Showing posts with label pencils. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pencils. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

All pencils are not created equal...


My beautiful new Polychromo pencils arrived at 10:20am last Friday (which was even earlier than I predicted), I met the postman at the edge of my driveway and in my excitement almost took off without signing for them! They were so good looking, all perfectly sharp & the same length... I almost didn't want to use them!

The first to be coloured by my glorious new friends was Benji in his little fishing boat - I did him first so I could compare the results against my old pencils and I am so pleased to say, I am delighted! The new pencils are so much easier to blend and have a smoother and more consistent flow (even on the much more heavily textured paper I chose this time). Also the oil based leads leave no waxy residue on the surface of the paper so the artwork ends up with a much more rich and vibrant finish because it isn't clouded or too shiny.

I learnt alot through completing Benji about working with these pencils and I am really looking forward to completing Elvira now there are a few things I am going to do differently.

In the mean time I am going to add the new Benji to my Etsy store as a limited edition print - there will only be 15 available and it should be up tomorrow.

I hope you love him as much as I do - I'd love to hear what you think!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Better pencils required...


So "Gone fishing" is finally complete and I do love it, but I think it lacks a little punch and so I've decided not to put it on Etsy - I am going to do it again.

I am thinking that I need some better pencils, I am embarrased to say that all I have are Derwent Studios and I can't seem to get the punchy vibrant colours that I am dreaming of out of them.


So I've done a little research and decided against upgrading to Derwent Artist pencils due to thier poor lightfastness and instead I've decided on Faber Castell Polychromos which sound amazing! I am so excited about them and I found them for a good price at the Smart Art Club & I am going to get the 120 set - I can't wait!!!

http://www.smartartclub.com.au/shop/scdproducts.asp?CatID=2520

Once I get my new pencils I am going to re-do "Gone Fishing" and post it up here - fingers crossed it will be stunning because these pencils are quite a bit more than my old Derwent Studio's were and I am going to have to really strain my tiny little art supplies budget to fit them in!!!