GLOSSARY OF COLOURED PENCIL TERMS
THIS LIST WAS PUT TOGETHER BY BILL COULTER 04.03.2007
adjacent hue - a hue that is next to another hue on a colour wheel.
blending - a technique of applying one layer of colour over another layer
of colour and the combining of the two or more colours together creates a new colour.
A tortillon, solvents,erasers, blending pencils, or blending ink pens can be used
to blend and smooth out the coloured pencil layers which make the colours very bright
and vivid.
burnishing - using a light coloured pencil or metal object with heavy pressure
and applying it over a layered or drawn surface. It makes the colours look brighter,
sometimes lighter and can give an image a polished or reflective look.
Chiaroscuro - a Renaissance system for describing an emergence of form, relying
on value changes from dark to light.
chroma - a colour's strength or intensity.
colour pencil - a pencil containing a wax, oil or water-based bound pigment as its
"lead". They are semi-opaque accept for white, cream and grey. It can be manufactured
with a wood surround or without.
colour temperature – warm and cool hues. (eg reds and blues)
complementary colours - hues that are opposite of each other on a colour wheel (eg
green & red)
crosshatching - lay one layer of colour horizontal and then a different layer of
colour vertically. Continue with this layering process until the desired results
are achieved.
drybrushing - a blending technique, in which you blend the layers of colour with
a dry paintbrush.
fixative - a protective spray you can apply to colour pencil work. It also
helps prevent wax bloom and can also be used when colour won't adhere to the surface
of the paper.
frottage - colour pencil rubbing of textured object.
grisaille - method of establishing values using a neutral or single hue of
low intensity before applying colour. Usually done using a complementary colour of
the hue or colour you are using.
hue - a single colour of the colour spectrum.
impressed line - a technique in which one can impress lines onto the paper using
a tool to achieve white lines or light coloured lines.
intensity - a colour's strength or brightness.
layering - applying one pencil colour stroke after another, building numerous layers
of colours.
pigment - the pencil colour to be applied, either wax or oil based.
pressure - is a term used when applying colour either lightly or heavily to the surface
of the paper.
saturation - the purity or intensity of a colour. ( grey = unsaturated)
sgraffito - a technique in which you scrape or scratch away the very top surface
of layers of colour to create wispy hairs, lines etc.
solvents - substances that are used to dissolve the colour pigment on the surface
of the paper.
strokes - the direction in which you apply the colour pencil
stroking - applying horizontal, diagonal, vertical, circular or crosshatch lines
side by side and/or overlaying one another.
value - lightness and darkness of a colour.
water colour pencil - water soluble pencils that can be applied either wet or dry.
wax bloom - is a build up of wax from wax based pencils, which creates a whitish
haze on the surface of the paper.
