Hey, guys!
So, I've been getting back into drawing pegasi, lately. It's been a while, and I finally have the time and motivation, which is exciting.
BUT...
I still like to use, and only use, colored pencils, and I keep realizing I don't actually know how to use the colored pencils in a way that makes the drawing look realistic. And I love realism. Usually I'm great at it if I use a regular graphite pencil. Here's an example:
When I draw the sketch for a drawing I'll later use colored pencils for, it usually turns out great, and mostly realistic. For example:
But then I use colored pencils and it all gets weird. Somehow it looks less realistic, and I can't seem to get the highlights right, and I don't know how to fix it. Here's the colored pencil finish of the sketch:
I don't know what to do. I want to use colored pencils because I want my drawings to be in color, but I don't know how to improve my skills to make it look more realistic.
Does anyone have any tips? Or maybe suggestions for videos/books/websites I could look at that might help me improve?
-Thunderblaze⚡
Take two because it just deleted my comment...
Hiiii Thunder! Long time no see ♥️
First thing - your graphite drawing is fantastic!
As for colored pencils, I typically avoid it unless I have another person at my beck and call for color choices because that's where I mess up. BUT I can tell you pressure makes a huge deal. Like when you're drawing with graphite, staring lighter and building up can go a long way for both color and texture. It also helps for blending colors together. I like to have a darker accent color sometimes for stuff. I'm gonna include these pictures of a drawing I did. I hadn't colored in a while so I used the pencil to show where I'd actually shade and just colored over it to get a feel for it.
You can always go dorky with the dramatic shadows. I did the base colorings for this super light and then traced over my fold lines harder with the same color. (I did this a while ago, which is why the poses are weird)
It's mainly about playing around and finding a technique that works for you! I hoped this gave you ideas! Happy Practicing 😊