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| 5/12/25 Maple Leaf neighborhood (Inktense and Museum Aquarelle) |
On my golden-hour walk one evening, bright yellow Uglybook
at the ready, I wanted to try to capture that lovely, low light. Although my
usual brush pens would have been faster, I wanted the subtler gradations of
pencil but wasn’t in the mood for smudgy graphite. On a whim, I grabbed a dark
purple Derwent Inktense. Halfway through, I put it back – I didn’t like
the “stickiness” of Inktense cores, which slows me down. Next I tried a dark
green Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle, and although it wasn’t “sticky”
like the Inktense, it still didn’t feel as fast as a soft graphite pencil, which
glides effortlessly like ice skates. (Graphite lovers, you know that feeling
that can’t be replicated by any other medium.)
I’m not sure I captured the lovely light as I had hoped, but the sketch got me thinking about using colored pencils in tonal thumbnails when color isn’t important. Graphite pencils have no substitute for certain types of drawings, but for a quick value study when speed is of the utmost, colored pencils can be a less smudgy option. Using one of the water-soluble colored pencils already in my bag would be ideal, but maybe there’s a better choice.
For the sketches of Jack and Greg, I tried a Black Grape Prismacolor, which is both soft and not “sticky,” and purple makes an interesting brown against the yellow paper. (The background behind Jack is a magenta Museum Aquarelle and a red Inktense.)
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| 5/14/25 (Prismacolor, Inktense, Museum Aquarelle) |
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| 5/17/25 Prismacolor |
Now I’m on the hunt through my stash of colored pencils to answer this question: Which colored pencil makes the best stand-in for graphite? Incredibly, I don’t think I’ve ever done this kind of test before! Stay tuned.
(At the risk of becoming tiresome, I will again proclaim the joy – ecstasy! – of downsizing: being able to easily grab all the colored pencils I want to test without having to dig through, search for, stack and restack so many boxes. Ahhhhh!)
I am looking forward to your tests! I have been very inspired by your downsizing and am 1/3 through. Thanks Tina!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work, Cathy! It's really hard, but so rewarding when it's done!
DeleteI like the look of these pencils against the yellow Ugly book. Fun idea. I'll be watching to see your results.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's fun and hopefully with interesting test results, too!
DeleteSigh. I long for that ecstasy. So many things I have wasted time trying to find. I know they are there… I have been comparing mechanical pencil leads to assess glidiness vs. darkness vs. smudging vs shininess. In 0.7mm, Pilot Neox 2B is darker, and less shiny than Uni smudge proof 2B and both darker and smoother than Zebra DelGuard. I think the Pilot and Uni are smooth gliding. All 3 are supposed to be less prone to breaking. I’m using the Pilot Neox for now. Just in case you might consider a mechanical option and haven’t compared them. Which you probably have😏 Anne HwH
ReplyDeleteHa-ha-ha!! I actually DID go through a short phase of using and comparing a variety of leads and mechanical pencils (and some I reviewed at the Well-Appointed Desk). I never got around to reviewing them here, though, because I found myself rarely reaching for them instead of woodcased pencils.
DeleteSo a black or grey colored pencil wouldn't suffice? Obviously not as fun as trying different actual colors . . .
ReplyDeleteI've since switched to a black colored pencil... details at 11! ;-)
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