#041 Creating Focus with Colored Pencils

Summer is a wonderful time to go to new places. A view like these fish could be found at a pet store, sporting goods store, a zoo, or an aquarium. When we look at a complicated subject, or a view with a lot of different objects in it, we need to find an area to focus on for the drawing. Remember that a photograph is just a tool and the artist should use that tool in whatever way is best for the composition of the artwork. It is rare that an artist will copy the photograph in its entirety. In this artwork demonstration, I focused on only two fish (shown below.) The surrounding plants and other fish will be used as background material. Now take a look at this week’s teacher example and then set up and make your own line drawing of a colorful group of fish or small creatures following the directions below. 

Gather art materials and references. 

You will also need a photograph of a group of fish or other colorful small creatures. You can take some photographs at an aquarium or a local pet store. If these aren’t available, search for pictures on the internet using an image search. You do not need to be concerned about copyright issues because your picture will not be published. My picture is published on this site, so I did not use a photograph by another person, but one that I took while visiting my local pet store. 

Week One: Line Drawing

To draw the fish, look at the outside edges of one at a time. Place them on the paper so that they are slightly off center. I noticed that the shapes of these two fish seemed to fit together similar to two puzzle pieces. I took liberties to adjust the arrangement so that these shapes are emphasized. Once the fish are drawn begin to draw the background using a light touch on the pencil. Avoid making heavy outlines that you will want to erase later. Do not erase lines too soon. When some lines aren’t right, go back to that area of the paper and draw over them. There are no mistakes in drawing. Each correction means that you are seeing the object more clearly and accurately.  Draw, redraw, and finally erase lines that make the shapes confusing or that do not belong. 

If you critique your work, always compare it to work you have done previously, and not to the teacher example. The example is only here to show you what a line drawing might look like when working from a photograph. Your drawing will be different and should look like it came from your hand, not from my hand, as your teacher. Congratulations on drawing a complex composition! Join me in step two, to see how to add color to your picture.

Step Two: Adding Color

Next, fill in the spaces with color. See in the example how the color is laid onto large areas of the paper in light, even tone. Do this by using light pressure with the pencil as you draw back and forth. You are actually making lines so close together that they overlap and create a solid block of color. Be sure to use a light touch because pressing too hard smashes the paper fibers so that the paper will not accept another color on top of the first. Take a look at the teacher example and add color to your drawing in this way. You will create soft edges by overlapping some colors and maintaining a light touch. Avoid adding sharp or dark details at this stage in the drawing. I think you will like the results of adding color to your picture. Congratulations on drawing in color! Next, see how to add layers of color to create a full value range.

Week Three: Full Value Range in Color

Using the same color or a different one, go over the solid areas and apply more pressure on the colored pencil to fill in areas that appear darker. Look at the teacher example.  You will notice that new colors were used on the leaves and on the fish in the teacher example. Darker colors were added, but the pressure on the pencil was still light. Once you press hard on the pencil in an area, you can no longer add or change the color with new layers. It is best to build up the layers of color on each other using a light touch. What a difference adding darker values makes! Can you believe there is one more step in the process of drawing with colored pencils? Go on to the next step to see just what you can do to give your picture additional impact. 

Week Four: Adding Darkest Values and Sharp Edges

You were probably very pleased with the results of your picture in the last step. Adding darker values to a picture makes a big impact. Most people would quit at that stage, but there is one more thing you can do to give your work a finished look. Add the darkest colors and create sharp edges where needed. 

To create details the colored pencils must be sharp. Sharpen the pencils often as you draw. In step three all the edges were similar throughout the picture and the handling of the pencil marks were similar, giving the effect of a soft edge. In the final step we want to make the main objects stand out by treating them differently. The main objects in my picture are the two fish. I began to work carefully around the eye area with a very sharp pencil. I used black and worked over the eye, then the stripes. I then increased pressure to the pencil as I added more color to the body of the fish. Finally, I drew a dark line around some edges like the tails in order to make them stand out from the background. The background was left unfocused, using soft edges, while the fish were darkened and focus was given by using sharp edges.

I hope you enjoyed the process of adding color to a picture using colored pencils. Join me next week to make a new drawing this summer! 

Your art teacher,

Brenda Ellis

 To see our art instruction books go to Artistic Pursuits.