree crown more beautiful.

Take a simple “3B” or “4B” pencil and use it to darken some areas of the crown. You can take not a simple pencil, but a black pencil. Use whatever pencil you have on hand to darken.

That's it, the drawing is ready. All that's left to do is fix it small parts, and wipe away the excess lines with an eraser.

Thus, we drew the tree with colored pencils in several stages.

I would be grateful for your opinion in the comments to this lesson.

See the next lesson - and the lesson on how to draw a tree step by step with colored pencils is finished.

We already turned to color when we learned to draw. In this tutorial we'll take a closer look at the basics of drawing with colored pencils.

Shadows and toning

When creating, make linear movements from side to side. And don't forget to change the pressure on the pencil to create different color saturations.

Hatching

Do the shading with quick, repeating lines, leaving small gaps between them. When cross-hatching, apply the lines at the desired angle. You can use different colors or shading in several layers to give the desired structure.

Curls

The required surface or shade can also be created using circular repeating lines applied with one or more pencils.

Directional lines

Short lines, directed along the contour or in the direction of the hair (grass, fire), located close to each other, can create quite interesting effects.

Engraving

Engraving - for large layers, they are placed one above the other, after which the top layer is carefully thinned out with a blade or pin so that the bottom layer appears.

Polishing

Polishing is created by densely overlapping several color layers, so that there are no bright spots left, i.e. the surface of the paper was completely filled with color. Using wax crayons You can achieve the effect of a gemstone surface.

Take a small piece of paper, some colored pencils at your disposal and experiment with different techniques, learning their essence and achieving maximum results. For color drawing you need paper good quality with enough rough surface. Again, experiment with types of paper to find out the properties of each of them. To do this, try the following steps.

- Filling. Make several filled areas, solid and gradient. How many various options can you do it? How smoothly do your colors blend when layered on top of each other? Make sure you create the tones with light movements, moving from light to shadow.

- Hatching. Shade a small area. Make sure that the lines do not turn into curves. Try to make a clearly visible edge out of several lines.

- Cross hatching. Create a small area using regular shading. Cover it with vertical lines. Try cross-hatching with neat and rough lines. How does the color look in both cases? Do the shading different colors. Try adding several layers.

- Curls. Also try making rough and neat curls on the sheet. Make sketches on the pre-shaded area and with different pencils.

- Polishing. Draw the same line over and over until you create a smooth, even color. Experiment with shades, transitions from light to shadow and vice versa.

- Engraving. Place two large layers of contrasting colors one above the other. Try a variety of engraving items, from a blade to a comb.

Note to the hostess

Keep your pencils well sharpened
- Use quality paper
- Remember the colors you use
- Enjoy the process!

First drawing -

Dear friends! In my last article, I talked about the features of working with colored pencils, but now it’s time to put this wonderful artistic material into practice. In this step-by-step drawing lesson, using the example of drawing peonies, we will learn how to do outline drawing, learn about the features of working with colored pencils, learn how to select and mix colors.

Required art materials

✔ Thick sheet of A4 format (I use whatman paper, density 200 g/m); ✔ Ruler, sharpener, eraser; ✔ Simple HB pencil (I prefer to work with an automatic pencil); ✔ ; ✔ Set of Faber-Castell colored pencils. To work on each element, we will choose 2-3 primary colors, and several colors to add accents in the end. For example, to draw leaves, we need three shades of green: light, dark and in between. An intermediate color is needed to smooth out the transition from light to dark. I will use the following colors of Classic Color Pencils, Faber-Castell: - for petals and bud: 330, 319 and 325, 327 - for leaves: 370, 359 and 357 - for color accents: 327, 383, 378, 392 - for stamens: 309.


The next stage of work is the selection of references. If you already have artistic experience, then you can draw peonies from life, but for beginners I would recommend finding a photo on the Internet first. It will also be useful to see how other artists depict flowers. You can choose one photo and draw from it. But for the drawing to be interesting and not an exact copy, we'll pick it up different photos and we'll make our own from this original work. It is not necessary to copy the entire image; somewhere we can spy a beautifully curved leaf or notice a picturesque petal. Look for interesting angles and details.


