For the final 6 months, I’ve used this number of Albrecht Durer Watercolour Pencil by Faber Castell for my on a regular basis sketching.
And I completely love this combo of colors!
A lot in order that I’ve used them for my upcoming Journey Sketching course. (Be aware: that is just like a variety I shared just a few months in the past once I was nonetheless in exploration mode.)
It is a pretty uncommon mixture of colors and listed below are just a few ideas behind my choice:
- I wished to have colors that have been totally different from the hues in my watercolour palette and to have enjoyable with some extra pastel colors. I simply love gentle creamy opaque colored pencils (or watercolour pencils) and so these have been the core of this set.
- I typically combine my watercolour pencils (WCPs) with watercolour quite than mixing the pencils themselves to get the correct hue, so I didn’t have to fret about how properly the colors on this set combined collectively.
- I additionally wished to check myself with a restricted palette and get used to not having the precise colors.
- I wanted to have a great vary of sunshine, mid and darkish toned colors. As I usually use my WCPs near full energy I wished this set to realize a great distinction if I used them dry.
So, how did I resolve on these 9 colors?
Main Triad
Yellow: A light-weight, shiny lemon yellow (104 Mild Yellow Glaze) that may simply be adjusted to a extra major yellow with my watercolour Hansa Yellow Medium.
Pink: I selected an earth purple – 188 Sanguine. This is without doubt one of the extra quirky choices on this set however I’ve been pleasantly shocked by how I’ve managed to outlive with out having a major purple. Many occasions during the last 6 months my topic has had some purple, and everytime I’ve used Sanguine and it’s been simply positive! As soon as once more it’s simple to regulate the hue with some watercolour excessive, however usually I’m proud of the sanguine by itself.
Blue: I made a decision to make use of 140 Mild Ultramarine for this set as I’m typically selecting lighter /pastel colors. This color is working nice for lots of various conditions – particularly for skies.
Inexperienced, Brown and Gray
Inexperienced: I selected an earthy inexperienced 174 Chromium Inexperienced Opaque (which fits Australian vegetation), and I’ve been proud of this. If I need a brighter inexperienced I combine the yellow and blue (extra about that under).
Brown: 182 Brown Ochre (a raw-sienna-type color) has been my favorite WCP for years, so this was a no brainer as my ‘brown’ pencil.
Gray: I typically desire heat greys, however after testing this choice for months determined {that a} cool gray (232 Chilly Gray III) labored higher.
One Darkish and Two Mild Colors
Darkish: One other one in every of my favorite WCPs of all time, 157 Darkish Indigo, was one other no-brainer!
Light1: Though I don’t use it usually, 132 Beige Pink is sweet for caucasian pores and skin tones and a few gentle constructing supplies. It’s one other instance of a pastel color that I identical to (a non-scientific cause!), and so it acquired included on this set.
Mild 2: I exploit this 103 Ivory pencil quite a bit! (By the way in which, it has change into a great substitute for Buff Titanium paint.)
Mixing Colors
As talked about above, I usually don’t do loads of mixing with my WCPs – aside from greens.
Under are 4 greens that I recurrently combine with my yellow, blue, inexperienced, indigo and gray. I then additional modify with watercolour.
I additionally typically combine some browns by including the Chilly Gray III or Darkish Indigo to Brown Ochre or Sanguine.
Limitations on this set
The primary limitation of this set is that it’s missing in purple, pink and purple hues. As talked about above, Sanguine has been a terrific substitute for purple, however I don’t actually have a great pencil for pinks or purples. Nonetheless, I’ve managed to manage with out these hues and depend on watercolour for them.
I’m additionally restricted with browns. I typically need a impartial mid-brown however all the time find yourself surviving with out it. Nonetheless, the one pencil color that I wish to add to this set is a darkish brown *corresponding to Walnut Brown). Nonetheless, for the Journey Sketching course, I caught with the 9 pencils listed above and didn’t add them.
Watercolour Pencils and Journey Sketching
I exploit these watercolour pencils all through the Journey Sketching course as I strongly imagine that utilizing dry media is a secret weapon relating to beginning a sketch when on the go (both journey or out and about domestically). Within the course I’ll present you the way I exploit WCPs dry and likewise how I mix them with watercolour!
In case you are interested by doing the Journey Sketching course and solely have my Foundations set of watercolour pencils (see right here for extra)…
These colors are completely appropriate for doing the workout routines contained in the course. The one further color that might be helpful is Ivory.
Let me know within the remark part under when you have any questions on this choice or concerning the Journey Sketching course.
Please signal as much as the devoted Journey Sketching ready record to get early entry and a reduced value to the course on the finish of the month. (The course will begin on ninth Sept and go for a bit of over 3 weeks. Extra particulars coming quickly!)
