The Fude of Colored Pencils (Plus Shading Tips)

 

Three ways to use Derwent Drawing pencils (all examples in this post made in Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook)

Although I’ve exclaimed more than once recently that Derwent Drawing pencils are uniquely special, I’ve struggled with articulating what makes them so. Their extra-soft, creamy core combined with an unprecedented thickness is the physical manifestation that makes them unique colored pencils, but what’s the result of that on paper?

The gold pencil at right is the Uni Mitsubishi "brush pencil," which I cut into a chisel shape.

Years ago (holy crap, my blog now tells me it was nearly a decade ago!), I wrote a review of the Uni Mitsubishi “brush pencil.” Obsessed at the time with all things fude (the Japanese term for “brush”), I happened upon this graphite pencil that was intended to mimic the fluidity and expressiveness of a calligraphy brush. Recalling that pencil made me realize that it has that same remarkable combo of ultra softness with thickness of core as Derwent Drawing pencils. As well as any pencil possibly could, they all possess the ability to make a wide range of thick-and-thin expressive marks that are usually limited to a wet brush.

I will now declare it: Derwent Drawing is the fude of colored pencils.

A blog reader recently requested tips on shading using Derwent Drawing pencils. Now that I have a way to talk about their greatest attribute – variable line-width expressiveness – I think the best thing a new user of these pencils can do is to experiment and play with mark-making to see what a difference it makes for a pencil to be both soft and thick.

In the swatches I made at the top of the post, the first swatch labeled “side” is one way I use these pencils most: on the side of their cores instead of their points. This is where they express their most fude-likeness by being both pressure-sensitive and able to make a variety of line widths. It’s a method typically not used by traditional colored pencil artists.

Of course, these pencils can also be used to shade in a more traditional way: Using a sharp point to make multiple, lightly applied layers (labeled “tip [light]”). Traditional instructions will also advise against applying hard pressure from the get-go (labeled “tip [hard]”). A freshly sharpened hardcore colored pencil (for example, Faber-Castell Polychromos) applied that way would likely leave permanent indentations in the paper’s surface. In addition, slamming down a big wad of pigment will leave bits of white paper exposed that will be much harder to cover later. Applying many light layers enables more pigment to get into the paper’s tooth and cover the surface completely.

But who cares? I only very rarely draw with colored pencils in the recommended way. (That swatch showing how hard I’m pressing? Don’t tell real colored pencil artists who showed you that! 😉) I’m all about slamming the color down hard and getting out fast! That may sound aggressive, but it’s no less soothing and relaxing simply because these pencils feel so good to use.

Just for fun, I stopped at a couple of points while making the sketch below to show some of the different ways I hold and apply Derwent Drawing pencils. In Phase 1, I’m holding the pencil loosely and lightly and using mostly the sharp point to block in the main shapes. (Yes, I always start with the car because it gives me a scale reference point.)

Phase 1: blocking in, mostly with pencil point

In Phase 2, I start using the side of the core to find varying values within the foliage.

Phase 2: side of core

In the final phase, I continued using the side of the core to work on the foliage texture. To finish, I used the point again to fill in the darkest areas.

Finishing: more shading with side; darkest areas with point

I knew that I had made a sketch previously using the same reference photo (coincidentally using the same Ink Blue pencil – it’s one of my favorites for this type of monochrome sketch). In the one below from Feb. 2, I used the pencil sort of halfway between the point and the side to draw the foliage texture with more vertical scribbles. I don’t think I used the full side at all in this sketch. Derwent Drawing pencils are full of new marks to discover!

2/2/26 Halfway between point and side for vertical marks

Thank you, Cathy, for making the request that prompted this post, which was fun for me to think about!

(Incidentally, reading that old review about the Uni “brush pencil” and seeing that sketch example make me realize that I hadn’t yet developed my skills in using pencils back then. I haven’t used that Uni in years; I must get it out and play with it again!)

Ink Blue -- one of my favorites for this type of monochrome sketching.