The Secrets to Drawing: Colored Pencils
Lesson Description
Lesson Eighteen of The Secrets to Drawing Course introduces students to the versatile and vibrant medium of colored pencils. Colored pencils allow artists to combine precise detail with rich color, providing control and flexibility for both realistic and expressive drawings. In this lesson, students explore techniques for layering, blending, and building color intensity, culminating in a detailed drawing of a sea turtle on gray drawing paper.
Introduction to Colored Pencils
The lesson begins by examining the unique qualities of colored pencils. Colored pencils are valued for their ability to produce clean, precise lines as well as smooth, layered areas of color. Matt Fussell emphasizes that they are ideal for both fine detail and broad, expressive shading. Students learn how the choice of colored pencils—wax-based or oil-based—can affect layering, blending, and the final appearance of the drawing.
Colored pencils are also compatible with previously learned drawing techniques, including hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, and blending, making them a natural extension of skills developed with graphite and charcoal.
Understanding Layering and Blending
A key focus of the lesson is layering and blending color. Layering involves applying multiple layers of color to create depth, rich tones, and subtle transitions. Students learn to start with light pressure to build initial layers, gradually increasing intensity to achieve the desired vibrancy.
Blending is also emphasized as an essential technique. Students explore methods such as burnishing, where a light or colorless pencil is used to smooth and unify layers, as well as gentle blending with tools like paper stumps or blending pencils. These techniques allow for smooth transitions, vibrant highlights, and seamless gradations of color that bring drawings to life.
Working on Gray Paper
The lesson highlights the advantages of using gray drawing paper. Gray paper provides a mid-tone background that allows both dark and light colors to stand out. White pencils can be used to add highlights and enhance contrast, while darker and more saturated colors provide depth. Matt demonstrates how gray paper makes the drawing process more intuitive, as students can easily judge where shadows, midtones, and highlights should be applied.
Using gray paper also encourages students to think in terms of values, reinforcing lessons from earlier in the course on light, shadow, and form. By incorporating both light and dark tones, the drawing gains dimensionality and visual impact.
Techniques for Detail and Texture
Colored pencils excel at capturing fine detail and texture, which is particularly important in drawing subjects such as the sea turtle. Matt shows students how to use short, directional strokes to mimic the pattern and texture of the turtle’s shell, scales, and skin. Layering multiple colors and adjusting pressure creates realistic textures and subtle color shifts.
Students also practice using blending and layering to convey the smoothness of the turtle’s shell, the softness of the underbelly, and the variations in light and shadow caused by the environment. This careful attention to detail ensures the drawing is both accurate and visually compelling.
Drawing Exercise: Sea Turtle with Colored Pencils
The primary exercise in this lesson involves creating a colored pencil drawing of a sea turtle. Students begin with a light sketch to establish the shape, proportion, and placement of the turtle on the paper. Once the outline is complete, they apply base layers of color to define the overall tones and values.
Next, students build layers gradually, using a combination of light and dark colors to create texture, depth, and form. Highlights are added with white or lighter-colored pencils to suggest reflection and surface texture. By blending carefully, the turtle takes on a realistic, three-dimensional appearance, demonstrating mastery of layering, blending, and observation skills.
Benefits of Colored Pencil Drawing
Drawing with colored pencils helps students develop patience, control, and an understanding of color relationships. It encourages careful observation of light, shadow, and color nuances while allowing for expressive mark-making. Colored pencils also offer versatility, making it easy to combine fine detail with broader, more painterly areas of color.
Mastering Colored Pencils
By the end of Lesson Eighteen, students have learned how to use colored pencils effectively on gray paper, including layering, blending, and creating realistic textures. They have applied these skills to create a detailed and vibrant drawing of a sea turtle, demonstrating both technical proficiency and artistic expression. This lesson expands students’ ability to work with color, reinforcing previous lessons on color theory while enhancing their skill set for realistic and expressive drawing projects. Mastery of colored pencils provides a versatile tool that can be used across a wide range of subjects and styles, preparing students for more advanced colored media work in the future.
Lesson Materials
Soft colored pencils, white drawing paper.
Lesson Resources
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Course Curriculum
Founder of The Virtual Instructor, artist and teacher. Matt makes learning art easy to understand and enjoyable.
Great drawing. When working on coloured paper, what brand do you use?
