Make it Crafty Tutorial

Hello everyone

This is my first post for the new

Make it Crafty Store Design Team

ooh before I forget if you have not already done so please check out our new Store Blog where you will find my teamies and I sharing hints, tips and showcasing Make It Crafty products

and I am starting off with a tutorial!!

How to colour skin tones with coloured pencils

for this tutorial I used the following:

Sophie Daydreaming digital stamp by Make it Crafty

Winsor and Newton Smooth Surface Heavy Weight Cartridge Pad

I would not recommend using the same cardstock you use for Copics - it is far too smooth and the pencil will have difficulty adhering to it, it will smudge like crazy (been there, done that)

Faber Castell Polychromos pencils:

101 White

103 Ivory

131 Medium Flesh

132 Light Flesh

178 Nougat

189 Cinnamon

Caran D'Ache Pablo pencils:

404 Brownish Beige

Derwent Artist pencils:

6470 Mars Violet

Winsor and Newton Artists' Fixative

The information in this tutorial can be applied using any brand of pencils, the above list is just a guide and the ones I happen to have.

For those who want to try this with other brands might I suggest printing up the colour charts for the companies above to help you colour match.

 You will also need:

Good quality eraser

Pencil Sharpener

(I personally use a battery operated hellical one)

Sharpen all your pencils to a good point before you begin

STEP 1

Print or stamp your image

For this tutorial I am using just the head portion of Sophie Daydreaming

Now because I am working on a white background I have laid down a very light layer of Light Flesh to indicate where the shaded areas are on the face

(with light source coming from the left)

I did start off with the highlights ie White and Ivory as I often do when working on kraft card only to realise that, doh, I could not see them on this cardstock, so I erased it and started again (see I make bloopers too) 

STEP 2

Go over shaded areas with more Light Flesh if necessary and add highlights with White and Ivory

Do not press too hard - it is better to keep adding layers - and it makes it easier to erase mistakes!

STEP 3

Medium Flesh tone is added now to deepen the colour of the areas that would be in shadow and enhance the shape of Sophie's face.

STEP 4

At this stage more definition is added using Cinnamon and if you notice that your colouring is getting a bit messy, you can even it out by going over the troublesome areas carefully with Light Flesh and or Ivory.  When using good quality pencils they will blend together quite easily giving a smoother appearance.

STEP 5

Now you need to concentrate on the soft shadow areas - so the right hand side of Sophie's face will need additional Brownish Beige, as will her neck, inner ear and area near hairline.

STEP 6

Final stage - I used Mars Violet (cool name eh) to lessen some of the orange tint that flesh tones can sometimes give, but that is just me being picky and then Nougat to add stronger shadows - especially around the ear, close to the hand, her neck, side of her nose and right side of the face.

If you feel the colouring needs smoothing out a bit then gently go over the offending area with Light Flesh as before. 

Can you see the difference a few carefully placed shadows make - just compare Step 5 and Step 6.

And you are done!

Here is Sophie again fully coloured:

Once you have completed your pencil colouring I do recommend you seal it with Artists' Fixative - as an impoverished student I used to use hairspray but the fixative is so much better - it seals your work under a fine layer of acrylic and prevents it from smudging.

I hope you have found this tutorial helpful and that it gives you the confidence to get those pencils out and have a go!

Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask

Happy Crafting