Colored Pencils and Markers

Colored pencils and markers are the most accessible color media: no water, no mess, easy to carry. Colored pencils allow detailed, delicate work built in layers; markers give fast, bold, vibrant color, used by illustrators and industrial designers.

Colored pencils

There are two main types:

• Wax-based (most common): soft, blend well, build rich layers. Can develop a whitish "wax bloom" when heavily layered.
• Oil-based: harder, sharper, less bloom; great for detail.
• Watercolor pencils: dissolve with a wet brush into watercolor-like washes.

Layering

Colored pencil works like a slow glaze: you build color in many light layers.

1. Light pressure first. Sharpen often. Small circular or short strokes fill the paper's grain evenly.
2. Layer colors on top of each other to mix them optically: a yellow layer under blue makes green; a complement layered lightly makes a color muted and natural.
3. Start with the lightest colors and the shadows' base colors (often a blue, violet or brown for shadows).
4. Darken gradually. Avoid black: deep darks come from layering dark complements (dark blue + dark brown, for example).

Burnishing

Burnishing means pressing hard with a light pencil or a colorless blender over many layers. It fills the paper's tooth completely and creates a smooth, shiny, painterly finish. Do it last: after burnishing, you can't add more layers.

Markers

• Alcohol-based markers (like those used in design and comics): blend smoothly while wet, dry fast, don't pill the paper. They bleed through, so use marker paper.
• Water-based markers: cheaper, streakier, but water-blendable.

Marker technique

• Work light to dark. Markers are transparent: you can't cover a dark color with a light one.
• Use a limited set of grays (cool grays or warm grays) to render values, then add color on top, or use color families with light, medium and dark versions.
• Blend while wet: work quickly in small areas, overlapping strokes before they dry to avoid streaks.
• Layer for shadows: a second pass of the same marker gets darker.
• Finish with highlights using a white gel pen or white gouache.

Like watercolor glazes, markers stack transparently: