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PENCIL TECHNIQUES - 3 -  Clouds and Skies

 

 

One problem with Coloured Pencil is the fact that it is a ‘linear’ medium –

that is, it is designed to produce a line, and a line is not always what you want.  

One technique used to get around the fact that you don’t always want a line, is to transfer colour from the pencil to the paper by means of an intermediary. This is a good way of doing skies, smooth water and out-of-focus backgrounds as it avoids getting the pencil point into the critical  area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This method relies on you making up a 'paint box'  or palette on fairly rough watercolour paper by working an area or areas of very strong colour from your pencils.  The paper needs to have a good tooth so that you get a thick layer of pigment to work with.
With a piece of white felt or similar fabric, you transfer pigment from the 'palette' to the felt and then gently rub the felt over the paper.   This transfers a thin layer of pigment on to the paper.  The darker the colour the more obvious the transfer, with lighter colours you may need several coats.  I used a Polychromos Ultramarine for the sky in the example (above) which went down with a relatively light result.  I then refined the detail with a Light Ultramarine pencil which was very close to the resultant transferred pigment and blended well.
Because you have not impressed the pigment into the paper in any way, you can lift it off easily with an eraser to show woolly white tops to clouds.  You can also re-work clouds if your first efforts have not left them big enough.
By using white felt you can ensure that if you use it for another colour, you don't get the wrong colour transferred and a green patch (say) in the sky.  I have a piece of felt which already has quite an area of blue on it and it works better and better all the time.   Ideally the felt needs to be reasonably substantial,  a thin piece will break up more quickly with rubbing.  I have found an ideal source in the felt pad to a replacement ironing board cover. This was shortened to fit the board and the piece left over found a good home.
This technique is also good for backgrounds where the area behind the main subject needs to be out of focus.   If you do this blurred area first, you can erase up to the edge of the subject and then work your detail.
If you are working with a soft surfaced paper, like Stonehenge or Canaletto Liscio, the surface can be lifted slightly by the rubbing action, so more care will be needed.  

It isn't usually a problem with ordinary HP watercolour papers like the Fabriano as they have quite a hard resistant surface.  If the surface does start to lift, then a burnish with a white pencil can often apply ‘first aid’.

 

If you are erasing surplus pigment from the surface, always work with a clean eraser and from ‘within’ the area you will want to apply detail to.  For fine work, it is best to use a battery eraser as these have a narrow point and can be more accurate.  They cost very little – under £5 - and run on two AAA batteries.  They can be bought via mail order from several sources including the SAA.

 

Blurred Backgrounds in general are now covered in a separate section which follows.

 

Skies

Remember to graduate the colour of your skies.

The density of blue in the clear unclouded sky changes from a deeper blue overhead where there is little dust in the atmosphere, to a pale blue as the sky is seen near the horizon and where dust particles obscure the colour.  This is also known as Aerial Perspective, where the dust reduces the crisp definition of distant scenery and also cuts down the depth of warm colours seen at a distance.  

 

Clouds

Make sure that your clouds reflect the direction and position of the sunlight  ( if any ).

The opposite side of a cloud to the sun will have shadowed areas - usually below centre unless the sky is an evening one, in which case your clouds may be in direct shadow of sun behind them.

Look at clouds and skies and look at these photos.

 

 Clear sky - darker blue above              Cloudy sky  - sun behind them lighting tops

Layers of cloud

They  form narrower and narrower bands as they

come down towards the horizon

There is a huge range of colours in clouds, and the most impressive skies often have very little blue sky,  

Dark cloudy skies with lots of purples and greys also provide a sharp contrast to sunlit areas of landscape

These two sky shots show also how the blue of the sky is so much deeper above and fades back to a light blue nearer the horizon

LANDSCAPE TECHNIQUES

A summary of General POINTS :  A list of TUTORIALS in the site :  CLOUDS & SKIES  :   TREES 1  and  TREES 2

BRICKS STONE & TILES 1  & 2   :  Working from OLD PHOTOGRAPHS