Drawing With Children: Les 5 Colored Pencils

If you have been following along with my series of blog entries using Drawing With Children by Mona Brookes-nature journal style, we are currently going through Lesson 5 in the book that goes through the various drawing media.

Here are links to the materials I have already written about:
Conte Crayons
Chalk Pastels
Drawing Pencils

Have I told you how much I love colored pencils? Until I started buying good quality colored pencils, I didn't realize their potential for making a really good drawing. Colored pencils come in different hardnesses just like drawing pencils. Harder pencils are more difficult to get a lot of color from and they don't blend very well. I prefer to use a softer lead. I know most of us start off with colored pencils from Crayola or some other popular reasonably priced company and that is okay. Just remember when you are moving up in the school years that your children might be ready to handle and get better results from a better quality colored pencil.

My favorite brand of colored pencils for older students is Prismacolor. My favorite brand of colored pencils for younger hands is Lyra.
Here is a link to see the Prismacolors.

I know these pencils are a little pricey but you can find smaller sets at art supply stores or places like Michael's or Hobby Lobby. I always use a 50% off coupon when I am purchasing them at Michael's. I also found them locally at the college bookstore and they had them at a *serious* discount. You just need to plan ahead and keep alert to sales.

Here is a link to Paper, Scissors, Stone to see the Lyra Color Giants. (You will need to scroll down the page to see these pencils.) Once you see how much color you get from these fantastic colored pencils, you will wonder why you wasted time with others. These are still the favorite colored pencils with my boys and they are 12 and 14.

So how do I use colored pencils in my nature journal? I try to carry a set with me when I have room in my backpack. I remove them from the cardboard container and put them in a more sturdy plastic tub. I also have a tin filled with watercolor colored pencils from Prismacolor. If you are going to splurge on an art supply for yourself, these are worth the price. You use them just like regular colored pencils but then you can use a brush and water to make the drawing into a painting.

To begin a sketch in your nature journal using colored pencils, I suggest first sketching the scene or item out with your favorite drawing pencil and then you can go back and use your colored pencils.

Some examples:

I sketched this out lightly with a drawing pencil first and then went back to add some color.

This sketch was done by my son after watching the goldfinches at our birdfeeder. He sketched the bird using a field guide and pencil. Then he went back and added the color to the sketch for his nature notebook.

Now, how about a video tutorial? I made two videos, one that shows the differences between the colored pencils and one that shows how to use the watercolor colored pencils. Enjoy.

There really is no mystery to using colored pencils. They don't make a mess. They are easily transported. They give great results.

Next time I will share some information about the next choice in Lesson 5, oil pastels.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom