Achieving that smooth, almost painterly finish with colored pencils often feels like chasing a mythical creature. You layer patiently, you burnish until your wrist aches, yet sometimes those distinct pencil strokes stubbornly remain. While layering and pressure are fundamental, introducing solvents and specific blending tools can dramatically transform your work, unlocking seamless gradients and a richness that’s hard to achieve otherwise. It’s about moving beyond just stacking color and starting to manipulate the pigment itself.
Why bother with the extra steps and materials? Because effective blending elevates colored pencil art. It creates convincing realism by eliminating harsh lines, builds incredible depth by allowing colors to meld subtly, and gives your pieces a polished, professional look. It turns flat areas of color into vibrant, nuanced surfaces. Think of the smooth skin tones in a portrait, the soft transitions in a sunset sky, or the gentle curves of a flower petal – blending makes these possible.
Understanding the Magic: How Solvents Work
Colored pencils aren’t just pigment; they contain binders, typically wax or oil-based, that hold the pigment together and allow it to adhere to the paper. Traditional blending methods like layering rely on physically mixing these layers with pressure or a colorless blender pencil. Solvents, however, take a different approach. They work by temporarily dissolving the pencil binder.
When you apply a small amount of solvent to layered colored pencil, the binder softens and liquefies slightly. This frees the pigment particles, allowing you to move them around much more easily with a tool. Instead of just pushing layers together, you’re essentially creating a thin, temporary paint on the paper surface. As the solvent evaporates (which happens relatively quickly for most types), the pigment settles back down, fused into a smoother, more unified layer. This process can fill the tooth of the paper more effectively, reducing graininess and creating those coveted seamless transitions.
Choosing Your Liquid Assistant: Common Solvents
Not all solvents are created equal, and the best choice often depends on your pencils, your paper, your sensitivity, and your desired effect. Here are some popular options:
- Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS): Perhaps the most widely recommended solvent for colored pencil artists. Artist-grade OMS, like Gamsol, is highly refined to remove aromatic compounds, making it less toxic and lower in odor than hardware store varieties. It’s very effective at dissolving both wax and oil binders, providing smooth blending with good control. Crucially, good ventilation is non-negotiable when using OMS.
- Rubbing Alcohol (Isopropyl Alcohol): An easily accessible and affordable option. Higher percentages (91% or ideally 99%) work best, as they contain less water, which can buckle paper. Alcohol evaporates very quickly, meaning you need to work faster. Its blending effect can sometimes be slightly less smooth than OMS, particularly with certain pencil brands, but it’s a great starting point or alternative if OMS fumes are a concern. Still requires decent ventilation.
- Specialized Blending Solutions: Several companies offer proprietary blending fluids specifically designed for artists. Examples include Zest-it Pencil Blend (citrus-based, pleasant smell, effective) or various solvent-based marker blenders (like those from Copic or Prismacolor, though primarily designed for markers, they can work on pencils too). These often have unique properties, lower odor, or different evaporation rates. They tend to be more expensive but can be worth exploring.
Safety and Testing First! Always work in a well-ventilated area when using any solvent, especially Odorless Mineral Spirits or rubbing alcohol. Avoid prolonged skin contact. Crucially, test your chosen solvent on a scrap piece of your project paper with the pencils you intend to use before applying it to your actual artwork. This helps you gauge how much solvent to use, how it spreads, and how it affects your specific colors.
The Tools of the Trade: Applying Solvents Effectively
Simply dabbing solvent onto your drawing won’t do the trick; you need the right tool to control the application and manipulate the dissolved pigment. The choice of tool significantly impacts the final look.
Common Applicators:
- Paper Stumps (Tortillons): These are tightly rolled paper sticks, available in various sizes. They are excellent for controlled blending in small to medium areas. You dip the tip lightly into the solvent (don’t soak it!) and then use gentle circular or back-and-forth motions on the colored pencil area. The stump absorbs some dissolved pigment, helping to blend. They can be cleaned by rubbing the dirty tip on sandpaper or an emery board.
- Cotton Swabs (Q-tips): Readily available and disposable. Best suited for smaller areas or initial tests. Be mindful that some brands can leave behind lint or fuzz, which can get trapped in the pigment. Choose tightly wound swabs if possible. They are harder to clean, so typically used once per color area.
- Felt Applicators: Some artists use firm craft felt, either cut into small pieces or attached to a handle (like makeup applicators). Felt holds solvent well and provides a different texture for blending, sometimes covering larger areas more smoothly than a stump.
- Brushes: Small, relatively stiff synthetic brushes (often labeled as acrylic or oil brushes) offer a painterly approach. Flats can cover broader areas, while small rounds allow for detail. Dip the brush lightly in solvent, blot excess, and then gently brush over the pencil layers. The stiffness helps move the pigment without splaying too much. Brushes need thorough cleaning with solvent and then soap and water after use.
