Watercolour pencils: How are they used?

Watercolour is a type of paint, which is diluted in contact with water and becomes transparent. When you paint with watercolour, you therefore slowly build up the intensity of the colours until you have the desired result. Watercolour pencils are made with a watercolour pigment and allow you to place your watercolour colour exactly where you want it.

Watercolour Crayons

Liquid Watercolour Paint

3 ways to use watercolour pencils

You can use watercolour pencils in three different ways:

• Like ordinary pencils without adding water
• First drawing on the watercolour paper and subsequently adding water
• First painting with water on the watercolour paper and then drawing directly on the paper with the pencils               

It makes the most sense to use water with the watercolour pencils, as you will get the most out of the colours that way. You will achieve the beautiful transparent watercolour effect, while you also control the colour placement very precisely.

How to paint with watercolour pencils

Here is a guide on how to first paint with the pencils and subsequently add water with a brush. It is the easiest way to use pencils, where you have good control over the colour and still achieve the characteristic watercolour effect. You will need:

• Watercolour paper
• An ordinary pencil (preferably an HB)
• Watercolour pencils
• Water
• Brushes 

If you want a sharp and defined edge on your painting, you can tape the edges of your paper to your table using masking tape.

1. Draw a sketch

It is easier to control where the colour should end if you start by drawing a sketch with a pencil on the watercolour paper. Watercolour paper is a particularly thick type of paper with a textured surface. It absorbs the water better so that the paper does not end up creasing and bending when the paint dries. Maybe choose a hard pencil such as HB for the sketch, as it will not smudge and give you a fine line.

2. Paint the motif with watercolour pencils

Once you have a sketch, you can use the watercolour pencils to paint exactly where you want the colour to be. You can easily mix different shades that will blend nicely together when you add the water. You can therefore create a myriad of shades with just a small handful of watercolour pencils.

3. Add water using a brush

Moisten your brush and dissolve the colour on the paper so that it blends together, and you achieve the watercolour effect. The more water you add, the more transparent the colour will become. You can therefore wipe off excess water on the brush in a paper towel or similar before adding water to the paper if you want better control over the colour.

Achieve the correct colour intensity

You might benefit from letting your painting dry and work in layers if you want to build up a higher intensity of the colours. Once the paint is dry, you can easily draw directly on the paper with the pencils and add water, so you slowly build up the intensity of the colour shades.