Blending coloured pencils without a solvent
Blending coloured pencils without a solvent
Solvent blending — odourless mineral spirits on a stump or a brush — works well and is not the subject here. Most people asking about blending want to know how to get a smooth transition with nothing but the pencils they already own. That is entirely achievable, and it depends on three things: layering, pressure and order.
Layering: light passes, many of them
The single most common mistake is pressing hard on the first pass. A heavy first layer fills the tooth of the paper immediately, and once the tooth is full nothing else can be added.
Build instead with light passes — enough that a single pass looks too faint. Six light layers produce a deeper, more even colour than one heavy one, and the surface stays open the whole time. This is slow at first and becomes automatic quickly.
Circular versus linear strokes
Small overlapping circles produce the most even coverage and hide stroke direction, which is what most people want for smooth work. Straight strokes are faster and leave visible direction, which is sometimes exactly the texture you want. Neither is correct; they are different tools.
Pressure control as a technique in itself
A gradient is easier to make with one pencil and varying pressure than with two pencils and even pressure. Practising a strip that runs from the lightest mark the pencil can make to its full saturation is a genuinely useful exercise, and it makes every later blend easier.
Firmer, oil-based pencils are more forgiving here because they release less pigment per pass, giving more steps between faint and full.
Blending in the overlap
To move between two colours, work each one into the other’s territory rather than stopping where they meet. Extend colour A a little way into colour B’s area with decreasing pressure, then do the reverse with colour B. The overlap zone does the blending.
Where two colours sit far apart on the wheel, a third intermediate colour placed in the overlap makes the transition far smoother than forcing the two originals together.
Burnishing: the finishing pass
Burnishing is a final heavy pass that presses the layers together and fills the remaining paper tooth, producing a smooth, slightly glossy surface. It can be done with a light colour from the set, with white, or with a colourless blender pencil.
Two things to know. First, burnishing with white lightens and slightly desaturates everything under it; burnishing with a colourless blender does not shift the colour. Second, burnishing is final — once the tooth is full, no more colour can be added. It belongs at the end of a drawing, not in the middle.
Colourless blender pencils
A blender pencil is the binder without pigment. It pushes existing colour around and smooths the surface without changing hue. It is the most useful single addition to a set for anyone doing gradient work, and it is cheap.
Paper does half the work
Blending is much harder on thin, smooth paper because there is very little tooth to hold successive layers. A slightly toothy drawing paper of reasonable weight takes many more layers before it saturates.
If layering keeps failing early, the paper is a more likely cause than the pencils. Where a set includes a pad, its weight is on the listing.
A short practice routine
- Draw a strip and take one pencil from its faintest mark to full pressure in even steps.
- Repeat with small circular strokes rather than straight ones.
- Blend two neighbouring colours by overlapping both, not by meeting them.
- Repeat with a third colour placed in the overlap.
- Burnish half the strip with a colourless blender and compare.
Twenty minutes of this does more for a drawing than another sixty pencils would.
Where this sits in the shop
Everything discussed above comes back to one part of the shop: Coloured Pencil Sets, which currently holds 3 listings between $9.99 and $26.09. The whole of it is picked and packed at Rudy's Hobby & Art, 35-16 30th Ave, Long Island City, NY, during Wed–Sat 11am–6:30pm, closed Sun–Tue — so anything written here can be checked by phoning the counter on ((718) 545-8280.
From our shelves
- Art Supplies 120 Colors Colored Pencils Set for Adults Coloring Books with Sketchbook — $26.09
- 80 Colored Pencils Set, Oil-Based Soft Core for Adult Coloring Books, Professional Color Pencils Art Gifts for Artists, Beginners and Adults — $9.99
- KALOUR 72 Count Colored Pencils for Adult Coloring Books, Soft Core,Ideal for Drawing — $12.99
What we get asked about this
Do you ship outside the United States?
Not at present. We ship to US addresses only, including Alaska, Hawaii and territories the carrier serves.
Can I pick my order up at the shop?
Web orders are shipped, not held for collection. If you want to buy in person, come to 35-16 30th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11103, United States during opening hours (Wednesday–Saturday 11:00–18:30 · Closed Sunday–Tuesday) and buy across the counter instead.
Read next
- Oil-based or wax-based coloured pencils: what actually changes
- Choosing your first set of brush markers
- Why the paper matters more than the pens
Ordering from Rudy's Hobby and Art
Orders of $49.00 or more ship free anywhere in the United States, and a flat $5.99 covers everything below that. Handling takes 1–2 business days and carrier transit is normally 3–7 business days. Unused items can go back within 30 days, and if the mistake was ours we pay the return postage.
Questions about anything above go to [email protected], answered within 1 business day, or call (718) 545-8280. Full detail is on the Shipping Policy and Refund and Returns pages.