Being a Lecturer of concept art one of the concepts I teach is how to use artists pencils. This book has given me many ideas and is ideal both for students and teachers (as well as want to be artists). I would highly recommend this book and was actually surprised how informative it was as well as giving drawn examples for the basic techniques in the first section. The second section covers a variety of different types of drawing such as portrait and movement. I would perhaps say this is not for the expert however we can all use a refresh whatever our stage and it could be a nice way for a seasoned professional to go over the basics. This is a book I'd highly recommend. * Marian Carr *
This is a new edition of the old classic 'Coloured Pencil Techniques' with a brand new cover. It covers everything you need to know about using coloured pencils. From techniques, themes and ample examples from professional artists, you'll discover the many ways of using this medium. Techniques are explained with step-by-step visual demonstrations. Essential reading for artists wishing to master coloured pencil art.
* YarnsandFabrics.co.uk *
Anyone new to colour pencil will be nothing but impressed at the extensive range of materials that can be used with them along with the range of ideas and demonstrations given in this book.
When beginning on any new journey or extending your knowledge, this book will guide you through.
It is direct and easy to follow. I think it is important to read the first half of this book, to familiarize yourself with the different elements that colour pencil can achieve.
If you are a beginner make sure you read the initial pages, so you understand that the type of pencil you use and the support it is on is of great importance. Also practise your blending (p.26).
If you find the prospect of reading all the different ideas overwhelming, choose one and then experiment with it. Perhaps consider doing a colour chart with your pencils, layering colours ontop of one another to see what happens.
The second half of the book then shows you the various subject matter, so you can see how these pencils work and what you can achieve.
Colour pencils are one of my favourite materials, you can sketch loose and excitedly or you can produce a detailed piece of work.
This book takes you on a colour pencil journey so you can see that you can produce the most beautiful works of art in pencil.
* Carole Cawley *
The pictures in this book made me stare. It was refreshing to have clear pictures showing so much detail and this applies for techniques, demonstrations and artist pictures. The book has given me ideas to use different coloured paper in the same picture for collage work, sketch using unusual colours and for line work.
I liked the dialogue beside pictures by professional artists and the wide range of subjects and styles.
Coloured pencils are accessible, convenient and easy to use. It is rewarding to see your art work improve and think this inspirational book will be a winner.
* Moya tracey *
What instantly strikes me about this book is how beautiful it is from front to back. It's filled with inspirational and high quality printed photos of pencil colouring, plus absolutely jam-packed with tons of step by step guides on a multitude of techniques, which you can see for yourself on the contents page.
The book is split into two main sections, Techniques and Themes.
The Techniques section introduction contains a useful overview of extra materials that can be useful for coloured pencil work, such as blending sticks, craft knives, and masking tape, followed by guides on handling pencils and choosing paper types, all of which would be useful for beginners wondering where to start.
This section also contains plenty of tutorials to use coloured pencils effectively in a range of manners, from commonly practiced methods like blending and hatching, to perhaps less tried techniques like stippling and burnishing. This is my favourite section of the book!
Each tutorial is spread conveniently over one double page, so it can be easily referred to without having to flick back and forth. The book is perfect bound, but will lay flat with some pressing.
The tutorials each offer an introduction to a colouring technique, a few examples of the technique and elaboration on how to create it, and lastly, in most cases, a beautiful final image that has been created using the technique.
Some tutorials go over and above coloured pencil techniques, offering a more diverse range of possibilities, for example use of solvents for blending, and use of mixed media to create distinct work
The Themes section comprises the latter half of the book. It's essentially an art gallery in your hands, showcasing a range of coloured pencil art from a range of themes, from Light and Atmosphere, to Buildings, to Decorative Objects, to Nature.
All artists whose images are used are credited by name, which means that whenever you find a piece of art you love (and you will in this title!) you can easily search the artists online to find more of their work.
For each picture included, there is a step by step visual demonstration, a tip, or some snippet of information that sheds light on the artistic process that went into creating it.
The range of artists, techniques, and subjects included makes this book a very well rounded and in depth introduction to coloured pencil techniques. I'd definitely recommend this to beginner colourists/artists and also to intermediate colourists/artists wanting to expand their knowledge base and try new techniques, mediums or subjects.
http://blog.megcowley.com/2016/10/25/book-review-the-encyclopedia-of-coloured-pencil-techniques-video-walkthrough/
* Meg Cowley *
The Encyclopedia of Coloured Pencil Techniques by Judy Martin lives up to its name. It is a comprehensive look at the various coloured pencil techniques and skills at an artist's disposal and serves as a great teaching and reference book for both beginners and those who are more advanced alike. The Book is split into two halves - the first half is techniques and the second is themes.
It covers a wide variety of techniques including how to handle pencils, using various types of paper, blending and shading, burnishing, overlaying colours, different ways of mark making such as hatching and pointillism, highlighting, eraser techniques, using solvents, frottage, masking, tracing, squaring up or down and fixing problems. the text is easy to follow and there are plenty of full colour illustrations of both finished artwork and in progress pictures to follow.
The second part Themes is further split into Landscape and Townscape, Objects, Nature and People and Portraits. It then goes on to explore shapes and textures, light and atmosphere, groups of objects, table settings, fruit, full length portraits and expressions.
If you are looking for a good text book that covers artistic techniques and talks about them from an artistic viewpoint this is a great book.
* Creative Colouring With Hazel *
This was originally published sufficiently long ago that I've never reviewed it here, so let's have a go at it as a Search Press Classic.
The Encyclopedia series, originated by the packager Quarto, was ground-breaking in its day. Innovation often looks stale after a few years, but this still has a vitality that won't leave you feeling you've been left with cast-offs, and the information is still sound. Quarto productions are always design-led and usually work on a spread-by-spread basis, so you can open this more or less at random and find a topic covered as completely as it's going to be - which is with surprising thoroughness, given the space allocated. Quarto are always good at conveying information efficiently.
Information contained covers media, styles, subjects and techniques and there are plenty of illustrations to guide and inspire you.
* www.artbookreview.net *
Here's something a little different- it's not a colouring book but a coloured pencil bible! This expansive book tells you everything you need to know about coloured pencils in a clear and comprehensive manner, covering a range of techniques and approaches to get the best out of your colouring.
Painter Judy Martin lives in Brighton and has written many art books since graduating from Reading University. This book showcases all the knowledge and expertise she has learned in her education and practice over the years, in a way that is accessible and approachable for beginners yet suitably elaborate and thorough for more intermediate artists.
This encyclopedia features over 150 full-colour examples of artist's work which show as well as tell the reader which products to use and how to achieve skills. This book is suitable for both colourists and artists who draw & colour from scratch, and is in my opinion an invaluable resource for anyone who uses coloured pencils. I'd expect to pay around GBP25 for a textbook so exhaustive but surprisingly it's a little over GBP12 which is a bargain in my eyes!
http://www.colourwithclaire.com/blog/the-encyclopedia-of-coloured-pencil-techniques
* Colour with Claire *
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.
* myshelf.com *
