Blending Tools for Colored Pencils Over Grayscale
When coloring over grayscale, you have to think about what methods and materials will be gentle to the grayscale image underneath. You are coloring over printed material, so you don't want anything to scuff up that printing. When coloring on a white piece of paper, the abrasive qualities of materials aren't as easily noticeable. You generally don't notice that something is abrasive until it eats a hole in your paper. But when you color over grayscale, it is much more apparent and rough materials can literally lift up the printing.
Printing processes and papers vary drastically, so I encourage you to test your preferred blending methods to see if they give you your desired effects. You will notice that many published and professionally printed grayscale coloring books will be more delicate than what you may be used to when coloring images that you've printed at home. This can be in part to the printing processes that are used. So if you get a new book, always test, test, test!
There are many different methods to blend colored pencils. I wanted to test the most popular types over grayscale to see how they performed. I performed a simple test and tried each method listed below on a grayscale image of mine. It is a stripe in the background of one of my images that is fairly consistent in texture and amount of grayscale. I used a Prismacolor Premier Carmine Red colored pencil. This paper is from one of my grayscale coloring book proofs. It's a medium weight 60# bright white paper that has been professionally printed.
Printing processes and papers vary drastically, so I encourage you to test your preferred blending methods to see if they give you your desired effects. You will notice that many published and professionally printed grayscale coloring books will be more delicate than what you may be used to when coloring images that you've printed at home. This can be in part to the printing processes that are used. So if you get a new book, always test, test, test!
There are many different methods to blend colored pencils. I wanted to test the most popular types over grayscale to see how they performed. I performed a simple test and tried each method listed below on a grayscale image of mine. It is a stripe in the background of one of my images that is fairly consistent in texture and amount of grayscale. I used a Prismacolor Premier Carmine Red colored pencil. This paper is from one of my grayscale coloring book proofs. It's a medium weight 60# bright white paper that has been professionally printed.
#1 - Colorless Blending Pencil, #2 - Vaseline, #3 - Colorless Blending Marker, #4 - Baby Oil, #5 - Blending Stump, #6 - Burnishing
Colorless Blending Pencils - **NOT RECOMMENDED**
I'm afraid I will lose a lot of you at this point, because I know a lot of you LOVE your colorless blending pencils. I did too! They are very easy to use. You simply color with firm pressure over your pencil strokes and they blend with ease. But it is that firm scrubbing motion that can destroy some grayscale coloring pages and books. I have been able to use these somewhat successfully on thick cardstock when I print my images on my ink jet printer, but because papers and printers vary drastically -and- many grayscale printed coloring books will not stand up to colorless blenders, I highly suggest you don't use them. But I promise to explain other methods, some of which you may even prefer. So please....read on!
Petroleum Jelly - **Nikki's Favorite!!**
One colored pencil blending method that I kept seeing pop up in Adult Coloring groups is to use Petroleum Jelly. I was resistant to this method and actually didn't try it for a long time. It seemed like it would make a huge greasy mess on my paper. But I was so wrong and I wish I had tried this method sooner!
The petroleum jelly breaks down the pigment of the colored pencil slightly and allows it to glide smoothly across your paper. If you're tired of seeing white areas, inconsistencies or pencil strokes in your colored pencil work, you have got to try this! It creates a nice, smooth, consistent layer of colored pencil across your work surface. And it also adds a touch of a transparent quality which is nice for grayscale work.
There are a couple techniques that people use when blending with petroleum jelly. You can put a thin layer on the paper and color on top. I found inconsistent results with this method. I was able to color very smoothly in some areas while other areas were rougher. You can use a Q-tip and blend with the petroleum jelly after you have colored. I did not like this method because I felt like it lifted up too much of the color that you put down.
My preferred method is to simply dip the very end of the tip of your pencil in the petroleum jelly and then color. I use a medium pressure on the pencil and you will be amazed as the color blends and goes on so perfectly! I dip my pencil quite often. You can feel the pencil start to drag and lose its smooth quality, so you know that you need to reapply it then. Always wipe off your colored pencil and clean the petroleum jelly off completely when you are finished.
This does leave some greasy residue on your paper, but not nearly as much as I would have initially thought. I did experience a little bit of a grease stain on the back of my paper, so I definitely wouldn't recommend this for double sided coloring pages. And to be on the safe side, use cardstock behind the piece you are working on when coloring in a book. Another thing to mention, is you need to avoid resting your hand in the areas that have petroleum jelly, because it can smear.
If you have extra spots of petroleum jelly on your paper, blot very gently (do not rub), with a tissue. My favorite way to absorb the extra petroleum jelly is to lay out a napkin over your piece when you're done working on it for the day and set a book on top. Leave it overnight and the napkin will absorb the extra. If there's any left the next day, just blot it gently.
