The Colored Pencil Course: Landscape Drawing - Part 1
Lesson Description
Lesson Eleven, Part One of The Colored Pencil Course introduces students to the techniques and strategies for creating realistic landscapes using colored pencils on textured and toned paper. This lesson emphasizes the importance of planning and organization in landscape drawing, helping students develop an ordered approach to achieve depth, perspective, and atmospheric effects. The focus of this lesson is beginning a landscape drawing featuring a small barn set in a field, providing an excellent opportunity to apply foundational landscape techniques while exploring the interplay of color, value, and texture.
Working on Textured and Toned Paper
Matt begins by explaining the advantages of using textured and toned paper for landscape drawings. Textured paper enhances the natural look of foliage, grass, and other organic surfaces by creating a subtle, varied surface for pencil application. Toned paper serves as a mid-range value, allowing artists to establish both highlights and shadows more efficiently. Students learn how to choose pencils and layering techniques that take full advantage of the paper’s properties, allowing them to create depth and realism while maintaining control over value and color saturation.
An Ordered Approach to Depth
One of the key concepts introduced in this lesson is an ordered approach to achieving depth in a landscape drawing. Matt emphasizes starting with the background first, working through the middle ground, and finishing with the foreground. This method ensures that each element is properly placed and that the illusion of spatial recession is maintained throughout the drawing. By layering elements in this sequence, students can avoid common mistakes such as foreground objects overpowering background details or the scene appearing flat and unbalanced.
Beginning the Landscape: Background Elements
With these principles in mind, Matt demonstrates how to begin the landscape drawing by focusing on the background. Students start with distant hills, sky, and atmospheric elements, using light pressure and subtle color transitions to suggest distance and depth. Matt explains how to incorporate soft gradients, fading colors, and lighter values in the background to enhance the illusion of space. This approach allows students to gradually build layers while keeping distant elements less saturated, which contributes to a natural sense of depth in the composition.
Middle Ground: Establishing Structure and Form
Next, the lesson addresses the middle ground of the landscape, where the small barn and surrounding field begin to take shape. Matt demonstrates how to establish the form and proportions of the barn using careful observation and precise colored pencil application. Students learn to balance color, value, and detail so that the middle ground feels connected to both the background and foreground. Techniques such as layering, blending, and using directional strokes are highlighted to suggest the texture of grass, trees, and architectural elements without overwhelming the composition.
Setting the Stage for the Foreground
While the foreground is not fully completed in Part One, Matt provides guidance on how to prepare this area to ensure cohesion with the rest of the drawing. He explains that foreground elements will often have the highest level of detail, darkest values, and most saturated colors to create visual impact. Students are encouraged to plan placement carefully, using light sketching and observation to ensure that the transition from middle ground to foreground will feel seamless. By thinking ahead, the final layers will enhance depth and realism while maintaining compositional balance.
By the end of Lesson Eleven, Part One, students have learned how to approach a colored pencil landscape using a structured, ordered method that ensures the illusion of depth. They have begun a landscape drawing of a small barn in a field, working from background to middle ground while preparing for the detailed foreground. This lesson provides essential strategies for layering, value control, and compositional planning, equipping students with the tools to continue developing a realistic, harmonious landscape in subsequent lessons. Through careful observation, patient layering, and thoughtful sequencing, students gain the confidence to tackle complex landscapes with precision and creativity.
Lesson Materials
Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper, Prismacolor colored pencils, colorless blender, graphite pencil.
Lesson Resources
Download eBook
Reference Image
Course Curriculum
Founder of The Virtual Instructor, artist and teacher. Matt makes learning art easy to understand and enjoyable.
I just joined today. I am loving my first choice of videos on colored pencil. I am all the way up to this landscape video, and I have not heard you mention which colorless blender you use. As I mentioned, I am loving these videos, and really feel the $19 something each month is a great deal!! Thank you.
Hi Michelle,
Thanks so much! The colorless blender that I am using is by Prismacolor.
Hi Matt, Up to this point in the lessons I have seen you use a colorless blender or burnish, but not the liquid blender. This has always confused me as to when to use the liquid blender. Can you clear that up please.
Thanks
Bob
dear matt,
1. what color paper do we use….tan white beige pink gray…?
TU,
raquel
while watching the video the sound turned off and a programming page appear , may be you change setting in programming the site please check it i can’t hear the video since that , don’t ignor the course is useless without sound
it is working now , i’ve gustes and loved the video and the problem fixed just after my message . best wishes we are a great fans
I never saw the answer to raquel’s question about the color of the paper. Please advise.
