Derwent Inktense and a splash of Derwent Watercolour Pencils

I recently had a conversation with a friend about which product would be the best to buy, Derwent Watercolour pencils, or Derwent Inktense pencils. I stated unequivocally that I would save up and buy both rather than have to choose between the two. That conversation inspired today's blog. Most of the painting is done in Inktense pencils, but I did use two watercolour pencils as well. I'll explain my choices as we go along.

I laid out all the products I might use, but in the end used only the pencils, and mainly the Inktense pencils. Both the Watercolour pencils, as well as the Inktense pencils are water-soluble. The main difference is that Inktense colors are set once dry, while Watercolour colors can be lifted and mixed when wetted again. Inktense colors are also more intense in color.

I also gathered a range of brushes that I might need, but in the end I used only the Pentel Aquash Brush. For a surface my choice fell upon Fabriano Elle Erre 220 gsm paper in sky blue.

I made a few quick shapes using an HB pencil. In no time I had a little tatty teddy sitting with his back to me. Note that this bear consists mainly of circles grouped together.

 I used Iris Blue Inktense on the tip of the bear's nose. Be sure to leave a space unpainted to reflect the gloss on the nose.

I then used Ink Black to add detail to the bear. I used the same color to define the lines, taking care not to draw solid lines, but keeping them broken. This immediately creates the impression of light and shadow.

I painted the colors I laid down with water and allowed them to dry. I wanted to make sure that these colors were fixed and would not lift and mix with the colors that followed.

In a side note, I want to mention that I love this three-holed sharpener by Faber-Castell for sharpening the Inktense pencils. They are thicker than most pencils and won't fit in an ordinary sharpener.

I wanted to make the patch on the bear a check pattern and started off with some Poppy Red lines which I painted and allowed to dry, once again fixing the color so it would not mix with the colors that would criss-cross it later on.

I added clumps of straggly hair to the outline of the bear in Charcoal Grey. Make sure to always draw hair in clumps and crossing each other in disarray for a more natural look. The hair also was painted with water.

I added Teal Green to the patch and painted it with water.

I added bright blue in loose strokes to the bear, leaving large sections uncolored. These will become natural highlights. I will also blend and smooth the paint when wet to spread it more evenly.

I colored the snout and the tail in Turqoise Green using the watercolour pencils. I want to mix a third color here and will do it on the paper, instead of on a palette.

I painted the tail and snout with water, allowing it to dry.

In the meantime I added Sun Yellow to the patch and painted it. Can you see how the colors do not mix, but remain fixed despite my wetting the colors again and again?

I now added Lemon Cadmium to the tail and snout.

When I painted the tail and snout with water, I wanted to retain the integrity of the first two colors in places, while mixing a third color from the two in others. Can you see how I managed to lift the original Turquoise Green and mix it with the Lemon Cadmium to get a deeper green in this close-up?

I even managed to lift the mixed color and add it to other parts of the tail. Are the nuances in the colors not lovely? I could achieve something similar to this if I used the Inktense wet on wet. In other words, you can mix a third color from the Inktense while it is still wet, but not after it has dried. However, the Inktense are too intense in color and I would struggle to get the subtle colors that I achieved here without much difficulty.

I now added Apple Green to the patch and painted it with water.

I do not know who the artist behind the Tatty Teddies are, or I would give credit where it belongs. This is merely a copy of someone else's genius, painted by myself.

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Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
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