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Crimefish In reply to leaffiber [2012-06-17 16:30:12 +0000 UTC]

Oh, thank you!
I don't usually. I just blend to create more colours... but in this one I added a dark green after the blue and purple, before the pink and yellow. It's much more visible in the work-in-progress. Bristol board's too smooth to blend very much, as you need more tooth to add more pigment. So using green and purple on their own in parts seemed easier than trying to blend the right quantities of blue, yellow and pink (like I usually do, and probably would have here if I'd used something rougher, like cartridge paper).

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leaffiber In reply to Crimefish [2012-06-18 16:11:03 +0000 UTC]

I really don't know how you do that so perfectly. I find that when I try to mix colours it gets very uneven and messy, and I much prefer to use every colour on it's own rather than creating one. Even when I use graphite I rarely blend because it gets messy. How do you keep it so neat? And another question- I find the paper I currently use (Schut 180 g\m, medium fine) too rough for coloured pencils (though I do enjoy the texture it gives graphite drawings) because of the many white spots that remain, even after I press hard. What kind of paper would you recommend for coloured pencils that are a bit rougher than Prismacolor (such as Faber-Castell)?

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Crimefish In reply to leaffiber [2012-06-18 17:29:30 +0000 UTC]

Yep, I definitely prefer to just use a pencil that's the right colour, rather than blending more than one pencil. The only reason I ever use more than I need to, is because with slight variation in layers of pigment, you get variation in colour, which just... looks more realistic a lot of the time than big blocks of perfect colour. Especially in something like skin.

I often struggle with messiness while blending, though. I guess my only method to keep things tidy is to use the smallest pencil strokes I can, use circulism, and keep blending until the texture of the paper (the white spots) is completely concealed.

My favourite paper for coloured pencils is cartridge paper. But, I've had loads of practice, so I'm used to how rough it is. In fact, I use it exactly for that reason - the roughness means I can add more pigment, and make colours bolder. The only thing I have to make sure of is how fluffy the paper is. If I can dent it with my fingernail, then I know I'll be able to mash it down with the pencils and conceal the texture of the paper, including the white spots.

I wouldn't normally recommend bristol board for coloured pencils, but if you feel your main problem is how messy your blending is, I think bristol board may help. It's really smooth, so you barely have to blend at all to make the colouring look smooth, too.
The only downside would be:
a) colours may look slightly more washed out or pale (when compared to how they'd look on rougher paper. That's just because smoother paper accepts less pigment).
and b) you'd have to use the exact right pencil more, and blend pigments together less. But you already said you prefer that! So that shouldn't be a huge problem.

(If you buy bristol board, get vellum, not slate. Slate is far too smooth to use pencil on it at all; it's only good for wet media like ink.)

Oh, and a colorless blender pencil helps, too (although I barely use mine anymore). Mine is by Prismacolor, but other brands have them too. It seems to just be clear wax that you can use to push the pigment around on the page and even everything out, without altering the tone or hue. It's great for concealing white spots.

It does get easier, though. Blending gets a lot smoother with practice, even if you have the right tools and techniques from the beginning. It's just one of those things.

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leaffiber In reply to Crimefish [2012-06-19 16:45:03 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for the tips. Apparently my paper is way to rough- I can barely leave a mark and I have very strong fingernails >< . Too bad its an a3 pad of 70 sheets -_-" oh well, more graphite drawings for me

I think I would actually prefer more washed out colours. I have always (in all the three months I draw with colour! ) had the problem to find paler tones of colour that I really needed in order to make my drawings more realistic and less cartoon-like. It always seems as If they are far too bright and strong to be real.

I would really like to get a colourless blender but my main problem is (and it goes for paper and pencil brands too) that there are practically no stores that sell high quality art supplies in my area and in Israel at all. What selection we do have is very limited and extremely expensive, and to get a slightly wider selection I have to take a two hour bus to a bigger town (I know it seems not that long, but for someone who lived her whole life with everything five minutes [not just me, its called advantages of a small country] away its just not worth it).
As far as I know, the only high quality brand we have here is Faber Castell, and even a 12 set almost bankrupt me.

