Colouring with Coloured Pencils

Colouring with Coloured Pencils

It's quite easy to create tone and form with coloured pencils just by changing the pressure that you apply from the pencil onto the paper. Below are a few ways I like to use the medium. To create a nice gradation from one colour to the next, you can either use a flicking motion or use fading. Both require you to apply tons of pressure on one area (dark area) and gradually reduce it, letting the pencil just hover over the paper and finally apply no pressure at all on the opposite area (light area). Cross-hatching is what I like to use when I try to achieve a flat layer of colour. This can also be used when shading since the tighter the cross-hatching is, the darker the layer becomes.

Below are only for ways to blend colours together. NOTE that there are more ways than this. Dividing the area into sections which corresponds to only one colour saves a lot of time when shading. It does however have the tendency to achieve a result where the colours aren't blended well together. Layering creates an entirely different shade of colour. It is however the most time consuming since it's not just putting the two colours/shades together, it's marrying them into one. This is done by starting with a slight pressure from the pencil and then building it up from there: gradually adding more pressure as you move onto a darker shade. Obviously, you don't have to start from the lightest colour. Dark, which is what I call this technique, is using the darker/darkest shade first to map out the dark areas and the shadows, then simply just adding the main colours to blend it together. 

For all of these boxes, I used red as my main colour and chose another colour that I wanted to shade with it. The first combination uses another colour from the same colour family of red. I used a darker shade of red. The second combination uses a colour that's somewhat related to red, preferably the colour next to it on the colour wheel, which is wither orange or violet. The third combination uses black with red to really emphasis the contrast between the bright red and the deep black. The last combination uses a complementary colour of red which is green to provide depth and interest to the colour.

Philippine Culture

Philippine Culture

Media: Faber-Castell pencils, Pilot G-TEC 0.3mm black fineliner and Quill white A4 Multiboard

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

For my Visual Communication and Design class, we were told to create two folios and it was completely up to us what we wanted to design in each folio. I chose fashion design for folio 1 and architecture in folio 2. It was a fun project, but I wish I had more time to make my folio better. It's sad to say that the fun only really lasted a while. Once the teacher confirmed the date of our submission, it was a tragic journey from there on.
This is one of the three designs I created. It was inspired by the Philippine culture with the Santo Niño festivals and celebrations. I was influenced by the costumes that the dancers wore which reflected the religious beliefs of most Filipinos. I've been in love with the combination of red and yellow/gold for a while now, and I couldn't resist not using the combination as the colour palette of this design.
I also added some current fashion trends that I am in love with at the moment such as the black stiletto heels with ankle straps, as well as the milkmaid braids. I would definitely love to see this design come to life.

Stained Glass Collection - Design 3

Stained Glass Collection

Media: Copic Markers, Faber-Castell pencils, Pilot G-TEC black fineliner and Quill white A4 Multiboard

Time: 2 hours

This is by far the longest time I have ever taken to draw a complete fashion illustration. I guess it's been a while and I lacked practice.
The collection hasn't been completely abandoned, although finishing it is taking longer than expected. It was in early May this year when I started, and I swore I'd finish it in like a month.
I'm determined to finish this collection since there were a few ones that I abandoned, for example, the Queen Couture Collection. I still like to tell myself from time to time that I just took a break from it - a long break - and I'm going to finish it in the future. However, it's an undeniable fact that there's no way I'm really going to complete that collection. The idea was great at that moment, and I still think it has potential, but none of the dresses I designed fit what I had initially imagined the collection to look like. (That's a whole different story though) For this one, I'm working my way through to completing it, and it might be taking more time than necessary, but as long as I finish it.

Art Materials

Art Materials

It seems that I get quite a few questions on what art materials I use: from pencil all the way to my different colouring supplies. If you're anything like me, it's possible that you also like collecting pencils, pens, erasers and all kinds of supplies. 

I remember in 4th Grade, I had Lyra watercolour pencils that my dad bought for me. I used it in school and a girl asked me, "Why do you have so much pencils?"

"She want to have all the art materials in the world" my friend replied to the girl, then she looked at me for affirmation. I nodded.

It was exactly my dream when I was 10 years old. It seemed like a simple dream, but now that I think about it, there's possible a small chance that I'm going to own every single art materials out there in the world.