Thank you.
Hi Janet,
For colored paper, you have several options. For a smoother surface I like to use gray drawing paper. DickBlick.com has a pretty good option for this. It is called Gray Bogus paper. You can also use Canson pastel papers, although the tooth will be a bit heavier.
Hi my question is are u using grey paper or white
Hi Matt, is it possible to get a line drawing of the turtle to practise with?
Hi Matt! Which brand of soft colored pencil did you use? Thank you
Hi Rafaela,
I am using Prismacolor pencils in this video.
Hello Matt, I am having the same problems of finding drawings or photos of sea turtles. Can you please help us out?
hi great vids ,) can i just ask what yu mean with cream colour? as you mention ?:D
Hi Milina,
Cream is the name of the Prismacolor pencil that is used.
TALK ABOUT DETAIL! DUDE!
Hi Matt, I am using fine tooth surface and Prismacolor but the colors are not blending well. It seams that the wax of the first layer prevents the rest of the colors to blend, in a close look even the first layer loos quite waxy and with texure. I even used a colorless blender to try to fix it but it did not work. Is the paper the problem? Or am I doing someting else incorrectly?
thank you
Hi Matt, any chance of reference photo of the turtle so I can follow on, please.
Hi Doreen,
Photo references are provided for many of the lessons, but not all of them include a reference. This one unfortunately is unavailable.
I have been having the same problem. Any suggestions ?
Sorry. I should have referenced that I was having the same problem as Elda (see Elda’s 12/2/14 post ). Any suggestions ?
Hi Rodney,
If the first layer of application is a bit too heavy, you may run into this problem. With too much pressure, you can flatten out the tooth of the paper which prevents subsequent applications from “holding” on the surface.
I have noticed that you are using the Prisma color pencils, but would the process be different if you were going to use Faber-Castell “polychromos” since they are based on oil but Prismas are based on wax?
Hi Polina,
The approach will be only slightly different. Polychromos pencils require layers of lighter applications. I think that Prismacolor Premier pencils are a bit more forgiving, allowing you to make alterations to the color as you go.
Hi Matt I have two questions,
Firstly, what pressure are you using when applying the colour, it looks like you are using a heavier pressure for the cream than for,the other colours.
Secondly, being left handed would you recommend that I turn the picture around and work on it from upside down that way I can start with the head first or should I start,with the tail end.
Regards
Katrina
Hi Katrina,
I am applying heavier pressure with the Cream color since it is being used for burnishing. So, I am trying to work the material into the surface.
You should always work in a manner that you find most comfortable, so turning the paper is always acceptable. There isn’t a certain order that you must draw things. So you can and should work in any order that you find most suitable for you.
I just looked up a turtle picture on the net to copy. I’m really happy with the turtle drawing, but my cheap pencils just won’t color like yours. Off to the art shop I go…
Colored pencils were one of the media that really got me interested in doing art. I watched a video of someone doing a portrait and literally thought it was a photo when I was done, it looked that real. I am amazed at how real this turtle looked, and all the advice in this vid really helped me understand how to use this media more efficiently. Time to bring out my prismacolor pencils!
A great lesson Matt as always, a great intro to coloured pencil drawing as I’ve always done black and white drawings as I have a passion for these, but I do want to do your coloured pencil course at some point, so this is been a nice little Intro 🙂
Thanks take care x
Thanks Christine!
Hi Christine, I throughly agree with you. I’m new to all of this. I’ve looked in books they get technical. I like Matt’s simple clear explanation of everything. It makes you want to go and give it a try. Thanks Matt. Regards Annette.
What is the name of the coloured gray paper that you’re using? I live in UK so I may not able to easily purchase these american brands.
Hi Daniel, you may try a search for Gray Bogus drawing paper…
Hi, my name is Adonijah I am 15. When I started this course I thought I would focus mainly on graphite and pencil drawings. I LOVE color pencils and oil pastels!!! Thank you so much Mr. Fussell!!!!
Hi Adonijah! You bet! I was the same way. I told myself that I was a black and white artist. That was until I learned how exciting color could be.
Hello Matt, I am having the same problems of finding drawings or photos of sea turtles. Can you please help us out?
For those looking for turtle pictures to use as your model, go to either bing.com or google.com and type in “Turtle images” and go from there. There are lots of pics out there. Or go to your local library and find a book featuring turtles.
