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Tips on colored pencils?

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⚡

10 comments

10 Comments

Lightray

Oct 21, 2023

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 😊

Thunderblaze

Oct 25, 2023

Replying to

Thank youuu! This helped a lot!

𝗌ω𝗂𝖿𝗍ᥣ𝖾α𝖿

Oct 25, 2023

Replying to

wow Lightray! These are beautiful, and Thunderblaze I cant wait to see more of your art!!!

Lightray

Oct 30, 2023

Replying to

No problem! I tryyy haha.

Morningmist

Oct 14, 2023

Hi! Nice to see you pop by! I'm not a visual artist, so I don't have many suggestions here. Maybe having more colors would help with shadows and highlights? Or using pens in certain places?

Whatever the case, I think both your horse and pegasus are very pretty!