So here's a list of the basic art materials I own and love:

- Pentel Techniclick 0.5mm mechanical pencil

- Pentel AIN 0.5mm pencil lead (both in HB and 2B)

- Faber-Castell PVC-Free Space Eraser

- Pilot G-TEC C4 0.4mm black fineliner

- Pilot G-TEC C3 0.3mm black fineliner

- Reflex 80 gsm white bond paper

- Quill XL Multiboard 210 gsm white paper

- Copic Ciao Markers (both 72 set A and B)

- Copic Various Refills 

- Faber-Castell 48 Classic Colour colour pencils

- Uni-pin Fine Line set of 5 black fineliners

- Uni-ball Signo Broadopaque white fineliner

- Glitter pens

- Derwent 36 Studio colour pencils

My art materials are not the most well known or most expensive brands out there. Some professional artists might not recommend these brands, especially the ones I buy from the dollar stores (and trust me, I buy a lot of art materials from there). For me, I'd start with inexpensive art materials because I am a beginner and a self-taught artist, therefore most of the art that I produce is experimental. I don't want to be buying expensive art materials and produce artworks when I know I have so much more to improve on. Perhaps in the future, when I take up some art classes, and find a stable job, I might use the artist quality and brands as my art materials. However, for now, I'm satisfied with the ones I have. I think: It's not whether you own a lot, it's more about what you can do with what you have.

Flower Crown

Self Portrait 1940

Flower Crown

Media: Copic Ciao Markers, Touch Twin Markers, Faber-Castell pencils,
Pilot G-TEC 0.3mm black fineliner and Quill white A4 Multiboard

Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes








I love the look of flower crowns, not so much wearing it on a casual days. There's something elegant yet a little playful with having flowers in your hair. So I decided to create a fashion portrait that celebrates the beauty of flower crowns on women. An inspiration for this was Frida Kahlo, an artist I completely adore. Her life wasn't quite a fairytale and her works conveyed that properly which is always entrancing to look at, and at times I have to admit, quite disturbing. Nonetheless, I love the symbolism she used to capture a meaning and a story in her paintings that only she can truly understand.

Male

Male
Media: Copic Ciao Markers, Faber-Castell pencils, Pilot G-TEC 0.3mm black fineliner and Quill white A4 Multiboard

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

It's a rare thing for me to draw a male fashion illustration since first of all, I've been criticized that my male models look way too feminine and second, I have little to no clue about the male fashion world. I only know one or two current trends for men, and because of that, I had a hard time designing the outfit, concerned that it might end up looking like clothes more suited for women than for men.
I admit, I need a lot of practice with male faces, with the body and with the clothes they wear. Obviously there is a distinct feature in garments that are for men and not for women, and vise-versa. I am yet to do some studying and further research to enhance my knowledge and skills.
Meanwhile, I decided to give it a practice since I've been asked quite a few times to create a tutorial on the male figure. I would like to, but I still have a lot to learn on that area, and unless I am confident on drawing men, I won't be making that tutorial yet.

Formal Dress

Formal Dress

Media: Faber-Castell pencils, Pilot G-TEC 0.3mm black fineliner and Quill white A4 Multiboard

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

My friend asked me to make her formal dress since I've made my own (which I will post on here soon enough). This is the illustration of the dress that we agreed on, yet we made a few changes.
This is a style of fashion illustration that I'd normally never explore since it requires more time and effort put into drawing two figures and colouring two fashion illustrations. I've done this before, but swore never to do it again, yet here I am with this illustration.
As expected, I'm not completely satisfied with the outcome. I got tired towards the end which ruined the colour of the second dress (left). So, with that said, I will never return to this style, but if I do, it would only be for a great reason.

Jumpsuit

Jumpsuit

Media: Faber-Castell pencils, Pilot G-TEC 0.3mm black fineliner and Quill white A4 Multiboard

Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

The materials you use do not necessarily determine your skills. An artist who has been practicing for many years can use a cheap medium and still create a beautiful painting/drawing. They utilise the materials they have.
I wasn't born with a million dollars in my pocket. I'm not rich nor am I spoilt. I was, however, fortunate enough to earn money through a commission which I used to by my Copic markers. Aside from that expensive brand of graphic markers, I like to buy cheap art materials that can be found in the dollar store. My local dollar store has a wide variety of mart materials from colouring pencils, charcoal to acrylic and oil paints. Since I still consider myself a beginner, I don't like to buy expensive mediums if I know I'm only going to experiment with it, unlike Copic markers which I know I'm going to use all the time.
With that said, I did this simple illustration using Faber-Castell 48 Classic Colour set which I bought from a school and office supply store. It cost me about $18 which is considerably inexpensive compared to other brands such as Prismacolor and even Faber-Castell Polychromos.