Colored Pencil Lessons & Techniques
Step by Step - Hair Demo

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Smooth, relatively straight
hair like this is a snap in colored pencil, as you'll
see. It's just a matter of finding the darks,
leaving the highlights, and building/dividing the
mid-tones!
Colors listed are all Sanford
Prismacolor hues.
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Step One
I first begin establishing the darks of the
hair with a layer of Dark Umber using around a 3
to 4 pressure, and a sharp point. You'll notice that
I've also gone over the key features in her face with a
little Mineral Orange. By this point in the
process of painting this piece, her face has become fairly
smudged with the blues of the sky...and my original graphite
lines have become a little lost. In order to not lose
them completely, I went over them with Mineral Orange,
which won't pick up completely when I clean the face
with sticky stuff (reusable adhesive).
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Step
Two
Next came a wash (even, tonal application) of Jasmine then Yellow Ochre over the light areas to begin establishing
the color in the midtone areas. I then darkened the
darks with a fairly heavy coat of Tuscan Red, followed
by Dark Umber. In the very darkest areas, I
used Black, varying my pressure from a 2 to a 4.
For those edges I want to remain sharp, I outline
first, then fill in. Those edges that I'd like to
look soft, I don't outline, and I use a light pressure
on the outer edges of these areas. |

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