The key with any tool is using a light touch and minimal solvent. You want just enough to soften the binder, not flood the paper. Too much solvent can cause the pigment to lift unevenly, create blotches, or even damage the paper.
The Solvent Blending Workflow: Step-by-Step
Ready to try it? Here’s a general process:
- Layer Your Colors: This is crucial! Solvent blending works best when there’s enough pigment on the paper to dissolve and move around. Apply several light-to-medium layers of your chosen colors, overlapping where you want the blend to occur. Don’t burnish heavily at this stage; leave some paper tooth visible.
- Prepare Your Solvent and Tool: Pour a tiny amount of solvent into a small, stable container (a jar lid or small ceramic dish works well). Select your blending tool (stump, brush, etc.).
- Apply Solvent Sparingly: Dip just the very tip of your tool into the solvent. If using a brush or stump, you might want to quickly blot it on a paper towel to remove excess liquid. You need much less than you think.
- Blend Gently: Apply the solvent-dampened tool to the layered colored pencil area using light pressure. Use circular motions for smooth gradients or directional strokes to follow form. Start in the lighter area and work towards the darker area, or vice-versa, depending on the desired effect. Clean your tool frequently (on scrap paper or by sanding the stump) to avoid muddying colors.
- Let It Dry Completely: Solvents need time to evaporate fully. This might take a few minutes for alcohol or slightly longer for OMS. The paper surface should look dry and feel dry to the touch. Don’t rush this step! Working on damp paper can cause damage or muddying.
- Evaluate and Re-Layer (Optional): Once dry, assess the blend. Is it smooth enough? Are the colors rich enough? You can now apply more layers of colored pencil over the blended area to deepen colors, add details, or refine the transitions further.
- Repeat if Necessary: You can repeat the solvent blending process on subsequent layers if needed, always allowing full drying time in between. This builds incredible depth and saturation.
Beyond Solvents: Dry Blending Tools
While solvents are powerful, they aren’t the only blending game in town. Sometimes, a dry method is preferred or used in conjunction with solvent techniques.
Key Dry Blenders:
- Colorless Blender Pencils: These look like colored pencils but contain only the clear wax/oil binder, with no pigment. When applied over layered colors with firm pressure, they meld the layers together, pushing the pigment into the paper grain and creating a smooth, burnished effect. They are excellent for enhancing saturation and achieving a polished look but require more physical effort than solvents.
- Burnishers: These are hard, smooth tools (sometimes made of wood, plastic, or even agate) used to flatten and smooth the pencil layers with pressure. They work similarly to colorless blenders but without adding any binder. They can create a shiny surface and effectively blend colors, but excessive pressure can sometimes flatten the paper tooth too much, making further layering difficult.
- Paper Towel or Tissue: For very subtle softening, gently rubbing layered pencil with a soft paper towel or tissue can slightly smudge and blend pigments. This is less precise and generally used for softer effects or backgrounds rather than detailed blending.
Factors Influencing Success: Pencils and Paper
Your results will also be influenced by your core materials:
- Pencil Type: Wax-based pencils (like Prismacolor Premier) generally dissolve very readily with solvents, creating smooth, almost liquid blends. Oil-based pencils (like Faber-Castell Polychromos or Caran d’Ache Pablo) also blend well with solvents but might feel slightly different – sometimes requiring a bit more solvent or effort, but offering excellent control and layering potential even after solvent use.
- Paper Tooth: Paper with some texture (tooth) grips the pencil pigment better, allowing for more layers before saturation. This provides more pigment for the solvent to work with. Very smooth papers (like Bristol Smooth) might allow for easier initial blending but hold fewer layers. Rougher papers (like watercolor paper or pastelmat) hold many layers but the texture might remain visible even after blending. Finding a paper with a tooth level you enjoy working with is key. Medium-tooth drawing papers are often a good starting point.
Verified Tip: Many professional colored pencil artists utilize a combination of techniques. They might lay down initial colors, blend with a solvent for smoothness, let it dry, add details or richer colors with more pencil layers, and then selectively use a colorless blender pencil or burnisher for final polishing and saturation in specific areas. Don’t feel limited to just one method!
Embrace the Possibilities
Stepping into the world of solvents and blending tools might seem intimidating initially, but it opens up a vast new range of possibilities for your colored pencil art. That elusive smoothness, the vibrant depth, the seamless flow from one hue to another – it’s all achievable. Remember that safety comes first, especially with ventilation. Start small, test everything on scrap paper, and don’t be afraid to experiment. Try different solvents, different tools, different papers, and different pencil combinations. Observe how they interact. With practice, you’ll find the techniques that resonate with your style and help you bring your artistic visions to life with stunning clarity and professional polish. Happy blending!
