The first way you can use solvents with Polychromos is with the aid of paper stumps. You can dip the stump straight into a solvent and apply it to the paper to help blend the marks easily. However, these will be subject to wear and tear. You can also use cotton buds for large areas but stumps are recommended for getting those detailed shading marks. As well as stumps you can also use brushes to get a different paint like effect- perfect while sketching outdoors.

My teenage daughter is a budding artist and she draws and colours prolifically so she'd wanted these for a long time. The depth of colour is brilliant and they are so easy to use as you don't have to apply much pressure so no aching hands from hours of colouring. Very impressed!” - Kim Larrad-Tye Just know that burnishing and layering go hand in hand. When drawing on a good cotton paper, like Stonehenge paper by Legion, you have the option of building up multiple layers. Sometimes as many as 20 or more layers. If you like the polished look, then use the burnishing technique after you’ve completely rendered. The point of the pencil makes a big difference in the layering and burnishing process. So what about pencil burnishers and the different types there are to choose from? Reasons to Burnish Colored Pencil Artwork Blending will be greatly assisted with the help of a thinner, however, so this needs to be considered before going to work with these. That being said, you can still blend successfully without the assistance of paint thinner if necessary. But to open the core material up, just a small dab of some sort of solvent seems to release things.READ NEXT: Sign in style with our selection of the best fountain pens The best colouring pencils you can buy in 2023 1. Prismacolor Premiers: The best soft-core colouring pencils The Van Gogh Royal Talens colouring pencil sets – as the name suggests – offer quality that the artist would be proud of. They were part of the very first ASTM tests for lightfastness in coloured pencils and are now the standard that other pencils are judged against, so you can be sure your drawings will last for a very long time. That’s pretty incredible considering the price – the Royal Talens are the least expensive of the ASTM rated pencils out there. For detailed artist drawings, we recommend using a smooth paper, such as Bristol board, Strathmore toned pads, Hot Press Watercolour Paper or textured Pastelmat.

They offer a soft lively colour and are water resistant. Artists use these because of the high grade pigments and lightfastness which means they’ll last for years. The leads are SV bonded which means they’re hardy pencils which can survive transit and are sturdier than your average colouring pencil. These cherries have a very glossy type of skin I wanted to use the burnishing technique to be able to show this texture.What makes Polychromos so special? The answer is found in the development. Made from premium cedar wood, Polychromos is comprised of vegetable oil, wax, and high-quality pigments. These qualities give the color pencil a buttery smooth color laydown and can be easily blended for layered effects, highlights, and transitions. With a 3.8 mm break-resistant lead, this pencil is also water resistant and smudge proof. The Polychromos pencil is labeled by color name, color number, lightfastness rating, and an SV bonded label, with the lead color painted on the entire barrel of the pencil. Polychromos, coloured artist pencils by Faber Castell, are an artist quality oil based coloured pencil, used by professional artists around the world. Also used by adult colouring enthusiasts and crafters. Faber Castell is a German company and the worlds largest manufacturer of pencils, founded over 250 years ago.

With a huge color choice of up to 120 count sets available, just about any color approach imaginable can be achieved with these. The hearty core is wrapped around in a round wooden exterior. Visual Appeal – 4.5/5 Coloured pencils are pigment held together by a binder and encased in wood. The quality depends on the ratio between pigment and binder and the quality of the wood. The artist quality pencils will create more vibrant colours and the most popular wood for pencils is cedar. Most colour pencils will use a wax binder and with these pencils you can add layers and layers of colour to get a depth of colour. Finding a pencil that suits your particular style should be at the forefront of your buying decision. The hand of each artist moves in a slightly different way, producing their own distinctive works. Pencils vary enormously too, in the hardness of the lead, how they feel in the hand and in the variety and depth of pigment. Matching your style to that of the pencils is key. Colours: Of course, the range of colours in a set of pencils is an important consideration. However, you don’t want to go overboard if it’s your first set – start with 24 or fewer and work your way up. You can often buy individual pencils from the leading brands to add further range to a small set.When creating your artwork with a Polychromos color pencil, you can rest assured knowing your work is going to last a long time. Of the 120 colors, 102 colors have a 3-star lightfast rating. The pencil has a high archival quality of more than 100 years of fade resistance. They aren’t quite as soft as those more expensive brands, which should have the benefit of making them more durable, while still providing a creamy touch on paper. That’s perfect for getting even coverage over a larger area. Hardness: An interrelated concern to both quality and type, this refers to the relative hardness of pencil lead. Harder pencils tend to have more pigment in them and less wax, hence they are better for drawing detail and outlining, rather than covering large areas. They are also lighter and easier to erase. On the other hand, softer pencils will provide a more opaque stroke that smudges faster, making it useful for blending colours and shading.

I started out by first determining where the light source is coming from and where the shadows are cast. I also made note of where the light and the shadow separations were within each element of the composition. Accidental burnishing can limit your options and can damage the drawing surface. Once you’ve flattened out the tooth (the surface texture) of the paper it can be difficult or impossible to add more layers. Heavy pressure (or burnishing) too earlier in the process can also cause your surface to look unfinished. It can also leave white spots trapped under the multiple pencil layers. In the case of the Cherries reference, I decided that there was enough there to work with to create my artwork. I noted one small change to make to the direction of one of the stems. I decided to draw it pointing to the left rather than the right. This created a pleasing variation in the lines and overall composition. How to create your line drawing One thing to remember with Polychromos, is not to rush, take your time to build up layers in an almost meditative concentrated way. Pencil strokes can be in the form of circulism, which is achieved by creating very small overlapping circles, this method is perfect for portraits and skin tones.Faber-Castell’s collection of colored pencils coincides with our passion to support your creativity at every age and skill level. That is why we created our Polychromos ® Artist’s Color Pencils and Goldfaber Color Pencils in our Art & Graphic and Creative Studio lines. Every colored pencil of ours is manufactured for exceptional performance with high-quality pigments and SV bonding but hold their own unique build and qualities. There are many ways to get the job done when it comes to burnishing. Many pencil manufacturers make their own version of a burnishing pencil. These are pencils without color and mostly contain just the wax and/or oil found in a colored pencil. You may also choose to use another colored pencil as your burnisher. The oil-based core of the Faber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils manages to be quite strong while still having a soft feel to it. This happy balance is something that Faber-Castell is very good at and has nearly perfected here. The application is a joy and exploring the different characteristics of the color on the paper never gets old. If there are simple elements in the piece that need to be changed I’ll do it. On the other hand, if there’s a significant amount of changes required, then I’ll take reference shots all over again, noting the changes I need to make. In terms of colour, the Arteza pencils have excellent pigmentation, offering a wonderful range of colours in the 72-piece set, from warm and cool to earthy and dark. Lightfastness is pretty solid too, with only a dozen of the 72 pencils not being recommended for professional work. Considering the price, the Arteza pencils are an exceptional choice should those expensive top-tier brands fall out of reach.