Tips for Working with Coloured Pencils

To help maintain a sharp pencil point, turn your pencil as you work.

Try turning your paper in order to work comfortably and to maintain control of your pencil stroke. It will help to turn your reference photos to match the position of your artwork.

Wipe the tip of your pencil across a cloth immediately after sharpening. This removes bits of pencil shavings from your pencil and it prevents you from transferring these tiny bits to your paper surface.

When your pencil gets uncomfortably short, insert it into a pencil extender. Pencil extenders are inexpensive and are available at art supply stores.

Short pencil stubs can also be glued (use a ‘superglue’) to the end of a new pencil. This will allow you to use up the short stub while providing a long pencil to work with.

When sharpening your pencils for the first time, start at the end that is furthest away from the pencil name and code. That way you preserve the data you will need when the pencil becomes short and you wish to replace it from open stock.

Treat your pencils with care. Don’t drop them and don’t tap or drum them against an object. When the pencil hits a hard surface the lead may break inside the pencil shaft. When you try to sharpen the pencil the broken lead can get jammed in the sharpener. If that happens refer to the following tip.

If a pencil lead breaks off in your sharpener, force the broken bit through by sharpening a regular graphite pencil. Do not use one of your coloured pencils as this remedy will eat up a pencil. Therefore, sacrifice part of a graphite pencil by sharpening it. You will have to push hard in order to work the broken lead through.

If you find you have a lot of broken leads and you haven’t dropped them then I suggest you change your sharpener. I have not encountered a hand held sharpener that sharpens well. The force of the cut from the single blade is directed across the wax core and it either breaks your lead immediately or it weakens the cedar casing such that it will splinter and break during a subsequent sharpening. Some sets of pencils include a small sharpener. I do not recommend you use these sharpeners. Invest in an electric sharpener. Electric sharpeners are good for people with arthritis or with other hand and wrist problems such as repetitive strain disorders. As well, electric sharpeners save you money over time, as your pencils will not be shortened by one broken lead after another.

There are a variety of electric sharpeners on the market. Check to see that the sharpener has a spiral cutter. These steel sharpening blades will not break off leads nor will the cedar casing splinter. Look for electric sharpeners at a business supply store. Do not purchase the cheapest model you can find. It is a case of you get what you pay for. I use a Boston sharpener, model 1800 and it has lasted for years. It is currently retailing for around $30.00 (Canadian funds). There are more expensive models but you don’t need to pay more unless you want to. There are also battery powered sharpeners. These are fine for workshops but some models may not be robust enough for regular use. Be very careful when purchasing battery powered sharpeners. Some of the cheaper models are nothing more than hand held metal sharpeners attached to a motor. These break cores even quicker than the hand held version. Check to see if it has a spiral cutter. Bottom line, invest in a good sharpener and you will save money on replacement pencils. You will not have broken leads.

If you have already used a hand held sharpener on a particular pencil, you may find that the pencil lead will break off in your electric sharpener. This is not the fault of the electric sharpener. The hand held sharpener weakens the cedar shaft such that the casing cracks and the lead breaks the next time you sharpen it. Persevere. Stick with your electric sharpener and you will solve the problem.

Remember to clean your electric sharpener’s shavings container. If your sharpener doesn’t seem to be working as well as it once did, you probably need to empty the shavings. You can also clean the sharpener's blades using an old toothbrush. Unplug the unit and access the blades by removing the shavings container. If you see evidence of wax build-up simply brush the spiral cutter with the toothbrush. I have only had to do this a few times. Most sharpeners have an automatic shut off feature in case the motor gets too hot. My electric sharpener has automatically shut off once and that was when I was trying to sharpen my new 120 pencil set. To avoid this, do not try to sharpen a large number of pencils all at once. Should your sharpener stop, let the motor cool down for about half an hour before trying to sharpen more pencils.

If you are working with a very dark reference photo, hold the photo up to a bright light or place it on a light box. You should now be able to see more detail in the dark areas of the photo.

If you are lifting colour from a large area, try using extra wide masking tape or transparent removable tape (such as the Scotch brand). If you are using reusable adhesive (also called mounting putty), roll the adhesive into a sausage shape and roll this across the area of colour you wish to remove. This method lifts more evenly that dabbing the surface.

