Join me on the exploration of different watercolor pencils on various surfaces!
About Watercolor Pencils
Watercolor pencils are not the same as regular colored pencils, nor watercolors themselves. This is because they have a unique binder, making them a whole new medium. A binder is the feature all colored pencils have that holds their pigment together so they can be transferred to a surface. This, in turn, decides which methods should be used to apply each medium. Watercolor pencils' water-soluble binder disperses the pigment of the pencils once water is added. Therefore, when you color a layer with the pencil then brush it with water, you activate that medium and create marks that emulate traditional watercolor. Read more about the differences here.
MATERIALS
Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils 12 ct. ($ 16.78)
Premier Watercolor Pencils (12 ct. = $ 17.82, 24 ct = $ 27.33)
Artist’s Loft Fundamentals Watercolor Pencils 24 ct. ($ 5.99)
Strathmore 400 Series Watercolor Paper Pad Cold Press 140 lb. ($ 5.99 - $ 36.99 depending on size)
Strathmore Mixed Media Pad Vellum Surface 117 lb. ($ 9.88 - $ 25.32)
Mi-Teintes Paper Sheet White 8.5"x 11" 98 lb. ($ 0.92 per sheet)
Synthetic or soft hair fiber paint brushes
Water (for the brushes)
Optional: salt (for experimenting with texture) and a spray bottle with water (also for experimentation)
Price Commentary
Student-grade watercolor pencils are generally inexpensive, especially brands such as Artist's Loft that offer packs with multiple pencils for a low price. Artist grade ones like Prismacolor and Faber-Castell are much more expensive, with Prismacolor being the most costly. My advice is to get them from Amazon for the cheapest prices because they're $10+ less than Plaza Art or Michael's prices. The papers, however, were all bought at Plaza Art or Michael's with an educator/student discount.
About the Materials
Despite the different types, watercolor pencils are nontoxic and kid-friendly. The only thing to worry about is if the students will handle them with care. For the purpose of this blog, I will explore these types of watercolor pencils while testing on various papers, and then I will show a little tutorial for using them.
Note: Hafeli suggests using soft-hair brushes with watercolor because they will hold the liquid unlike stiff-bristled ones (82). They are also great for adding washes. Watercolor pencils are easy to clean up as well, simply needing mild soap and water (83).
Strathmore Watercolor Paper (Cold Press - 140 lb.)
Note: According to Hafeli, rough/medium finished watercolor paper is called cold press (83). The heavier the weight of the paper, the better it'll handle water and not warp as much compared to others, too. Watercolor paper is the heaviest weight of the three papers, and will not warp/only warp a little.
Faber-Castell
Velvety, though not as pigmented as Prismacolor
Texture of paper shows through dry colors
When met with water, some of the lines show through and it's not as pigmented as the dry color
Smooth blending with paper
Prismacolor
Most velvety! Beautiful pigmentation and the most saturated
Texture of paper shows through dry colors
When met with water, some of the lines show through but it retains the amount of pigmentation as the dry color, if not adds more + vibrancy
Smooth blending with paper
Artist's Loft
Very hard and not velvety, almost like hard wax, and the least pigmented
Texture of paper shows through dry colors
When met with water, some of the lines show through and it looks a lot lighter than the dry coloring
Smooth blending with paper
Strathmore Mixed Media Pad (vellum surface - 117 lb.)
Note: Medium weight of paper—small warps.
Faber-Castell
Is not as velvety as it was with the watercolor paper
Very little (if none) texture from paper shows through dry colors because it's smooth
When met with water, some of the lines show through and it's not as pigmented as the dry color
Non-smooth blending with paper, looks patchy
Prismacolor
Is not as velvety as it was with the watercolor paper, but is still most out of the 3
Very little (if none) texture from paper shows through dry colors because it's smooth
When met with water, some of the lines show through and it doesn't retain as much pigmentation as with watercolor paper
Non-smooth blending with paper, looks patchy
Artist's Loft
Both dry and wet colors show up less pigmented on this paper than watercolor paper
Very little (if none) texture from paper shows through dry colors because it's smooth
When met with water, some of the lines show through a lot more and it looks much lighter than the dry coloring
Non-smooth blending with paper, looks patchy
Mi-Teintes Paper Sheet White (98 lb.)
