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Advice on using water color pencils

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  • Member since
    December 2017
Advice on using water color pencils
Posted by drumsfield on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 8:29 AM

I bought a set of water color pencils hoping to learn some weathering techniques but can't seem to find any resources that show how to use them. I was able to find one youtube video comparing a couple types of pencils. Does anyone here use water colors?

  • Member since
    August 2013
Posted by Jay Jay on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 8:56 AM

Here is an excellent Youtube test by Will Pattison on that very subject. Enjoy Mate 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmV0_s7DOnw&t=6s

 

 

 

 

 

 I'm finally retired. Now time I got, money I don't.

  • Member since
    December 2017
Posted by drumsfield on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 8:59 AM

Jay Jay

Here is an excellent Youtube test by Will Pattison on that very subject. Enjoy Mate 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmV0_s7DOnw&t=6s

 

Yes, that's the video I mentioned above. It's pretty much the only resource I could find on the subject.

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 9:03 AM

I have not heradof anyone useing these in modelling, most seem to go with oil or enamel weathering products. I'm trying to think what you would use them for.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    January 2013
Posted by BlackSheepTwoOneFour on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 9:34 AM

Never heard of using colored pencils. Chalks, yes - colored pencils, no. Curious on how they work though.

  • Member since
    December 2017
Posted by drumsfield on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 9:37 AM

I've seen people use then for chipping, but after watching the video above again, I see that he was using a soft tip pencil (not water color) for that. I purchased the same water color set he was using. In the video he also showed some blending techniques for things line oil drips and aging. So, maybe it's not necessarily water colors that were being used. 

  • Member since
    December 2017
  • From: Chicago, Illinois
Posted by Phil1947 on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 9:37 AM

You can see one briefly being used for weathering on a Hellcat F6F-3 on YT HERE @ 19:24.

~I started out with nothing, and still have most of it.~

  • Member since
    December 2017
Posted by drumsfield on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 9:58 AM

Thanks. I'm probably going to return the water color and get the soft core pencils. It seems I got the wrong set.

  • Member since
    June 2017
Posted by UnwaryPaladin on Thursday, February 1, 2018 9:37 PM

I've seen the watercolor pencils used on fiberglass fish mounts. The fish is sprayed with a primer, then given a brown wash to highlight the scales. The watercolor pencils are used to put color in specific areas to build up translucent color. Then more opaque colors are airbrushed on, followed by metalics and pearls, depending on the fish. 

I have a set of the watercolor pencils (for fish!), and I fooled around with them a bit on an airplane for weathering and color variation. But I found the oil washes and pastels worked better for what I was trying to achieve. 

  • Member since
    July 2013
Posted by steve5 on Thursday, February 1, 2018 9:53 PM

I found this tutorial , he is a top quality modeler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfRcJLMSQj8

 

  • Member since
    December 2017
Posted by drumsfield on Friday, February 2, 2018 7:33 AM

Yep I follow him as well. He's got a lot of great tips. Smile

  • Member since
    February 2016
Posted by fritzthefox on Monday, February 5, 2018 3:00 PM

I use colored pencils all the time for artwork, and sometimes for model weathering. They come in a lot of flavors these days. For weathering, I recommend Faber-Castell's Polychromos pencils...they are oil based, rather than wax based (Prismacolor is wax based). You can smudge them with your finger, but they adhere pretty well. Wax pencils are softer, so they might smear easier, but might not be as durable. I'm sure both would work, though. I sometimes use colored pencils for exhaust or gunsmoke stains, or rust, when I want more controlled results than I can achieve with other media. I've tried using the silver pencil for highlighting rivets and panel edges, which also works, but I think drybrushing with paint produces better results. 

Watercolor pencils are just what they sound like...watercolor pigment bound into pencil form. If you hit them with water, they behave just like watercolors. But that means you can easily wipe them away with a wet brush, so they are of limited usefulness. 

I have, BTW, also used colored pencils to camouflage scratches in natural wood flooring, which works very well.  

 

 

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