All Topics

By Carol Leather

• Start here
• Drawing fundamentals
• Coloured pencil techniques
• Subjects to draw
• Step by step tutorials
• Watercolour pencils
• Pastel pencils
• Mixed media
• Pencils and brands
• Paper and surfaces
• Tools, care and framing
• More from Pencil Topics

Start here

New to coloured pencil, or coming back after a break? These pages cover what you need and how to begin.

• Getting started with coloured pencilsA practical guide for beginners. Start here
• Essential coloured pencil suppliesWhat do you need, and what can wait?
• Basic drawing for beginnersSeeing shapes, judging proportion and a light first sketch
• Setting up your drawing spaceLight, seating and a comfortable place to work
• Coloured pencil pressureA beginner exercise in light and heavy pressure
• How to sharpen coloured pencilsWe all need sharp points, without the breakages
• The grid methodGet your drawing on the paper, square by square
• Using tracing paperAnother way to get the drawing on the paper (it's not cheating)
• Using photo referencesWhat to be aware of when drawing from photos
• How to photograph petsTips for clear photos to draw from
• Preparing your coloured pencil drawingPlan the drawing before the first layer goes down
• UK copyright law for artistsHow to avoid getting into trouble

Back to the top

Drawing fundamentals

The ideas underneath every good drawing, whatever you draw with.

• Fundamentals of drawingAn overview of the core drawing skills
• Understanding valueGetting the lights and darks right matters more than the 'right' colours
• Light and shadow in drawingWhy black is not the answer for shadows
• What colour is a shadow?They are not all grey!
• Colour basicsChoosing and mixing colours, and how we see them
• Composition basicsHow to pick the scene and the focal point
• The Golden SectionA composition tool for balanced pictures
• What is a thumbnail sketch?And why a few quick sketches save a drawing
• Perspective basicsGetting the right angle on things
• One-point perspectiveHow to draw things that are facing you
• Two-point perspectiveHow to draw things from the corner

Back to the top

Coloured pencil techniques

The skills that make the most of the medium, from the first stroke to a smooth finish.

• Coloured pencil techniquesStart here for all the core techniques
• Coloured pencil strokesWays of applying the pencil to the paper
• Layering coloured pencilsHow to build colour in layers without mud
• Blending coloured pencilsStumps, blender pencils and solvents compared
• UnderpaintingFive ways to use underpainting for richer colour
• Burnishing coloured pencilHow to create a smooth, polished finish
• Paper blending stumpsHow to put these simple tools to good use
• Coloured pencil backgroundsHow to cover large areas without ruining the drawing
• Coloured pencil on black paperWhich colours show up, and how to work dark to light
• Limited colour palette challengeTry this landscape using just six colours
• How to fix coloured pencil mistakesMuddy colour, patchy blending and other rescues
• How to remove a dent in your paperA reader's story, and a fix worth knowing

Back to the top

Subjects to draw

Pages grouped by what you want to draw.

Landscapes

• Landscape drawingAn introduction to drawing landscapes from your own photos
• How to draw treesGet the shape right, so they don't look like green blobs on sticks
• Trees in the distanceHow to draw trees on a distant hillside
• Drawing skies and cloudsThree ways to approach large areas, including powdered pigment
• Drawing buildingsPlacing a whole building in a landscape scene
• How to draw brick and stone wallsSuggesting bricks, mortar and natural stone without drawing every one
• How to draw a roofTiles of many types, along with thatched roofs
• How to draw realistic stone and rockThe Bowerman Stone on Dartmoor, step by step
• Drawing a boatAnd its reflections in the water
• Drawing reflectionsGetting the reflections right in your drawing
• How to draw a riverTavy Rocks, a Devon river scene in Polychromos

Animals and birds

• Drawing animals and birdsFur, feathers and eyes, plus every animal tutorial
• How to draw a dogA cockapoo portrait, from photo to curly fur
• Realistic cat's headDraw a wild cat in coloured pencil
• A robin in watercolour pencilsA beginner project with a damp brush
• Baby elephant in reverseA finished drawing taken apart, layer by layer

Still life

• The fruit bowlA coloured pencil still life for beginners
• Still life objects to drawIdeas for subjects that hold a story
• A glass of tomatoesGlass and colour on black paper
• Sweet jar on black paperGlass on black paper, step by step
• Shiny brassA pierced brass coaster on black paper
• A water drop on a leafThe four light rules that make a droplet convincing

Back to the top

Step by step tutorials

Full projects to work through at your own pace. Watercolour, pastel and mixed media projects sit in their own sections below.

• All step by step tutorialsEvery project on the site in one place
• Draw a garden archwayRectory Garden in coloured pencil
• Allerford, SomersetA landscape drawing step by step, with a free outline to trace
• Alum Bay and the NeedlesChalk cliffs, sea and heather
• GondolasA student's step by step

Grand Union Canal (3 parts)

• Part 1: composition and preparationComposing a scene from two photographs
• Part 2: watercolour pencil underpaintingWashes, textures and base colours
• Part 3: depth and detailFinishing the canal scene in coloured pencil

Painting realistic water (3 parts)

• Part 1: the journey beginsA student's realistic water drawing
• Part 2: tackling the swirlsPeter Weatherill's techniques for moving water
• Part 3: critique and refinementsThe final touches

Back to the top

Watercolour pencils

Pencils that turn to paint with a damp brush.