Note: Lightest weight of paper—will warp most.
Faber-Castell
Retained "velvety"-ness as with the watercolor paper probably due to rough surface
Lots of texture from paper shows through dry colors and wet colors because it's rough
When met with water, lots of lines show through and is still not as pigmented as the dry color
Generally smooth blending with paper
Prismacolor
Retained "velvety"-ness as with the watercolor paper and is still the most pigmented
Lots of texture from paper shows through dry colors and wet colors because it's rough
When met with water, some of the lines show through but it retains pigmentation
Generally smooth blending with paper, though the yellow warps a bit
Artist's Loft
Wet colors show up less pigmented on this paper than watercolor paper, but more than mixed media paper
Lots of texture from paper shows through dry colors and wet colors because it's rough
When met with water, some of the lines show through and the paint looks lighter than dry coloring
Generally smooth blending with paper, though yellow warps most
Watercolor Pencil Techniques
There are many techniques you can use when it comes to watercolor pencils! I explored blending by overlapping my colors or hatching them, blending with a wet brush on the pencils, drawing with the wet pencils, drawing on top of wet paper, adding salt for texture, using a spray bottle for effects, blowing the water, etc. Other ways Hafeli suggests to experiment with watercolor paint include lifting wet color by blotting, using crumpled paper and plastic wrap, and adding texture with a sponge (88). Please read my notes in the images to see what techniques match with which marks. I would say that the best way to blend would probably be by hatching so there are less marks showing through, although feel free to play around with the amount of texture you want to see.
Additional Sources:
There are so many Youtube videos you could watch or show your students as you teach them how to use watercolor pencils. Here are some links that could help them understand this medium better, as well as some tips and tricks:
How to Use Watercolor Pencils:
20 Watercolor Pencil Techniques:
Watercolor Pencil Tips for Journaling and Sketching:
How to Use Watercolor Pencils in A Painting
Step 1
Draw an outline with a pencil, then create a THIN layer of your colors. For the flower, I chose red, orange, and pink. For the stem, I used yellow, light/dark greens, and red.
Tips: Use cross-hatching techniques in order for the colors to blend better once brushed with water. Also, only press hard in areas with dark values. Leave the areas with the lightest values almost empty because the water will spread the colors.
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Overall...
Age appropriateness: Because watercolor pencils generally require delicate paint strokes unless using other rough techniques, I would prefer for my age group to be 6th graders and above. Since they're older, they would be careful with the material, and I'd be able to teach them blending methods. High schoolers could create abstract work using more advanced techniques and testing out mark-making with both a wet pencil and wet brush.
Strengths: I prefer watercolor pencils over regular watercolors because precision is much easier. They're also beautifully pigmented so it's nice to be able to get full paint-color by just the pressure of the pencil. Additionally, there are so many unique techniques that these pencils allow for creative expression, such as wet-drawing.
Limitations: Watercolor pencils can leave see-through marks if not blended properly. This can be good if you like texture, but if you want a smooth blend it makes it harder. Also, they're very finicky with the amount of water, and it's very difficult to predict the result that you expect sometimes if you're not careful with how much water you're using.
Comfort Level: I feel somewhat comfortable teaching with watercolor pencils, though I don't have much experience with them. However, I would still like to expand on the techniques of blending and mark-making with the pencil tips/wet-on-wet etc. if I were to teach older children, as well as what prompts to give them.
Possible health or safety concerns: Watercolor pencils are very safe. I don't have any safety concerns with them especially if my age range is 6th grade and up.
Happy Painting! :)
Reference:
Hafeli, Mary Claire. Exploring Studio Materials: Teaching Creative Art Making to Children. Oxford University Press, 2015.
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