Great Books to Help Colored Pencil Artists
I consider myself as a “self-taught” colored pencil artist; however, that doesn’t mean I didn’t get help along the way. When I first discovered colored pencils, and saw art other artists had created with them, I was thoroughly intrigued with how they had created their art. When I pulled out my colored pencils I had stored for years and tried to use them, I soon discovered I needed some help because I didn’t fully understand how this medium really worked. I found quickly they didn’t work like oil paints, the medium I was then working in. So, I started looking for some resources to help me learn how to use colored pencils in my artwork.
I have quite a collection of books revolving around colored pencils. Some I have used more than others, but found I could glean some nuggets from each one. Over the last few years these resources have helped me tremendously, as well as going to workshops in person and online with other colored pencil artists.
In today’s blog I wanted to share about some of these books, how they helped me grow, and my hope is they will help you along in your journey.
These are not listed in any certain order, but these are the ones I tend to refer to the most often:
Colored Pencil Painting Bible by Alyona Nickelson-This book was one of my first purchases and helped me so much in learning the basics of using colored pencils. There are many projects included in the book featuring different textures with step-by-step instructions. Very helpful as a beginner!
Masterful Color by Arlene Steinberg-Arlene Steinberg is truly a master of colored pencil! Her still life paintings are spectacular and it’s hard to believe they were created with colored pencils. They look like oil paintings, and since that’s what I was desiring for my art to look like, I purchased this book. I love still life paintings and this book was and is so helpful with creating them. I refer to this one often!
101 Textures in Colored Pencil by Denise J. Howard-This book is quite a jewel! It is full of one-page tutorials to teach how to render different textures. It covers so many textures from trees, rocks, people, food, fabrics, animal fur and eyes, glass, wood, and on and on it goes. Really well done and I refer to it a lot when I’m trying to find how to render a certain texture.
Colored Pencil Portraits Step by Step by Ann Kullberg-Portraits are not my favorite subjects to create in art, but I still wanted to know how to do them in colored pencil. I have only created a couple of portraits, and this book helped me tremendously with each one. Ann Kullberg simplified things so much in this book. It is a great one to have to refer to in creating skin tones, hair, etc. If you are a fan of creating portraits in colored pencil, this one is a must have!
Painting Light with Colored Pencil by Cecile Baird-This author renders light in her colored pencil paintings like no one else! As I’m glancing through it now, I see I need to explore this book even more! I’ve referred to it many times, and it’s so inspiring! It has some beautiful projects included with easy-to-follow steps.
I hope these will be a help to you in your artful journey. Just a tip, don’t get overwhelmed thinking you have to do all of the tutorials in them. Read all of the helps and tips each author gives and you will be surprised how much your knowledge base and skills can grow! Do the projects or tutorials you really are interested in learning for now. You can always come back and do more as you progress in your journey with colored pencils. I have found so much inspiration by just pulling them off the shelf and thumbing through them time and time again. These books are great assets to have, but you will only grow by putting them into practice and using the things you have learned.
I am so grateful for those artists who took the time and effort to write these books to help us all learn more about this medium we love, colored pencils. I, as a colored pencil instructor, desire to help others learn new techniques and fun ways of rendering with colored pencils.
For the latest news, I’m excited to announce I have a new video course becoming available in a few days showing how to draw a pumpkin with colored pencils and Neocolor II, which is a wax pastel (think like a buttery crayon). I blended these with heat and found I loved this technique and these products together. Stay tuned to my website in the coming days to find out more: www.kimkeysart.com
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Stay creative,
Kim