Step 1: Draw a sketch of the peony with a pencil

Let's start drawing our peonies with a pencil. Take a sheet of A4 format, using a ruler and a simple pencil We find the middle of the sheet and draw auxiliary lines. Now we know exactly where the center of our future composition is. Next, we very schematically outline the image of the peony. I decided to draw a large flower with several leaves. So that the flower does not feel lonely, I will add a bud to it. Such details are very important; they will make your work look more interesting. When making a sketch, we remember that it is better to place large elements at the bottom and leave more air at the top. This is why we determined the center of the sheet.


Step 2: Working out the details of the peony with a pencil

So, we have a schematic pencil drawing of a peony flower. Now we understand where and what we will have. Our next step step by step lesson drawing will be more detailed. To do this, we carefully study references or nature. We draw the petals, leaves, bud, outline the stems. We try not to press too hard on the pencil, soft pencil We also don’t use it so as not to spread dirt on the sheet. We should get a fairly detailed, but light sketch.


Step 3: Outline the pencil sketch of the peony with a liner

Now let's start working with liners to get a beautiful finished contour drawing. To begin with, let's take a liner with a thickness of 0.3 mm. Slowly, very carefully trace our sketch along the contour. We try to keep the line straight. As a result, our drawing will have a clear, complete outline.


Step 4: Draw the details of the peony flower with a liner

Our drawing lacks liveliness, so now we will add details. We take a liner with a thickness of 0.2 mm. If you are not yet very confident in your abilities, then you can first draw small details with a pencil. We draw the stamens of our flower. We add veins to the leaves to make the design look even more interesting. Add some touches to the leaves and petals. When you have drawn everything, take an eraser and erase the entire pencil.


Step 5: Color the peony petals with colored pencils

The main principle is this: first we put a light shade, then a dark one and make a smooth transition using an intermediate color.

Ksenia Oskolkova

Now we will learn how to draw a peony flower with colored pencils. Let's start by drawing the peony petals. Using one petal as an example, I will show you how to work with colored pencils. Main principle like this - first we put a light shade, then a dark one and make a smooth transition using an intermediate color. We take the lightest shade that you chose for coloring the petals, I use a 330 pencil. Carefully paint over most of the petal, while adjusting the pressure of the lead. At the top we can put the color more densely, towards the bottom we try to loosen the pressure of the lead, due to which the color will lie a little paler. Next, take the shade that you chose for the dark areas. Take a 319 pencil and paint over the dark area. We are not afraid that one color overlaps another, that’s how it should be. The border between colors will be rigid for now. To soften the border, take the light shade number 330 again and add several layers over the entire petal. We work carefully, trying not to apply too much pressure. Our first petal is ready. As you can see, there is nothing complicated, you just need to be patient! Guided by the same principle, we paint over all the remaining petals, with the exception of the inner ones, we will make them darker.


Step 6: Draw the inner petals of the peony with colored pencils

Now in our step by step drawing lesson we will draw the inner petals of a peony flower. We take a 319 pencil, which we used to draw the dark places on the petals. Paint the inside of the petal with this color. Next, take the darkest shade 327 and paint the bottom of our petal with it. Do not forget that at the very bottom we apply more pressure to the stylus; the higher we rise, the weaker the pressure of the stylus. To even out the color, take the lightest shade 330 and paint over the entire petal. We use the same principle with all the other internal petals.


Step 7: Draw peony leaves with colored pencils

We'll do things a little differently with leaves. First, let's put the main color, then select the light and dark areas and make a smooth transition.

