With
coloring books currently so popular, here is a timely reprint
of an old favorite from 1992. Learn how to get the most out
of your colored pencils and graduate from coloring into drawing
your own artwork.
Firstly, I must stress that this is a book for those who own
the artist's quality pencils rather than the cheaper alternatives.
You can learn how to blend, shade, use with solvents, try
out frottage and sgraffito and more, but only if your pencils
are capable of doing all of this. There is certainly room
on the market for a book on how to get the best out of all
the budget alternatives, but until then, the more serious
colorist/artist can settle down with this classic. The book
is in two halves, the first dealing with techniques and the
second with themes. You can learn what you need to buy and
the differences between the various types of pencils, then
get down to finding out what they are capable of. They are
surprisingly versatile, and when used the right way can conjure
up effects that are the equal of paint and have a special
quality of their own too. Find out how they look on different
types of paper, when used with other media and all the various
effects they can do on their own. Brand names are not mentioned,
but any good art store or website will stock at least one.
The themes section comprises of a gallery of all the many
subjects you can choose to depict (from the actual physical
world rather than fantasy), and each heading features artwork
and descriptive captions explaining method. If you have a
mental image of a typical colored pencil drawing think again,
as the work here shows they can also resemble paint, ink,
pastel or even photographs. This is not a book with staged
projects - something else there is room for - but one that
shows what you can do and explains how others have done it.
I would recommend it for somebody who is either a colorist
or an existing artist who wants to explore a new medium.
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