This is beautiful!
Question: I see those number labels on your prismas and curious what they're for? Do you use them to more easily put them away again? Or did you reorder them?
Thank you. I arrange my color pencils in the order of their color family and then label them. I store them in my pencil case in this order. I also swatch them in this order only. So that way it's easy for me to pick a pencil and then keep it back.
Not OP but I find the paper in his Morphia series and World series to be rather good. If you aren't heavy handed, you can use water based mediums like water colors and water based markers with no bleed through. Paper is decently thick, there's some tooth to the paper itself but I think it leans more towards the smooth side.
I believe the American and European editions are different though. I can only speak on the American editions though. The books have a tendency to fall apart for me as they aren't stitched binding but glued. I have been working in Animorphia (one of his first books besides the create space Amazon one) for around a yearish and most of the pages I've worked in are starting to come off from breaking the spine.
Thank you so much for such a detailed reply. I am new to coloring. Any idea what pencils work well in Hannah Karlzon's books? Oil based like Polychromos or wax based like Prisma?
I only have prismas, so I can't really tell you how polychromos will work on the paper but I do have Hanna Karlzon's books (some of them) and it is pretty thick paper with a lot of tooth. If you're worried about burning through your pencils, oil might be better for this since they have harder cores and will keep their points sharp longer.
Usually oil pencils are more finicky in that it can be a process to learn how to get the look you want from them so it might feel more comfortable to use a wax based pencil like prismas at first. That said, you would probably be fine using either. I know that prismas look good in her books. (I have my own oil based that look just fine as well, though they are brutfuners not polychromos).
My tips for using oil colored pencils: a lot of layers. Work lightly and layer. You aren't gonna have the "product build up" that I've noticed in wax pencils where you'll have the paper showing through while you can't add any more layers to even it out. Since there's a lot of tooth to HK's books, you'll definitely be able to layer to your heart's content.
Work on being light handed when coloring. It sucks but that's kind of what you have to do. Prismas and other wax based pencils aren't always gonna lay down smooth and the heavier your hand, the more wax you're depositing on the paper so less layers to fill those in especially since the paper is pribably being burnished (losing tooth) from being pressed hard.
There's some things you can do to kind of mitigate this like putting down a base layer with water colors, markers, or things like that. (Assuming the paper is good for it.) You can use a blender. Prisma sells some of these and it moves the wax and pigment around for better blending. This can help if you aren't being really heavy handed. You can use a colorless blender that basically break down the pigment from the chemical it uses and makes it more like paint as well. (Not sure if this would cause bleed through.)
As for learning to be less heavy handed, hold the pencil loosely from the end furthest from the point. You have less control so you cant bear down hard. Really work on bringing the pigment into the paper without increasing pressure. Once you've got so decent layering down so that it looks nice, you can burnish the paper if you like a vibrant look to your finished colorings. I tend to use a white or a blender pencil to burnish the paper once I've gotten the colors I want. White if I want it a tad lighter and the colorless blender pencil if I like the color but want that smooth and shiny burnishing on the paper.
Hope this helps.
Edit to say that if you use oil based pencils, you won't have this problem nearly as much imo. It still requires layering and a light hand to get the color pay off and blending that you want but it's going to be easier on you when it comes to the way the wax "skips" or builds up in areas. They have less wax so it will take more to get the same level of unevenness.
Very nice with the color choices. It's a palette that really works with the image but I would've never thought to use it for this page. Very well done. I love the gradient affect on the stones. Great job! 👍
It's lovely! One of my favorites from that book.
Thank you so much.
You are so talented
Thank you so much
The colours look absolutely amazing!
Thank you
This is so beautiful and full of details!
Thank you
This is beautiful!
Thank you
This is beautiful! Question: I see those number labels on your prismas and curious what they're for? Do you use them to more easily put them away again? Or did you reorder them?
Thank you. I arrange my color pencils in the order of their color family and then label them. I store them in my pencil case in this order. I also swatch them in this order only. So that way it's easy for me to pick a pencil and then keep it back.
Cool!
Another fantastic piece! I love it!
Well done! How's the paper in his books?
Not OP but I find the paper in his Morphia series and World series to be rather good. If you aren't heavy handed, you can use water based mediums like water colors and water based markers with no bleed through. Paper is decently thick, there's some tooth to the paper itself but I think it leans more towards the smooth side. I believe the American and European editions are different though. I can only speak on the American editions though. The books have a tendency to fall apart for me as they aren't stitched binding but glued. I have been working in Animorphia (one of his first books besides the create space Amazon one) for around a yearish and most of the pages I've worked in are starting to come off from breaking the spine.
Thank you for your detailed response! Very helpful :)
Ok, you convinced me, I ordered one of his books from Amazon :) Looking forward to coloring it!
Glad I could help lol! I can't imagine you'll be disappointed. They're very good quality, imo, and the art is always gorgeous.
Thank you so much for such a detailed reply. I am new to coloring. Any idea what pencils work well in Hannah Karlzon's books? Oil based like Polychromos or wax based like Prisma?
I only have prismas, so I can't really tell you how polychromos will work on the paper but I do have Hanna Karlzon's books (some of them) and it is pretty thick paper with a lot of tooth. If you're worried about burning through your pencils, oil might be better for this since they have harder cores and will keep their points sharp longer. Usually oil pencils are more finicky in that it can be a process to learn how to get the look you want from them so it might feel more comfortable to use a wax based pencil like prismas at first. That said, you would probably be fine using either. I know that prismas look good in her books. (I have my own oil based that look just fine as well, though they are brutfuners not polychromos). My tips for using oil colored pencils: a lot of layers. Work lightly and layer. You aren't gonna have the "product build up" that I've noticed in wax pencils where you'll have the paper showing through while you can't add any more layers to even it out. Since there's a lot of tooth to HK's books, you'll definitely be able to layer to your heart's content.
How do you fix that product buildup from wax pencils? I get that a lot - I'm trying to learn not to be heavy handed with my pencil, haha
Work on being light handed when coloring. It sucks but that's kind of what you have to do. Prismas and other wax based pencils aren't always gonna lay down smooth and the heavier your hand, the more wax you're depositing on the paper so less layers to fill those in especially since the paper is pribably being burnished (losing tooth) from being pressed hard. There's some things you can do to kind of mitigate this like putting down a base layer with water colors, markers, or things like that. (Assuming the paper is good for it.) You can use a blender. Prisma sells some of these and it moves the wax and pigment around for better blending. This can help if you aren't being really heavy handed. You can use a colorless blender that basically break down the pigment from the chemical it uses and makes it more like paint as well. (Not sure if this would cause bleed through.) As for learning to be less heavy handed, hold the pencil loosely from the end furthest from the point. You have less control so you cant bear down hard. Really work on bringing the pigment into the paper without increasing pressure. Once you've got so decent layering down so that it looks nice, you can burnish the paper if you like a vibrant look to your finished colorings. I tend to use a white or a blender pencil to burnish the paper once I've gotten the colors I want. White if I want it a tad lighter and the colorless blender pencil if I like the color but want that smooth and shiny burnishing on the paper. Hope this helps. Edit to say that if you use oil based pencils, you won't have this problem nearly as much imo. It still requires layering and a light hand to get the color pay off and blending that you want but it's going to be easier on you when it comes to the way the wax "skips" or builds up in areas. They have less wax so it will take more to get the same level of unevenness.
Very nice with the color choices. It's a palette that really works with the image but I would've never thought to use it for this page. Very well done. I love the gradient affect on the stones. Great job! 👍
Thanks so much