Pastel pencils changed my way of thinking about creating and allowed me a lot of freedom, but I confess that I’ve always been a little reserved about trying soft pastels. My childhood memory of pastels involves chalky dust everywhere and a lack of control I was hesitant to repeat.
This often-neglected aspect is a key step to creating a strong foundation to build your masterpiece on. Every art form and artist has their own approach to initial planning, so we thought we’d demystify one of our favourite tools for sketching and pencilling comics and illustrations – the non-photo (or non-reproduction) blue pencil.
Wading through the world of paper jargon can sometimes be quite a daunting task. Considering that paper will make up quite a big part of your arsenal to produce art, it is very useful to know a little more!
It is no secret that I am a pencil addict, so it was with great anticipation that I awaited the arrival of the Stabilo Carbothello pastel pencils on the Artsavingsclub pencil rack. They definitely did not disappoint when they finally found their way into my greedy hands!
I was lucky enough to connect with Mariaan Kotze – an artist who really inspired me with the diversity in her artforms and the bold imagery she combines to portray her vision.
It’s difficult not to imagine the start of a school year without the mandatory new set of colour pencils – I remember so vividly how beautiful I thought the perfectly colour-arranged packets were – the barrels shiny, the lid marked where the sharp points stained it so alluringly.
