Color Pencil on Dura-lar

On 4/21/12 the WACG held a color pencil workshop with Kate Lagaly showing us how to create images in color pencil on dura-lar (acetate with both side having a matt finish).  Using Prisma-color pencils.

Once you have your image to work with.  It helps to have both the photo or sketch  and a mirror image of it.

• mark the dura-lar so one side is the side for the 'black & white' image and one side is the side for the color -  very important!
• on the color side - outline your image enough to place the image on the sheet and to give yourself a guide to different value areas.  Not a detailed drawing.  I found if I did this sketch in a color, such as blue, it was easier to see later on.
• on the b&w side - using black, white and grays do a detailed drawing of the image capturing the values.  You are creating a grissiale drawing.  If you prefer not to do it in grays, you can always use any color you want that will give you a good monotone value drawing.  (I found putting in the whites first helped save the light areas, since putting them in last was burnishing the pencil)  Working on the slick paper is very different from color pencil on regular paper, so you may want to go with a very light touch first.  You will want to work on a solid board or sheet of paper; it can be white although most of us liked something with color such as a manila folder or sheet of construction paper.
• on the color side - erase the line drawing you did earlier.
• on the color side - begin to add color to your image.  Keep in mind that it is a little like painting on glass - the colors you put on first will show up the most on the opposite side.  The value image you created first will save the values for you on this side.  You can flip the sheet often to see how it looks. You can always add more values to the b&w side and/or more colors to the side with color.  Try not to mix them up!  Very easy to do.
• Decide which side is your finished side - either one is right, just choose which side you like the most.
• When you go to frame the image, you can back it with either a plain white sheet of matt board, or a sheet of color paper or a painted background or whatever you want.  It is easy to try out different backgrounds or even plan out a related image to put behind it.  As most color pencil images they are best framed matted and under glass or plexi.

Although we did not get to finish our images, everyone was making very good progress and learning a lot.  This new technique offers many benefits: getting good values in your drawing, experimenting with colors without loosing your values and offering many looks by changing the background it is placed upon.

Thanks Kate for a wonderful workshop!

My monotone sketch with the mirror images of the frog.

The first is the side I added color to, then flipped it so you can see the b&w side.  I placed it over a blue/yellow beach wash paper and then placed it over a red paper.
The sky is the limit.  enjoy!