GRADATION BLENDING BURNISHING

Gradation: a scale or a series of successive changes, stages, or degrees. Gradation from one hue or shade to another should be smooth and consistent. You want to see gentle, subtly varied transitions. Carefully graded shading is very effective if you are aiming for a photorealist finish or an atmospheric mood. To create successful gradations you need to control very carefully the way you mix and overlay hues and shades to achieve an integrated surface. Tonal Gradation Shaded Gradation

Gradation through three colors. You lighten up the shading by just the right amount and then work the next color.

Blending is the process of layering colors and blending the layers of color together with layering techniques and/or combination of blending tools. Blend colored pencil by overlaying faintly applied layers of each color. Blend by layering or with Torchon, eraser, blending pencil or blender marker. Blender pencil: This is a clear colored pencil specifically for blending purposes. This colorless blender is used to fuse colors together. Hint: If you don’t have a colorless blender, you can use a colored pencil in a light shade When a gradual change is needed, start off with a slight overlap, then progressively overlap each layer a little further.

Layered blending Lay down a light layer of your first color. Add light layer of various colors to certain areas until the color you are looking for is achieved. Optical Blending Lay down a set of strokes or dots, leaving a little space between or beside. Take a second color and lay it down in the cracks or next to the first, with a few strokes overlapping the first color. Your eye will blend the two colors to make a new color. (if you stand far enough away from it)

1.Glaze effect: You can also blend a colorless pencil with a colored pencil to create a sheer glaze. 2.Wash effect: Using mineral spirits will give you a softer blend and wash effect. 3.Wide coverage: Using a bristle brush, you can drag the color out to cover a large area. 4.Smudge the color: Using a cloth, rub into the color and smudge to desired area. 5.Pushing the color around: Tortillions can be used to push colors around. A tortillion is basically tightly wound paper used for blending.

The general definition of burnishing is applying friction and pressure to make a surface smooth and shiny. Burnishing with colored pencils creates a glazed surface effect, compacting the color and ironing out the grain. A used method of burnishing is close shading with a white pencil over colors previously laid. The white overlay unifies colors and shading, while also heightening the surface effect. You can also use a paler pencil, a neutral gray, or one with a distinct hue of its own, cold blue or warm pale ochre. Stuart Robertson, Battersea Power Station The artist used directional burnishing to capture the texture of the workers’ clothing. Using this technique provides unity throughout the image.

- Burnishing with a colored pencil compresses and polishes the first color layer. - The color applied in the burnishing naturally affects the original hue. - This example shows (left to right) and area of shading in red pencil; The same color burnished over with white; with blue gray; and with light yellow; And the plain red burnished with a torchon.

1.Rough background texture: Using sand paper under the paper will create a bumpy texture. 2.Create patterns: Use a textured rubbing plate under the paper to create textured patterns. This is similar to the sand paper concept mentioned above. 3.Impressed lines: Press a stylus into the paper to create grooves and color over them with a colored pencil.

1.Erasing: Prismacolor pencils aren’t easily erasable but an electric eraser is the best way to go. 2.Lifting color: You know that putty used to hang artwork on the walls? It can also be used to lift color from a Prismacolor pencil drawing. 3.Sharpening: Prismacolor pencils have a soft and delicate core. Be extremely careful when sharpening. Use a MANUAL SHARPENER, Not the Electric Sharpener. Don’t violently wiggle the pencil around in the sharpener.

1.Masking off areas: Using a removable tape will keep straight edges clean and not damage the paper. 2.Easy solvent: Hand sanitizer can be used as a solvent for Prismacolor pencils. 3.Creating black without a black pencil: Using several deep colors can create a more intense black than the color black itself. 4.Light to dark vs. dark to light: There’s no right or wrong way to go about doing this. Do whatever feels comfortable for you. 5.Wax build up: If you see a white film build up on your drawing don’t freak out. This happens (normally when color is applied heavily) when the wax from the pencil rises to the surface. Simply wipe away with a cloth. 6.Be gentle: When Prismacolor pencils drop or get banged together, the inside core could break. No good! I f the core is broken you can put them in the oven on 200 degrees for 2 to 5 minutes then take out and cool to room temp. Put them in the fridge to cool faster.