I love watercolour pencils and I make no secret of it. They’re easy to use, full of colour and have real mark-making potential. I often wonder why they aren’t used more often. They’ve been especially useful recently, as I am without a studio and space is limited. As a result I need a drawing/painting medium that doesn’t need to take up a lot of space and will cause minimal mess. Step in the mighty watercolour pencil.
The Versatility of Watercolour Pencils
I bought a large number of Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils some time ago which I occasionally dip into. I like to use them when working out a composition to paint in oils, or to work out colour combinations for prints. The Albrecht Durer pencils are of very high quality, but I recently tried the Museum Aquarelle Watercolour Pencils from Caran d’Ache and the pigment saturation is unbelievable. I recommend these two brands in particular.
Good watercolour pencils are so versatile. I just wanted to show you a few ways of how I use them in the hope that you might have some other ideas to share too – if you do please add them to the comments below.
Application Technique No. 1: Simply Drawing It on in the Old Fashioned Way
A good watercolour pencil will appear just as saturated in colour than a regular colouring pencil. Draw with the tip to get a crisp line, use the side of the lead for a chalkier, broader line. Experiment with the kinds of marks you can make – the most interesting drawings usually have a wide variety of different marks.
Application Technique No. 2: Drawing With a Watercolour Pencil Dipped in Water
This is the technique to use if you’re looking for highly intense marks. The water softens the lead enabling it to crumble under a lot less pressure, meaning a far greater amount of colour is deposited on to your paper. Lines will gradually become less intense and chalkier as the pencil tip dries, which in itself can be an interesting effect. If you dip a dark colour in water it will instantly increase the tonal range in your work; the dark darks will add more dynamism to your work. Lighter colours dipped in water will add areas of intensely saturated colour that zing.
Application Technique No.3: Clean Wet Brush Dragged Over Watercolour Pencil Marks
This technique involves dragging a brushed dipped in water over drawn lines already on the page. The combinations of both sorts of marks makes for a very interesting hybrid of both watercolour and drawing.
3 thoughts on “The Versatility of Watercolour Pencils”
The Faber Castells are great. I haven’t tried the Caran D’Ache ones yet, but I guess now I have to! I would also recommend the Inktense pencils and blocks from Derwent for a more “inky” look. They are very vibrant and strongly pigmented.
The Museum Aquarelle are my new favourites. They are smooth, strong and layer well. Although expensive, you don’t need many, as they mix well to make new shades, so are ideal for travelling. Using a refillable waterbrush saves taking a water pot.
Try making a ‘paper palette’ by scribbling blocks of a few different colours onto spare watercolour paper. Dip a damp brush or waterbrush into the colour and paint with it. Good for painterly sketches of flowers.
I have 40 shades of Museum Aquarelle myself and I love them 🙂 I’ve tried getting in to actual watercolor in pans but the messyness always puts me off. With watercolor pencils I don’t get that feeling. I do have to wonder how watercolor pencils would work for larger work, though? I haven’t really gotten to that point yet since I only just started using them.
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