Susannah
I wondered the same thing. Maybe the question was answered by private email. Looks like he’s using the sampler box of Mi Teintes colored paper, working on the “eggshell” color. Since I’m just starting out as a bare bones beginner and need to minimize expenses, I’m continuing on with white Stonehenge and Bristol papers. Later, when I get good enough so I’d notice the difference, I’ll get some of the textured and toned paper.
The paper used in the video is Canson Mi-Tientes paper and the surface color is “Buff”.
Hi Matt,
I was wondering what the weight of the paper is.
I see that there is canson Me Teintes 160 gram and there is a 355 gram with is called ‘Canson Mi Teintes Touch’.
I my country they don’t sell the colour ‘buff’.
Would either orange or salmon be close enough?
And…can I uses watercolour coloured pensels on Me Teintes 160 grams also?
I’m looking for black paper and can only find pastel paper that is of quality and black
The dark seem to dark and before I start how would I light an area that I get to dark and how to tone down a colour that didn’t turn out like I thought?
Is there a limit to the number of layers of color you can add? I can’t tell when watching you draw, but the number seems limitless. It would seem there’d be a limit to the amount of pigment the paper could hold… (I’m really enjoying your classes by the way)
is there a way to get a list of all the colors uses ?
great idea
What side of the paper did you use? One side has imprints and the other is smoother. Would the rougher side be used for pastel?
Hi Mark,
In this lesson, the rougher side of the paper is used. It takes a bit more layering, but it also accepts more layers. You can use either side of the paper.
Matt I am loving this course! I am using polychromos, should I work in small circles and work as you describe for prismacolor? Not sue with this being on textured paper.
Hi Sue,
Absolutely. You can apply the pencils in the same manner. The only difference is that oil-based pencils will not burnish like wax-based colored pencils, so you won’t need the colorless blender.
Hi Sue,
Yes, you can use the same technique with any brand of pencil that you use.
Hi Matt. Love these lessons. Exactly what I have been looking for, for several years. I love using color pencils. I have the Prismacolor and also Fabere Castille oil based ones. My question is,when using oil based pencils, I know there is no need for the colorless blender, but do I use any solvents or anything to achieve that painted look? Thank you so much for all this work you do for us. I am very grateful. love it all.
Hi Kathy,
For oil-based pencils, I’ve had the best results with Turpenoid. For comparison purposes, you may check out this lesson…https://thevirtualinstructor.com/how-to-blend-colored-pencils.html
Hi Matt, really enjoying watching your lessons, not done much drawing as yet due to ill health. Can I ask how long it took to complete this drawing from start to finish. Thanks
Hi Chris,
Yep. This one took about 6 hours from start to finish.
Hi Mark, I’m also enjoying these lessons. In the video, you say you build up the colors in the sky until you get a consistency you’re happy with. What consistency makes you happy? I really don’t know how much color to put down.
Hi Matt
Love this course. This is my first time drawing/coloring and I feel so inspired and impressed by what I have accomplished so far.
In this lesson do you color the entire sky, sky blue. Then do you add the sun on top of the sky blue.
Hi David,
Sorry this response is late. You need to preserve an area in the sly for the sun and then add color around it. It will be very difficult to cover the warmer colors over the cool blues for the sky.
Matt,
Can you please provide some insight into paper sizes you are using? For sake of convenience, I have been resizing in Photoshop, printing letter size and using 9X12 paper. I find this limiting so want to move up to larger paper. The photo references seem irregular in size. For example, Willie was 20.833 by 16.667, and the Landscape is 16×9.167. I did Willie as 11×8.5 which was not quite the same aspect ratio. But I plan on doing the Landscape on 12×16, which will be about 16×10. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Matt, I am learning so much. But was wondering if you could update some of these older videos by adding a few things to the materials list, or the e-book. (I have a couple of suggestions!) 1. List of colors so we can come prepared (PC Scholar and Premier have same color names, but these names are often slightly different colors.) Of course the numbers help. 2. Paper color and which side to use (per other comments). 3. When you say that you use sky blue and white until you get the color that “pleases” you, please tell us what you are looking for. The color blue of the sky? Are we looking for the final color? Or will we work it more? Enough blue to cover the paper? Or just enough to mark some specific outlines or features. 4. Since there is no closed captions on this series, a transcript in the ebook would/could help. Thx- All the best!