First: SU Watercolor pencils used with a Blender Pen
To keep this comparison fair, I used the exact same stamp and Staz-on pad for all the images. I only highlighted the left side of the chef's coat and then blended in a circular motion towards the middle. Results.....
I've never been a fan of this techinique, mainly because it never seems "blended" to me and if you rub too hard (which really isn't hard at all) then you tend to rub through the paper or cause the paper to bubble up. Using straight water with the pencils is even worse, don't try that one.
Second: SU Watercolor Crayons with Aqua Painter
Not too bad, it's much lighter but the overall blend I definitely like.
Third: Prisma Pencils w/Gamsol
Results.......
The upside to this technique is that the color is very vibrant. But with a large image to color, I wasn't too impressed with the actual "blend". Also you have to continually resoak your paper stump with Gamsol as you are blending,and always blend in a circular motion.
Fourth: Inkpad Pallette and watercolor brush
This has always been my failsafe. I never had to worry about not having the exact color match or using too many "extras". We all have water, odds are we have the inkpad of choice and a watercolor brush is a standard in all craft rooms. Simply *squish* your inkpad together, you want the lid to actually push against the ink pad. Then squirt a few drop of water into the lid and tah-dah, watercolor pallette. Results....
After using all of these techniques side by side, I have to say that I still am partial to the plain ol' watercolor w/inkpad technique. But I'm so very glad that I did this, it really allowed me to see the differences between the various types of watercoloring and with that knowledge I can plan my coloring based on my projects!! And as I said before, there are tons more ways to color....markers, chalks, blender pens with ink pads, re-inkers with aqua painters.....it's really a matter of what works best for you and your projects!
7 comments:
This is terrific...thanks for sharing! I will have to include this in my cool blog posts of the week...cheers!
Very good! I wish I would have seen this a long time ago....but unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way.
Great job! Very thorough and very informative - you've done all the work for us! Thanks for sharing!
Hey, great side by side comparison. I think you need a subscribe button for your blog (feedblitz?). I'd love to stop back and read more of your future posts. mnhyrkas at SCS and Simply Sentiments
Thanks for sharing! I also love using the ink on the inside lid of our inkpads. In addition to squeezing the inkpad, you can take the same color marker (if you have it) and scribble with it on the inside of the lid and use the ink from that. Also, you can put 1-2 drops of matching reinker in the lid of the inkpad. I usually watercolor this way (using any of these three sources of the ink!) and my Aquapainter, which I'm more comfortable with than the paintbrush. The advantage to using the inside lid of your inkpad instead of a different palette is that when you close the inkpad, the ink that's in there (be it from the inkpad, marker or reinker) stays there and usable forever! One drop of reinker can be used for a LONG time!! No waste!
Susan
moot96@aol.com
It looks like your paper pilled when using the watercolor pencils and crayons because it wasn't watercolor paper. Regular card stock does not tolerate water very well and always shreds with too much abrasion (rubbing). Watercolor paper is made specifically to handle the excess moisture without breaking down and falling apart while you work.
Also, the Prisma technique can be a tricky sometimes. One misconception is that the "blending" refers to the actual blending of the colors together, but this is not the purpose of the technique. The "blending" that takes place when using Gamsol is the blending of the pencil lines and streaks that occur when coloring in your image. Not the blending of colors into one another. So many people are frustrated with this technique because they have different expectations of what the technique acutally promises to do. Only a very very small amount of Gamsol is needed - perhaps the fact that you oversaturated your paper might have been part of it as well. All the Gamsol is there to do is to temporarily break donw the wax in the pencil so the pigment is easier to smooth out ("blend").
I'm sorry you didn't like your results. These are some great techniques that you should consider giving a second chance.
thank you so much for doing this comparision, I loved seeing it. I actually like using my ink pads and my aqua painter.
Post a Comment