Learn coloured pencil drawing, properly this time
No pressure to do it all. Pick the section that matches what you feel like today.
Step-by-step lessons and guided projects for anyone coming back to art, so you always know what to do next.
Coming back after years? Maybe what you had as a child was praise for staying inside the lines, and you never got the foundations. That's most of us. We'll build them now, calmly, one piece at a time.
Coloured pencil starts to click when you master a few core skills: values (light and dark for 3D form), smooth layering (gentle passes), and clean blending (soft transitions).
No guessing. No searching.
Just a clear next step. Choose your starting point: Getting Started, then Fundamentals, then Core Techniques. Start with the first lesson for a quick win today.
Getting Started Hub
Get started the calm way: choose sensible supplies, set up your space, sharpen properly, transfer outlines accurately, then do a simple pressure-control exercise for a quick win.
Photo references and transfer methods aren't cheating, they're standard artist tools.
Get started
Fundamental Skills Hub
Learn the foundations that make coloured pencil look realistic: shape and proportion, light and dark for 3D form, colour basics to avoid muddy layers, plus composition, simple perspective, and working from photo references.
If your drawings feel flat, that's usually a light-and-dark issue we can fix.
Grasp the fundamentals
Core Techniques Hub
Practise the techniques that make drawings look finished: clean strokes, layering rich colour (without mud), blending smooth transitions, burnishing for a finished look, and simple fixes for common mistakes.
You won't ruin it at the end. You'll learn tidy finishing steps and easy rescues when blends go wrong.
Build your techniques
About Carol, your teacher
Hi, I'm Carol. I came back to art as an adult and quickly realised that whatever I'd been praised for as a child wasn't really drawing. I'd never been taught how to see shape, light, or colour properly. I had to go back and learn the foundations from scratch.
That was the breakthrough. By 2020 my work had won a UK Coloured Pencil Society prize, and I'd built a process for wildlife studies and pet portraits that I could repeat reliably.
Pencil Topics teaches the exact process I use, with clear lessons and guided projects that help you build smooth layers, blend cleanly, and create believable texture without overwhelm. Not because you're a beginner, but because nobody taught most of us this stuff first time round.
From my first attempt at drawing from my own photo...
...to my first UK Coloured Pencil Society prize winning entry in 2020
More ways to learn (when you're ready)
If you'd like a project to finish, a deeper skill focus, or a quick rescue when something's gone wrong, start here.
Tutorials
Step-by-step projects that turn the basics into finished drawings you'll actually want to keep.
Browse tutorials
Practical tips and troubleshooting
Quick rescues for patchy colour, waxy build-up, muddy layers, and "I've ruined it" moments, with tidy fixes you can apply right away.
Browse troubleshooting
Resources and materials guidance
What's worth buying, what can wait, and what to skip, so you don't waste money chasing the perfect supplies.
Explore resources
Landscape drawing
Turn your own photo into a coloured pencil landscape by practising one element at a time: trees, grass, sky, stone, and water.
Try a landscapeCommon questions
Do I need expensive supplies?
No. Start with a modest kit. I'll show you what's worth buying, what can wait, and what to skip.
I'm coming back after years. What if I'm too rusty?
That's normal. We'll start with a short exercise that rebuilds control, then add skills one at a time. And if it never felt like you really had the basics, even back then, that's true for most of us. The foundations are learnable now.
Will I learn how to fix mistakes?
Yes. You'll learn tidy ways to rescue patchy colour, waxy build-up, and overworked areas.
Can I really go from a photo to a finished piece?
Yes. You'll learn a clear workflow: choose a reference, plan your drawing, build layers, and finish with confidence.
Why do you spell color with a "u"?
I'm based in the UK, so you'll see British spellings (colour, favourite). The techniques work the same wherever you are.
Not sure where to begin? Start with Getting Started, and take it one calm lesson at a time.
Copyright © 2009- pencil-topics.co.uk All rights reserved
Home | About Us | Contact Us | Privacy Policy