• Watercolour pencilsTechniques, tutorials and supply guides in one place
• Watercolour pencils for beginnersChoosing pencils and paper, and your first blend
• How to use watercolour pencilsThe basic techniques, from dry layers to washes
• Watercolour brushesWhich brushes suit watercolour pencils best
• Stretching watercolour paperStop paper buckling when it gets wet

Watercolour pencil projects

• A pair of pearsAn easy beginner project
• Draw trees with watercolour pencilsA simple foliage exercise, no green blobs
• Scottish hillsideA quick demonstration of background painting
• Country laneWatercolour pencil underpainting, finished in coloured pencil
• Coventry canalA landscape in watercolour pencils
• Packhorse bridgeAn old Yorkshire bridge in watercolour pencils
• Italian street sceneWatercolour pencil step by step
• Polperro harbourAn exercise in line and wash
• A Brecon farmSky first, then dry colour washed in

Venice Grand Canal project (7 parts)

• Part 1: introductionWhat the project covers
• Part 2: preparing your drawingReference and outline
• Part 3: colour mixingMixing colours with watercolour pencils
• Part 4: the skyPainting the sky above the scene
• Part 5: the buildingsColour foundations and grisaille
• Part 6: water, trees and gondolaBringing the canal to life
• Part 7: finishingFinal details and a comparison of the brands used

Back to the top

Pastel pencils

Soft pastel colour with the control of a pencil.

• Pastel pencilsTechniques, tutorials and supply guides in one place
• How to use pastel pencilsA beginner's guide to materials and blending
• Pastel pencil brandsFind the best brand for you
• Sharpening pastel pencilsThe knack of sharpening with a knife

Pastel pencil projects

• Simple still lifeA vase in pastel pencils, for beginners to the medium
• Annecy reflectionsA step by step pastel pencil drawing
• A Breton boatA harbour boat at sunset on Lana paper

Back to the top

Mixed media

Coloured pencil combined with pastel, pan pastels and paint.

• Mixed media techniquesColoured pencil with other media: six combinations that work
• Pan pastelsUsing pan pastels in coloured pencil art
• Coloured pencil and pastel drawingUsing pastel pencils as a base
• Abbey of BellapaisA mixed media tutorial in pastel and coloured pencils
• Cottage doorwayPastel pencil and coloured pencil on black paper
• A hill farmPastel hills, watercolour pencil trees, coloured pencil detail

Back to the top

Pencils and brands

What is inside your pencils, how long the colour lasts, and which brands to choose.

• Coloured pencil brands comparedAn independent UK comparison of seventeen brands
• Best colored pencils for artistsFind the right brand for you
• Understanding your coloured pencilsWax, oil and lightfastness explained
• Wax vs oil based pencilsThe difference, with UK brand picks
• Pencil coreWhat is inside your pencil?
• LightfastnessWhat the ratings mean
• Lightfastness testsSix brands tested in real sun
• Colour comparison chartsMatch colours between brands
• Wax bloomHow to stop it spoiling your pictures
• Types of drawing pencilGraphite, charcoal, carbon and more

Brand by brand

• Arteza
• Bruynzeel
• Caran d'Ache
• Conté
• Cretacolor
• Daler Rowney
• Derwent
• Derwent Inktense
• Faber-Castell Polychromos
• Holbein
• Koh-i-noor
• Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor
• Mitsubishi Uni
• Prismacolor Premier
• Royal Talens
• Spectrum Noir
• Staedtler
• White Nights

Back to the top

Paper and surfaces

What to draw on, and how each surface behaves.

• Best paper for coloured pencilsFifteen papers tested and compared
• Paper and pencil testsHow different brands of paper and pencil work together
• Paper suitability reviewEight surfaces tested for detailed drawing
• Black paper for coloured pencilsFour black papers tested
• Pastel paperPapers and boards for pastel and coloured pencils
• Traditional pastel papersSix papers put to the test
• Velour pastel paperSoft to the touch
• Pastelmat pastel paperLots of layers!
• Sanded pastel papersAn in-depth review of specialist surfaces

Back to the top

Tools, care and framing

The odds and ends that help, and how to look after finished work.

• Coloured pencil accessoriesThose odds and ends that prove useful when drawing
• Coloured pencil tools and accessoriesWhat each tool does, and which are worth buying
• Erasers for coloured pencilsKneaded, precision and electric compared
• Coloured pencil solventsBlending pigment with solvents
• Fixative sprayIs it safe for coloured pencils?
• Framing and caring for your drawingsUV glass, acid-free mats and safe storage

Back to the top

More from Pencil Topics

• The coloured pencil blogNew pages, as they are added
• The Pencil Topics newsletterFresh tutorials in your inbox
• About CarolWho writes Pencil Topics, and why

Back to the top