Collection: Watercolor Pencils (9 products)

How do you use watercolor pencils?

1. Paper

Before you begin to use your watercolor pencils, one thing is essential to note. Since these pencils are activated by water, and you will no doubt be using water on paper, it's important to use thicker paper that can handle moisture without rippling and buckling—the denser the paper, the better the results.

We recommend using watercolor paper at a minimum of 90lbs (or 200 gsm) and up.

Another thing to consider before using your watercolor pencils is what sort of texture you would like for your paper. Both smooth and textured surfaces have unique advantages, depending on your approach and what look you want when you create with watercolor pencils.

For the best of both worlds, you might want to choose a watercolor paper that gives you the option of a smooth and textured side.

To use your watercolor pencils, first, gather your supplies. You'll need:

• Watercolor paper
• Water, paper towels, masking, or washi tape
• Watercolor brush, or a water brush (a brush with a reservoir that holds water)
• Pencil sharpener
• Optional: Graphite pencils or waterproof pens to rough sketch and or outline if you wish.

2. Sample The Color

We highly recommend your first use of your new watercolor pencils is to create a sample chart to test what each color looks like without water and then activated with water. Colors from watercolor pencils often look very different once water is applied. A sample chart will show you exactly what each of your colors will look like when dry and wet so you can choose the right colors that work for your next art project and not be caught off guard by unexpected hues.

3. Stretch The Paper

Next, you may wish to stretch your watercolor paper before use. While the watercolor paper is specifically designed to withstand heavy water use, preparing it beforehand can help prevent severe warping as you work. To stretch your watercolor paper, wet both sides of the paper until it is thoroughly damp. Blot away any excess, then wet your masking or washi tape and secure the wet watercolor paper to your work surface, covering all edges of the paper. Next, wait until the paper is dry to begin. This will help prevent ripples and waves that may happen during water use on paper.

Optional: Before you apply watercolor pencil to paper, you may want to make a rough sketch to help plan out what your picture will look like. This can help you understand which areas of your painting you'll want to keep light and which areas you'll need to apply more color or shadows. You can use almost anything for this step, graphite pencils, watercolor pencils themselves, or waterproof pens.

4. Begin To Color

Now that you know how your picture will look, you can begin to color it with your watercolor pencils. Draw and color with your watercolor pencils just as you would regular color pencils, but don't worry about having to fill in every space. If there are areas where you want it to be light as possible, leave them blank. When you activate these colors, you apply with water. You'll be able to spread the color and blend nearby hues into light areas.

5. Activating, or Water Painting, Watercolor Pencils

Now you can begin painting with water. Using a clean brush, follow the shape and direction of your pencil strokes to give your piece a cohesive look. You can minimize the appearance of pencil strokes if you like by working the color more with your brush, but be aware of any pill or fraying, warping, or buckling of your paper. This is a sign that you may have used too much water.

6. Layer for More Vivid Color

After your first application of water has been applied, let it dry thoroughly. If you find the colors not vivid enough or you would like more, once dried, you can color over your work with watercolor pencils again. Add more of the same hue to deepen color, or experiment by using contrasting colors for interesting shadows and depth. When you're satisfied, you can grab a clean brush and paint over with water. You can repeat this step several times, allowing each layer to dry thoroughly beforehand to get the exact look you want. One tip to remember that may be helpful: always begin with lighter colors and move on to darker areas when activating watercolor pencils. This will help prevent the darker colors from running into the light areas.

What is the difference between watercolor pencils and colored pencils?

The most significant difference between regular colored pencils and watercolor pencils is that normal colored pencils create their cores either out of wax or an oil-base to bind the pigment, while watercolor pencil cores as created using a water-soluble pigment binder.

Regular colored pencils aren't designed to be diluted with water, and in fact, their binder does not dissolve in water-based solutions. They are created to be used dry and blended dry.

Do you dip watercolor pencils in water?

Watercolor pencils were not designed to be dipped in water. Instead, color with watercolor pencils as you normally would with regular colored pencils, then bring the water to the paper with the watercolor pencils. You will get the best results by applying water to the pencils that have been applied to the paper.

What are the best watercolor pencils?

The most critically acclaimed and popular watercolor pencils used by artists worldwide are:

• Cretacolor
• Derwent
• Faber-Castell
• Royal & Langnickel
• Winsor & Newton