If you think you want to make changes to the drawing of a work in progress, draw the outline of the changes on a piece of tracing paper or drafting film. Place this over your work in progress so you can see how the changes would affect the composition.

If you wish to adjust colours, try them out first by applying colour to drafting film. Place this over top of the work in progress to view how the changed colour will look.

When cutting your paper, save the scrap bits. Keep a section of this scrap paper on your work surface. You can test colours or you can try layering various hues here before applying them to your work in progress.

Keep a note pad next to your work. Record the colours that you are using so you will have a record of the colours used in a particular combination. When you stop working you will be able to continue later with a colour combination that will match where you left off.

If you have trouble seeing values, make a black and white copy of your reference photo. This way your focus will be on the darks and lights and you will not be distracted by colour.

Try holding your pencil differently. You might be surprised at how this affects your pressure and stroke. For example if you always hold your pencil in an upright position (similar to how you write), try holding the pencil with your hand further down the pencil shaft. This will cause you to work from the outer edge of the pencil point.

Instead of placing the pencil between your thumb and first finger, try holding it so that your hand is on top and the pencil is under your palm. This will allow you to work on the side of the pencil point. This position can result in a more loose style. The down side is that you lose a measure of control and precision. There is no right or wrong way to hold your pencil; indeed we all have a position that we find most comfortable. Having said that, it is good to step out of our comfort zone once in a while. You might be surprised at how this changes how you work. For example, if you find it difficult to control your pencil pressure and you would like to master a light stroke, try placing your hand further back on the pencil. This is a great position for achieving a light pressure stroke. Experiment.

When purchasing pencils from open stock, check the ends of the pencil to see if the lead is centered. If the lead is not centered, the pencil may not sharpen evenly. As it sharpens the wood may splinter or break. Select a pencil with a centered lead if possible.

When purchasing pencils from open stock check to see if the pencil is straight. Sometimes a pencil may appear to curve up at one end. You can confirm this by placing the pencil on a flat surface. Does one end lift higher off of the surface than the other? Does the pencil roll or wobble? A pencil that has curvature in its shaft may not sharpen evenly. Select a different one if you can.

If you plan on having large dark areas in your work, such as a dark background, work on this first. As you work, applying layers of dark colour, other areas may pick up some of this colour. It is easier to erase colour from an unworked area. If you have already worked on some light coloured objects and they become stained with dark pigment it becomes very difficult to remove this. You would probably end up having to lift colour in order to correct the problem. This means that you would end up wasting the time you had spent on the lighter areas.

If you normally work by applying heavy pressure or you are working with dark colours, you might want to use a sheet of paper (tracing paper is good) between your hand and your art. This will keep your hand clean. Without this protection, the side of your hand can become stained with pigment and you can then transfer this to a clean area of your paper. This is especially true if you use oil based coloured pencils.

When layering wax based pencils, such as the Prismacolor brand, you may notice that some pencils seem waxier than others. You may find that it is harder to layer on top of certain colours. The waxiest pencils are those in the yellow family. Therefore, when you are striving to create a yellowish colour, apply the other colours first and end with the yellow on top. If you start with the yellow, it will be harder to build up colour on top of this.

While we all seem to find a paper surface that we are most comfortable working with, try experimenting with other types. Every once in a while grab a new sheet of paper (from the area of the art supply store that sells large single sheets). You might be surprised at the new effects you can achieve on your new selection. For example, if you are planning on working on a landscape, consider using a sanded pastel paper. Pastel paper has a lot of tooth and it can yield a dreamy, atmospheric effect. Due to the paper texture, you will achieve soft edges and your work will look more like pastel. You can also rub the pigment down into the pastel paper by using a bristle brush (similar to a stenciling brush). A good pastel paper to try is the Art Spectrum Colourfix line. Colourfix paper also accepts water media, which would be great for using any watercolour pencils you may have. You can also experiment working on watercolour paper, coloured paper and drafting film.

If you work on a slanted surface such as a drafting table, you can use reusable adhesive to stop items from rolling or sliding off. Just tear off a bit of reusable adhesive and roll it into a ball. Push this down onto your surface. I keep various items such as my pencil sharpener, hake brush and pencil containers on my drafting table so they are easily accessible. The wads of reusable adhesive act as brakes and they stop these items from moving.