Art Class, Need Guidance

R Q

R Q

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Charlotte
I'm trying to do a colored pencil drawing and I might as well just use crayons. I bought a set of colored pencils at Office Depot and they are making my project look childish. My outline is spot on but filling in color is terrible. I'm wondering if I should use colored pens? My color printer died a couple years ago so I could only get a B&W during COVID so I cant use a color printer.
My goal was to be very subtle but to add some color, almost water colors for the two colors in the pic.
Any input from y'all?
Thanks
 
Hate to say it, but you got what you paid for.
Go to an art store and get a good set of pencils .... maybe even get advice from the people there.
 
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Lizooki said:
Hate to say it, but you got what you paid for.
Go to an art store and get a good set of pencils .... maybe even get advice from the people their.
Click to expand...

R Q said:
Yep probably right. I'll go to Micheals today. Thanks
Click to expand...
Yea there are different grades of just about everything you can imagine in the art world. Pencils, paints, markers, papers, etc. they all have cheap vs quality materials.
 
Cheap colored pencils are just that. Decent ones will lay down smoother color.
Either way, lay the pencil over and use the side. It'll blend better. You can also blend higher end pencils to get rid of the lines.

(4 years of mostly useless in daily life Art school talking here...)
 
Horse shit, I have a BFA in Graphics and Illustration, give me a cheap pack of crayons and I'll show you how to layer and make it look right. It's not the pencils (but they can make a difference). It's the technique. You don't start with Snap-On tools do you, fuck no, you grab Harbor Freight to begin and learn what you really need? Hell, even seasoned mechanics find use in HF tools.

It's the Pressure you are using. start light pressure, barely touching the paper. And build up layer by layer. Think about where your highlights will be and where your shadows will be. more or less layers will will add the effect of shade or highlight. slowly increase pressure as you learn control. Once you learn that, then you can start to learn blending of colors with the same technique. If you use too much pressure, you just muddy the picture.

A large factor is also the paper you are using. While you can still create a master piece using adjusted techniques, the paper makes a huge difference in how you control your media. Smooth vs. rough, thickness, color of paper. as in how white.
 
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mbalbritton said:
Horse shit, I have a BFA in Graphics and Illustration, give me a cheap pack of crayons and I'll show you how to layer and make it look right. It's not the pencils (but they can make a difference). It's the technique. You don't start with Snap-On tools do you, fuck no, you grab Harbor Freight to begin and learn what you really need? Hell, even seasoned mechanics find use in HF tools.

It's the Pressure you are using. start light pressure, barely touching the paper. And build up layer by layer. Think about where your highlights will be and where your shadows will be. more or less layers will will add the effect of shade or highlight. slowly increase pressure as you learn control. Once you learn that, then you can start to learn blending of colors with the same technique. If you use too much pressure, you just muddy the picture.

A large factor is also the paper you are using. While you can still create a master piece using adjusted techniques, the paper makes a huge difference in how you control your media. Smooth vs. rough, thickness, color of paper. as in how white.
Click to expand...
Good advise here. Having a BFA in Fine Art/Photography Illustration was not something I did or do. Paint and Photography were my main things. Mostly Photography.
 
Just real quick sitting here at my desk with a cheap ball point pen. Like sex, Itā€™s about how you use your tool.šŸ˜ top two are hard pen pressure. Bottom one is light touch built up over hundreds of strokes.
IMG_3527.jpeg
 
mbalbritton said:
Just real quick sitting here at my desk with a cheap ball point pen. Like sex, Itā€™s about how you use your tool.šŸ˜ top two are hard pen pressure. Bottom one is light touch built up over hundreds of strokes.View attachment 397021
Click to expand...
You inspired me. I just squiggled some shit on a piece of paper with a 1.0 Sharpie ball point. How did I do?
20230511_120945.jpg
 
Sitting here pondering how this thread makes it's way to the garage before the weekend......we already have art class being discussed on an off-road forum and sex introduced before the 10th response, so I think we have the basic ingredients we need, now we wait.......
 
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