The petroleum jelly breaks down the pigment of the colored pencil slightly and allows it to glide smoothly across your paper. If you're tired of seeing white areas, inconsistencies or pencil strokes in your colored pencil work, you have got to try this! It creates a nice, smooth, consistent layer of colored pencil across your work surface. And it also adds a touch of a transparent quality which is nice for grayscale work.
There are a couple techniques that people use when blending with petroleum jelly. You can put a thin layer on the paper and color on top. I found inconsistent results with this method. I was able to color very smoothly in some areas while other areas were rougher. You can use a Q-tip and blend with the petroleum jelly after you have colored. I did not like this method because I felt like it lifted up too much of the color that you put down.
My preferred method is to simply dip the very end of the tip of your pencil in the petroleum jelly and then color. I use a medium pressure on the pencil and you will be amazed as the color blends and goes on so perfectly! I dip my pencil quite often. You can feel the pencil start to drag and lose its smooth quality, so you know that you need to reapply it then. Always wipe off your colored pencil and clean the petroleum jelly off completely when you are finished.
This does leave some greasy residue on your paper, but not nearly as much as I would have initially thought. I did experience a little bit of a grease stain on the back of my paper, so I definitely wouldn't recommend this for double sided coloring pages. And to be on the safe side, use cardstock behind the piece you are working on when coloring in a book. Another thing to mention, is you need to avoid resting your hand in the areas that have petroleum jelly, because it can smear.
If you have extra spots of petroleum jelly on your paper, blot very gently (do not rub), with a tissue. My favorite way to absorb the extra petroleum jelly is to lay out a napkin over your piece when you're done working on it for the day and set a book on top. Leave it overnight and the napkin will absorb the extra. If there's any left the next day, just blot it gently.
Colorless Alcohol Based Blending Marker
My 2nd favorite method for blending colored pencils over grayscale is to use a colorless blender marker. Nearly every marker brand also makes a colorless blender: Copic, Tombow, Spectrum Noir, and Winsor & Newton to name a few. I have the Prismacolor Colorless Blender Marker and found it to perform very well! It is a double ended marker with both a chisel and a bullet tip which allows you to color in small or large areas.
These are very easy to use. You simply color with your colored pencils and then color with the marker on top to smooth and blend your lines. It also darkens your colors and make them more vivid. You will need to clean your marker after using it by coloring with it on some cardstock to get the pigment off as best as you can. I still prefer the petroleum jelly method over the blender marker method, because I felt that the marker would sometimes lift up my colored pencil. But if you don't like the petroleum jelly method, I would give this a try!
These are very easy to use. You simply color with your colored pencils and then color with the marker on top to smooth and blend your lines. It also darkens your colors and make them more vivid. You will need to clean your marker after using it by coloring with it on some cardstock to get the pigment off as best as you can. I still prefer the petroleum jelly method over the blender marker method, because I felt that the marker would sometimes lift up my colored pencil. But if you don't like the petroleum jelly method, I would give this a try!
Other Methods
I also tried several different methods for blending colored pencil over grayscale which I did not like as much. I will go into more detail below.
Baby Oil: You can dip a Q-tip in baby oil and use it over colored pencil to smooth and blend your pencil strokes. While it did seem to blend decently, I found this method extremely greasy and it left a big grease stain on my paper. It was much greasier than petroleum
jelly and I didn't feel like it blended quite as well. It also lifted up some of my color when applying it with a Q-tip.
Baby Oil: You can dip a Q-tip in baby oil and use it over colored pencil to smooth and blend your pencil strokes. While it did seem to blend decently, I found this method extremely greasy and it left a big grease stain on my paper. It was much greasier than petroleum
jelly and I didn't feel like it blended quite as well. It also lifted up some of my color when applying it with a Q-tip.
Stumps and Tortillions: You can purchase different blending stumps and tortillions which are made out of soft paper and come in different sizes. You can dip them in different blending mediums or use them just by themselves and then rub over your colored pencil strokes to blend. They can be sanded to keep a sharp point and clean off the colored pencil residue. I personally tried these dry with no blending medium. I felt like the rubbing was too abrasive for grayscale and it didn't do much to blend my pencil strokes. I know a lot of people use these with Gamsol, but I personally have never tried it. But I always encourage you to experiment and find what methods appeal to you!
Burnishing with a White Colored Pencil: You can blend your colored pencil strokes by burnishing with a white colored pencil. This means that you color normally with your colored pencils, then take a white pencil (or a lighter version of the colored pencil that you are trying to blend) and color on top with very firm pressure so that the pencil fills in all of the tooth of the paper and becomes slick. I did not prefer this method, firstly because it is very hard on your hand and shoulder. I found my hand throbbing after a short amount of time. I also felt like it was abrasive to the grayscale printing, much like the colorless blender pencil.
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