Like with the drawing media, blending is required for every drawing. Normally blending with charcoal or graphite pencil is easy. But with colour pencils, it isn’t quite easy. But by following certain blending techniques we can achieve a smooth texture.
There are 3 basic blending ways of blending :
- pencil blending: this can be quite a painful activity but do not overlook this method. All you will need is your colour pencil. Every time you add a layer it is a process of blending. Burnishing is the common blending method with colour pencils.
- Dry blending: in this method, we blend without solvent but with a tool. We can use paper towels and tissues. Blending stumps and tortillas are used for graphite pencils and might be a little less effective than paper towels for colour pencils.
- Solvent: using solvent helps in dissolving the binder in the colour which allows the pigment to flow easily. Try to experiment with different solvents to see how the colours react.
Different solvents are as follows:
- Rubbing alcohol
- Odourless mineral spirits