Have you done (or are you considering doing) a video on color pencils using an oil-based pencil like the Faber-Castell polychromos pencils for those of us who like the feel of those? I understand that the techniques are different enough that such a video might help me. (I bought the polychromos pencils after researching on the internet the differences between waxed-based and oil-based color pencils. Thank you!
Hi Marc,
Here’s one you may check out…http://thevirtualinstructor.com/how-to-draw-tiger-colored-pencils.html
For the drawing…what I did was took a picture of his drawing from the ebook with my iPhone and sent it to my printer, or you could take a picture of his and email it to yourself and print it out. I hope that is ok Matt.
Hi Matt,
Thank you for yet another amazing lesson. Is it possible to get a list of the colour pencil names/numbers you used. I just bought my Prismacolor Premier set of 72 pencils today, and I’m not sure which dark brown, blue etc you used in this illustration. Cheers
Is there a lesson somewhere on making the initial sketch. You identify basic shapes in your sketch but are there tips for ‘seeing’ them in image you want to use?
Hi Matt,
What kind of brush are you using at the end of the video?
Hi Tina,
It is a drafting brush that is used to brush away any colored pencil particles.
Matt:
What a beautiful thing to be a no kidding Teacher. I am working my why through this course as part of my morning routine and I am consistently impressed. As you mention above, I have been a graphite guy for years doodling. I really like the nuance of graphite and trying to achieve the illusion in black and white. But the more I watch these videos, the more I am fascinated and the more eager I get to try other things like colored pencil. Like a kid in a candy store! So, just another note of appreciation. Well done Matt.
Hi Matt,
I’m a little confused; I always thought that once you burnish your drawing that you cannot add layers because the tooth of the paper has been flattened thereby preventing any more layers. Is this because of the type of color pencil you’re using that you can continue to add layers or am I misunderstanding the burnishing process? Great picture by the way.
Hi Matt, What happens when you make a mistake? Do you have a section on mistakes and their corrections? Plus do you have a section about when you are unsure about something what do you do next? Eg colour, what goes with what your trying to do? Also, what is Hue?. I get mixed up with the colour terminology – I’m OK up to Teri are, after that I get lost, is there an easierror way you understand with the help of the colours rather than with words? Do you always need to mix colours? Why not just use the colour you need from one single colour pencil… does this give the same effect? Why not? If you had the single colour what close the deal is could you add to it, to get what you need? Finally, how do you know that a picture is finished? Do you always use a blender liquid to make your picture finished, is that cheating? Thanks.
Hi Annette,
Thanks for your questions. I’ll do my best to address them briefly. You do have to be careful with colored pencils. Mistakes are difficult to fix. Work slowly and lightly until you are confident with the marks that you’re making to try and avoid making a mistake that is irreversible. Hue is simply another name for color. For example, the hue of Crimson Lake (a Prismacolor pencil) is red. You don’t always need to mix colors, but mixing often leads to greater complexity in the color, which is closer to how we see things in reality. No, I don’t always use a colorless blender, but using one is definitely not cheating. Determining when a work is finished can be a little tricky. Here’s a post that may be helpful…https://thevirtualinstructor.com/blog/how-to-know-when-an-artwork-is-finished
Are there any artists from SE QLD, or Qld, or just Australia?
Annette
The course is very good, I like it, not boring, I learned a lot. But today the video is not working, I payed for the membership, I want to learn more, but its not working. Are you working on these troubles? Thank you
Hi Helga,
The videos appear to be playing normally. Are you still having issues?
I really enjoyed watching how you create such a beautiful picture from pencils. I never knew one can do that and adding layers make such a difference , I will certainly have a go. Thanks Matt.
I managed to practise and am very happy with the result although I don’t fully understand the colour theory. However I struggled colouring the eyes. I learnt that working a small area at a time makes a lot of difference. I started off in the late evening and finished the next day. Due to the changes in the lighting, the colour of the head is quite different to the body! Thank you Matt for your fantastic teaching.
Hi Matt
Can you please smecify the exact color for this drawing
This was a great exercise and my turtle turned out amazingly. Thank you
Awesome to hear, Pam!
Hi Matt,
Great course so far. I’m trying to draw a sea turtle but I find the pattern on the flippers very challenging. Do you simplify the pattern when it is so small and intricate?