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Learn Colored Pencil Techniques

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Basic Shading

colored pencil basic shading

Colored Pencil Basic Shading

H South, licensed to About.com, Inc.
This lesson introduces some basic colored pencil strokes which will be useful in your drawing. It is a good idea to spend some time exploring the colored pencil medium with small pieces before attempting a major drawing.

For this lesson, you will need some good quality drawing paper, and a few sharp colored pencils, including a colorless blender if you have one.

The most fundamental colored pencil stroke is one you know already: simple side-to-side shading. Practice keeping the marks straight, letting the fingers adjust the direction of the pencil or pivoting from the elbow. Many beginners accidentally curve their lines, pivoting the hand from the wrist, so that the surface they are shading looks rounded rather than flat.

Practice adjusting the amount of pressure that you apply to the pencil as you shade to precisely control the amount of color you lay down.

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