Colours have the power to fascinate. Throughout centuries, artists have been using colours to add visual impact and symbolic meaning to their art. Colours inspire feelings and this is certainly one of the reasons why colouring can be such a fulfilling experience.

Faber-Castell has been working with colours for over 250 years; exploring a multitude of pigments, medias and shades. This book will help you to navigate through our world of colours.

Before you start colouring, make sure you pick your palette (colours) and media. By picking your palette, you are consciously creating a colour scheme. You can create beautiful colour schemes by following the traditional methods described or you can break the mould and create custom schemes to suit your mood. Regardless of the creative path you decide to follow, the Colour Wheel is always the starting point.

Make sure you have all your colouring products in front of you while you create your palette, as using different medias can help you enhance the impact of your colour scheme:

Polychromos Colour Pencils and Pitt Artist Pens

Connector Pen

Pitt Artist Pen Fineliner

Pitt Artist Pen Brush

For an overview of all Faber-Castell colour product options go to: www.faber-castell.com

Polychromos Colour

Watercolour Pencil

Connector Pen

Colour Pencil

Parallel Hatching Watercolour Pencil

Parallel HatchingConnector Pen

Parallel HatchingPitt Artist Pen Fineliner

Contour HatchingConnector Pen

Style HatchinbgPitt Artist Pen Fineliner

Watercolour Pencil

SHADING

Shading will add dimension to your artwork through a light and shadow effect. Use darker shades of similar hues or apply multiple layers of the same shade to darken the colour.

The best way to create a shading effect is to hold the pencil or marker on an angle so the greatest area of the tip is in contact with the paper, reducing the appearance of colouring lines. As you add new colouring layers, you will get progressively darker hues.

Make sure you blend the different layers by using a paper stump; this will also diminish the appearance of colouring strokes.

When creating shades with different colours, instead of using black to darken and white to brighten, try using darker blues to create shadow and warm yellows to create light. This will certainly boost the three-dimensional effects of your artwork.

POINTILLISM

This colouring technique is simple and effective. By placing dots close or far from each other you can add dimension to your art with light and shadow effects.

You can also use pointillism to create new shades, simply add dots of two primary colours close together to create secondary colours.

HATCHING

Parallel Hatching is a very effective way to add luminosity to your artworks. Areas where you add less hatching will be highlighted and areas where you add more hatching will appear darker; creating a shadow effect.

Contour Hatching follows the curves of the designs and is a perfect way to add three-dimensional effects to your artworks.

Cross Hatching is the quickest and most effective way to create a richer depth of colour. Cross hatching can be applied as simple straight lines, just like parallel hatching, or it can follow the contours of the subject you are colouring, just like contour hatching.

Style Hatching creates custom patterns by adding parallel lines in different directions creating unique designs.

BLENDING

Blending is generally used to merge colours, making the colour transition soft and seamless. Blending is achieved through a combination of layering techniques and blending tools and is certain to enhance the depth and luminosity of your

artworks.

Regardless of the media you are using, always colour and blend in small circular motions for an even colour laydown. The secret to good blending is to alternate layers of each colour on the area that both colours meet. Always finish with the lighter colour on top of the darker shade. Also, always use a colourless blender or paper stump to mix the colours, as your finger contains natural oils which may interfere with

the pigments you are working with.

Pitt Artist Pen Brush

Colour Pencil

Connector Pen

Cross Hatching Pitt Artist Pen

Cross HatchingColour Pencil

Colour Pencil Watercolour Pencil

PATTERNING

You can create any patterns to add texture to your design.

Use squiggles or shapes of varying size following the same principles as pointillism and hatching – lines close together for

shading and further apart to depict light.Colour Pencil Pitt Artist Pen BrushConnector Pen

Pitt Artist Pen

Cross HatchingConnector Pen

TRADITIONAL COLOUR SCHEMESDon’t be deceived by the term; traditional colour schemes can be used to create incredibly unconventional artworks!

Monochromatic Uses colours under each other on the Colour Wheel

Just select colours within the same hue, or in other words, different shades of the same colour. Monochromatic schemes are very effective for mixed media artworks, using a combination of pencils, fineliners and markers. You can also use a variety of monochromatic schemes within the same design to make your art more unique and interesting.

Analogous Uses colours next to each other on the Colour Wheel

Analogous colour schemes are easy to create and will give a harmonious, pleasing look to your artwork. Analogous colour schemes are constantly found in nature and will help you to create comfortable, natural-looking pieces.

Complementary Uses opposing colours on the Colour Wheel

Particularly impactful, this colour scheme is based on highly contrasting colours. In its most basic form, a complementary palette will consist of only two colours, however, you can expand it by adding different tints of the same colours to your palette.

Split-Complementary The split-complementary is a variation of the complementary colour scheme with the added benefit of a wider selection of colours.

Triadic Uses colours evenly spaced around the colour wheel

The most versatile of the colour schemes. It gives the flexibility to pick one colour in its most saturated hue to draw attention to selected details of your drawing and complement it with the most muted tones of the other two shades. This colour scheme can also be particularly impactful if you use different medias for different colours, i.e. colour markers for your most saturated colour and colour pencils or pastels for the most muted tones.

CUSTOM COLOUR SCHEMES

Custom colour schemes are very hard to create since they do not follow the rules. Custom palettes, whilst challenging, can add unique benefits to your designs. The key to create your own colour scheme is to experiment before you start. Pick five or more colours and use them next to each other on a piece of paper. Once you are happy with the visual impact of your palette, add different hues of each colour to diversify your colour scheme.