Ksenia Oskolkova

Now it's time to draw the leaves of our peony. We'll do things a little differently with leaves. First, let's put the main color, then select the light and dark areas and make a smooth transition. I decided to make the leaves a rich grassy color. Therefore, my main shade will be 359. You take the color that you chose as the main one. We paint the entire surface of our leaf with it. Next, take a light shade, mine is 370, and paint the light areas of the leaf with it. We use the darkest shade to work on the dark areas of the leaf, I use 357. We see that the border is quite clear, now we need to soften it, make a smooth transition. Let's return to the main shade, let me remind you that mine is 359, and in our usual manner, apply this color over the entire surface of the sheet. We make several layers to smooth out the color transitions well. Our beautiful leaf is ready! In the same manner we paint the remaining leaves of the peony.


Step 8: Draw the stamens and bud of the peony with colored pencils

We continue to detail our peony. Let's take it yellow, I take 309, and paint over the stamens. Our flower is changing more and more. Now, using the same principles that I described above, we draw the bud of our peony. Take the lightest shade 330 and paint most of the petal with it. Next, use pencil 319 to paint over the dark area of ​​the petal near the leaves. Use a light shade of 330 to soften the border between colors. We do the same with leaves. We paint the entire surface of the leaves with pencil 359. We paint the light areas of the leaves with shade 357. To make a soft transition between colors, we return to the main shade 359. We apply this color over the entire surface of the leaf. Our bud is ready!

Pencils have been familiar to us since childhood. And we don't take them seriously. However, look at the masterpieces artists paint.

Colored pencils are wonderful graphic material! They are easy to control, which means they can achieve a variety of effects.

Works with colored pencils Susie Ruby, Katy Ferreira, Teresa Mallen

Do you want the same?

Then you should master basic techniques drawing with colored pencils. Read and practice!

7 ways to draw with colored pencils:

1. Hatching

You can work with a pencil in different ways: by placing loose strokes tightly together to create an even color, or by making strokes with the tip of a pencil, leaving small gaps between them.

Both methods are good, what matters is where they are used.

Perform even movements with your hand in one direction. Make sure the distance between strokes is the same.

Knowing how to make colors of different lightness is a very important skill. It is even more important to be able to make a gradual transition in the lightness of the shade.

You can change the shade from light to dark by changing the pressure on the pencil.

Try shading the strip, first barely touching the surface of the paper, and then increasing the pressure on the pencil more and more.

What you need to be able to do in order to shade well with pencils, see this Periscope broadcast:

3. Changing Hue

Colored pencils provide transparent layers of stroke. If they are placed one on top of the other, the color will be optically mixed. This is used to change the shade of a color.

Thus, even with a small set of pencils you can get complex color shades by superimposing one color on another.

The same effect will be achieved with freer shading. Only in this case the structure of the stain will be more airy and textured.

To make the shading look aesthetically pleasing, do it with uniform movements with the same pressure force and direction.

It is better to apply two different color layers at an acute angle in relation to each other. However, sometimes the angle of the strokes can be absolutely the same.

4. Infusing color into color

It will work if you combine 2 techniques: light stretching (point 2) and changing shades (point 3).

As a result, you will achieve a more varied gradation of color tints.

More interesting and useful information about drawing
from the artist Marina Trushnikova

You will find in electronic magazine“Life in Art”.

Receive magazine issues to your e-mail!

5. Decorative techniques

On top of large light spots you can apply patterns, ornaments, and smaller specks of color.

The main thing to remember is the law of optical color mixing. If you put opposite colors on top of each other: yellow and purple, red and green, blue and orange, you get a gray or dirty shade.

6. Accepting white line reservations

This technique has been demonstrated. Christina uses this technique to sign her works.
It's very simple and effective.

Take a non-writing pen and draw something with it, pressing down on the paper. The pen leaves a mark - a groove, into which the color does not fall during further shading. A white line remains. This method can create thin light patterns:

I think you have been familiar with this technique since childhood. You need to take an object with a relief surface, place it UNDER a sheet of paper, and then make shading on top with a pencil where the object lies.

Hatching will reveal the relief of the convex surface. I used what I had on hand: a flat comb and coins.

But you can also find other surfaces: wood, stone, brickwork and others. The main thing is that the sheet is not too dense and is pressed when shading.

I spoke in more detail about the frottage technique in the Periscope broadcast:

Master classes