LAYERS, LIKE IN CLOTHING, BRING WARMTH

  Flat color, as in painting, is redefined by the blending of other hues with it. With colored pencil, Layering accomplishes transparent tones when lightly overlapped, or opacity with heavy pressure. It is a process of "stacking up" one hue over another to achieve the wonderful hue laden mixtures for which they are known.

• a. To reduce the harshness/flatness of single color pigment
• b. To mix new color variations for specific purposes
• c. To modulate and control color adding dimension, complexity, and richness
• d. To create new surface designs for backgrounds and shapes forming particular textures needed (marble, wood, fabric, etc.

A Practice of Two Layer Color Rendering

This practice is based on two overlapped 1½ inch squares. The first whole square used is a single layer application in 1 direction. The 2nd whole square used crosses the first one. The inner squares show the blends made. See example.

In these applications, light to medium pressure is applied. After completing the 2nd layer overlap, emphasize the original hues a bit more in the smaller rectangles at the top and left as in the 3rd "Emphasis" diagram.

Next: Applying 3 Layers to "Near Complements" and Others

Near complements are the 2 hues adjacent to the color's complement. We added another hue for variety. Actually, you are free to mix blends in many different ways. Adding the complement neutralizes and darkens the original hue. Yes, adding black would do the same thing, but not as "colorfully".

We used 3¼" circles divided into 5 sections. The center section is the selected hue and fills the entire circle as a base layer. Sections rotating around it are crosshatched blends with light to heavy pressure applications.

The center area is applied in an even, circular direction. The second layer crosses the first, and the 3rd layer, a darker application of the 2nd color, crosses direction again as demonstrated in the smaller circles below.

Hopefully, you will see new and vibrant mixes, the striated texture of the pencil strokes and the exciting transparency that is viewed in the linear overlaps. Yep! Layering takes time, and so does developing good craftsmanship. It's so worth it, like anything else that seeks quality.

All 7 practices were on one 9 X 12" paper. Make them larger if you like!

More Mixes

Here we were thinking about creating interesting backgrounds. Some are very light and others more bold. Experiment with mixtures of your own and of course, try some new combinations!

Left: "modulating" a single color with crosshatch; Center: light, varied, "juxtaposed" color strips; Right: a very bold color pattern.

Left: a crosshatch stripe pattern underneath a darker value solid color; Center: "injected color" where a base color layer is erased in planned patches and those areas replaced with a new color insertion; Right: a dark, loose, multi-direction line texture, with a heavy pressured light color area over it.