OOLY’s travel friendly Chroma Blends Mechanical Watercolor Pencils let you discover the art of painting with watercolor pencils with a mixed media approach. Begin with these easy-to-follow, suggestions to help you start creating right away.
Make the Workspace Ready for Painting with Watercolor Pencils
Start with a clean work space, this is always a good idea when starting a new project. Before getting started; you may want to cover your workspace with paper or a plastic cloth. We designed the Chroma Blends Mechanical Watercolor Pencils for art makers and they are intended for 6 years & older. If painting with watercolor pencils is being done by a younger, less experienced artist we recommend adult supervision.
Pro Tip: If you think the project will not be completed in one sitting; use a space that won’t be disturbed or do the project on a tray, cardboard or something that can be moved without affecting the supplies or potentially damaging your unfinished work of art. Sometimes it is helpful to tape your paper down as it gets wet (overly wet), as it can tend to warp and curl up on the edges. A few strips of an artist tape or masking tape is not too sticky and should work well to hold your artwork in place.
Layout The Supplies
Getting your supplies laid out and ready to use will make painting with watercolor pencils easier to complete. The Chroma Blends Watercolor Pencil set has a paintbrush included as well as extra color refills for the mechanical pencils so you are set for a few projects!
Let’s Get Our Supplies Ready For Painting with Watercolor Pencils:
- Chroma Blends Mechanical Watercolor Pencils (18 colors)
- Paintbrush (included) – You may want more styles of paintbrushes for added effects
- Watercolor Paper – We suggest: Chroma Blends Watercolor Paper Pad or Chroma Blends Circular Watercolor Paper Pad
- Chroma Blends Mechanical Pencils Refills (included)
- 2 Glasses of water (1 for rinsing your brush, 1 for blending)
- 1 white plate or plastic tray (optional use as a mixing palette)
- Masking or artists tape (optional)
Pro Tip: We highly suggest you use a watercolor paper for your watercolor paintings as “regular” paper is not made to absorb/work with water. It also has a higher tendency to bleed thru and curl.
Choose Watercolor Paintings Colors & Styles
With 18 color pencils to give you a great start but you can create even more colors by adding water to blend them.
Pro Tip: If watercolors are new to you, you may want to practice on a separate sheet of watercolor paper before beginning your masterpiece. This will help you get a feel of how much water to use on your drawing for color blending and with other techniques.
Draw your subject onto your watercolor paper with the vibrant watercolor pencils. Then you can experiment with some of these watercolor techniques:
Hatching: Draw closely spaced lines (try complementary colors), then use your paintbrush and add some water to your lines. The amount of water you use will give you different results.
Cross Hatching: Draw Hatch lines then add more lines on top but at an angle. Then add water with your brush.
Light to Dark: Simply draw/fill in an area on your artwork lightly, gradually add more pressure to your pencil to create a darker color. Then add your water to create an ombre effect. This technique might be useful for doing watercolor paintings of flowers!
Color Blending: Begin by drawing two colors adjacent to each other, touching is fine. As you add your water you will see the 2 colors will now become a new color.
Create Beautiful Watercolor Paintings
Let’s go! Now that you have practiced with your pencils and adding water, it’s time to start your artwork! First do your complete drawing with the dry pencils before using your watercolor brush. And remember to keep your hand elevated from the paper so the already applied paint doesn’t get smudged. To add extra drama after your work has dried, you can use your pencil to create detail and definition. Or outline certain parts of your watercolor paintings to create a more powerful work of art.
You can easily refill the pigment in your pencil if needed. Take the cap off the barrel. Then place the color refill into the top. Next place the cap back on and give it a couple clicks for the color to appear at the pencil tip.
Enjoy creating and if you need more tips on painting with watercolor pencils techniques many more are available by searching online.
Now that you have discovered the world of painting with watercolor pencils, you may want to add more options to your artist arsenal! We suggest trying Chroma Blends Neon Watercolors or Chroma Blends Pearlescent Watercolors to add some colorful or shimmery effects! Or if you are going on the road, take along Chroma Blends Travel Watercolor Palette which includes brushes that hold water so you don’t need glasses of water. Paint on!