I can't import either because my family doesn't use any credit cards and I'm only 16 so I can't make one.
Well, I guess I will just have to ask a friend to order for me :\

Anyway, thanks for the help

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Crimefish In reply to JoWinchester401 [2011-11-24 00:54:07 +0000 UTC]

Well, thank you. Jensen should get the credit for that.

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Crimefish In reply to crashingnightingales [2011-02-28 19:37:08 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much! I kept feeling tempted to change the title, but since the DD (and all the people who have said it was part of the allure) I'm glad I didn't.

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Crimefish In reply to galway-girl21 [2011-02-28 19:47:51 +0000 UTC]

Ahaha, thank you.
YES. Same here! I love the ballroom sequence so much, if I got married I'd want everyone to wear goblin masks and ballgowns to my wedding.

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galway-girl21 In reply to Crimefish [2011-03-02 02:22:13 +0000 UTC]

YES!! Her dress is stunning!

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Crimefish In reply to FiskXPhantom [2011-02-25 00:38:51 +0000 UTC]

Thank you.

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FiskXPhantom In reply to Crimefish [2011-02-25 00:59:18 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome. On the other hand, this is a goal to strive to. Considering how hard it looks ro reach it. :3

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Crimefish In reply to FiskXPhantom [2011-02-25 15:58:23 +0000 UTC]

Yep, like developing any skill, it takes a lot of work. There are always moments when you want to give up, and you're so annoyed at the slow progress that you want to make a bonfire of all your work. But at least with drawing, you can sell almost all of it to pay for more art supplies (even if beginners can't charge as much, it all adds up). One of the reasons I never delete old work from my gallery is, sometimes you only notice how far you've gotten by looking back and realising how basic your skills were previously. Perspective.

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FiskXPhantom In reply to Crimefish [2011-02-27 20:38:23 +0000 UTC]

I've gotta get back into drawing, among other things.

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Crimefish In reply to 1dplover [2011-02-28 19:56:38 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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1dplover In reply to Crimefish [2011-02-28 20:03:43 +0000 UTC]

You're very welcome! Keep up the fantastic work! ^^

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Crimefish In reply to LauraFurby [2011-02-28 20:00:17 +0000 UTC]

I think the best comments I've received for this are all "WTF is this photo doing with a DD?" It's very gratifying, especially when the aim was for photorealism.
Thank you very much for the kind words.

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Crimefish In reply to annybelle143 [2011-02-28 20:04:28 +0000 UTC]

Oh, thank you! I have to give due credit to the bristol paper; it's much smoother than the cartridge paper I usually use. Easier to make the colouring look like it was done digitally.

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annybelle143 In reply to Crimefish [2011-03-01 05:35:35 +0000 UTC]

Yes, but it is still your exceptional talents which made the art come out as amazingly as it did!

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Crimefish In reply to ihni [2011-02-28 20:06:38 +0000 UTC]

Oh, thank you! I got one once before, and it occurred to me that it'd never happen again, or if it did it wouldn't feel as good as the first time. But this time was possibly even better. So I'm gonna keep pouring love into my drawings, and maybe get a third in a couple years.

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ihni In reply to Crimefish [2011-02-28 20:48:40 +0000 UTC]

You probably will, you talented person you!

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Crimefish In reply to MimiTheFox [2011-02-28 20:08:55 +0000 UTC]

Ahaha! Really, you did? It's lovely to hear that. It's hard for me to use unusual colours and still try to make it look like a photo. Thank you very much.

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MimiTheFox In reply to Crimefish [2011-03-02 04:01:18 +0000 UTC]

welcome!!! <3

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Crimefish In reply to RMGart [2011-02-28 20:11:40 +0000 UTC]

Yep! Jensen indeed. I'm glad it's recognisable. Thank you.

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