The Colored Pencils Drawing Masterclass: Draw Amazing Art

Experiment with Strathmore papers—Bristol vellum 300 series, Bristol velum, and color pencil 400 series—to discover your preferred surface and note what you like. Consider free sample books to test options.

Explore how different white colored pencils perform for highlights, comparing Faber-Castell, prism of color, and Luminance, plus standalone pencils, and learn which textures suit glass, metal, or paper.

Explore basic color pencil techniques through mark making, blending, and gradients while mastering pressure control and layering to build unified tones and new colors.

Master mark making with hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, and circular shading to build value and texture, while refining eye-hand coordination and pressure control for smooth, continuous tones.

Explore blending and gradients with color pencils using prisma color blender, derwent blender, alcohol marker blender, and a finesse blender to create smooth transitions toward the white paper.

Learn blending and gradients with colored pencils using Gamblin Gamsol, Zest It, and Vaseline, and explore layering, stumps, brushes, and Q-tips for subtle transitions.

Explore burnishing with color pencils, layering light and dark tones, creating tents with white, building darker shades with gray, and mastering pressure control.

Learn embossing and masking techniques for color pencils to create textures and preserve white highlights using tape, masking fluid, frisket, exacto knife, and erasing tools.

Explore the globe drawing using multiple analogous blue and cyan colored pencils to build realistic shading and depth around a light source, with guidance on value, highlights, and reflective light.

Learn to render a globe with colored pencils by studying light, value, and shadows, including midtone, highlights, core shadow, reflective light, and cast shadows, plus blending on Bristol paper.

Layer Indigo and blue hues to form the GhostTown sphere's core and terminator shadows. Use light pressure, circular directional strokes, and white with a blender for a natural look.

Layer blues to build reflective light on the sphere through overlapping colors, burnishing, and gradual pressure changes for a smooth, unblended gradation and deeper shading.

Layer blue hues with heavy pressure to burnish into the paper texture and build a smooth gradient on the globe, then refine the cast shadow with indigo and sparingly black.

Unify the shadow with a Derwent Blendr to push pigment smoothly, burnish highlights with white, and protect your work with paper. Refine cast and core shadows to finish a globe.

Explore transfer methods for drawing, including tracing and grid methods, to transfer primary contour lines from photo references or drawings, ensuring proportion and perspective before you begin colored pencils.

Explore methods to transfer an image onto paper for color pencil work using tracing paper and graphite transfer, then layer graphite and unify the drawing with tissue or a brush.

Learn graphite transfer methods to accurately reproduce scaled images, using image flip, edge tracing, and graphite layers to capture details, highlights, and shadows for colored pencil artwork.

Set up a light grid in inches or centimeters, transfer the image by counting squares, then erase the grid and finish with color pencils to build drawing skills.

Scale up drawings with a grid method by enlarging square units, adding a light secondary grid for detail, and balancing positive and negative shapes for accuracy.

Use a window as a natural light box to transfer a subject for drawing, taping a royalty-free image with painter's tape for easy tracing.

Draw a colorful still life of tomatoes with colored pencils, applying lighting and shadow while blending reds, greens, and grays, guided by Jonathan and optional materials.

Transfer a printed still-life diagram onto Strathmore 500 Bristol vellum to create a light, ghosted guide, then render the two tomatoes with color pencils using dark reds and oranges.

Explore how to render a still life with colored pencils by analyzing light, highlights, form shadows, and cast shadows, and build depth using layered reds, oranges, yellows, and indigo.

Explore building midtown to shadow by blending lighter red pencils, preserving white paper highlights, and layering color with nine twenty two and nine twenty one to enhance a still life.

Develop value and color by applying a first layer that unifies tones with a controlled circular motion, building a base coat for the tomatoes while avoiding overworking the paper.

Apply darker colors to the tomato's shadow areas and the vines in the leaves, using burnt umber, indigo blue, and a green stem tone with light gray.

Create a still life with Prisma color pencils, starting with the darkest greens and yellows, blending with burnishing and indigo accents. Adapt the composition and allow drying between layers.

Master tonal control in a still life by layering indigo blue and amber, blending reds with blues, building gradual gradients, and defining edges with tone through patient, incremental pressure.

Continue building the piece by using an alcohol marker blender over a base coat with gams, then soften, blend, and refine with color pencils as layer two.

Push from darks to highlights and blend for a subtle gradient in the still life, using cream and white and deepen shadows with indigo, burnt umber, and red.

Master shadow gradation in still life by layering darker grays and indigo blue to deepen shadow, then blend light to dark while adding red near the tomato to unify colors.

Move through the still life by layering greens and indigo to create rich darks, burnish highlights, and refine shadows for depth.

Learn subtractive color theory for colored pencils with color wheels such as CNY and weibe, and explore primary to tertiary hues plus complementary and analogous schemes.

Explore subtractive color mixing with cyan, magenta, and yellow in color pencils, build primaries and secondaries, and compare CMY/CMYK and RYB color wheels to reveal blending insights.

Learn to build a six-color cmy color wheel using yellow, cyan, magenta, green, blue, and red, with practical color theory tips and blending techniques.

Expand your CMY color wheel from primaries and secondaries to tertiary hues, blending yellows, greens, cyans, blues, magentas, and reds for richer, smoother gradients.

Explore blending complementary colors on a CMY color wheel, layer cyan with red, magenta with green, and yellow with blue, lightening pressure to produce neutral, grayed tones.

Demonstrate finishing the cm y subtractive color wheel through complementary blending, from primaries magenta, yellow, and cyan to secondary and tertiary hues and neutrals.

Learn to create tints, tones, and shades by mixing color with white, gray, and black in colored pencils, using cyan, magenta, yellow, and related hues.

Explore the Samwick color wheel and master complementary, double complementary, split complementary, and triad color schemes, with hands-on swatches of red, cyan, yellow, blue, magenta, orange, and green.

Explore square four-color schemes and rotate the swatch box to pick new colors around the color wheel. Learn monochromatic cyan variations with tints and shades and discuss analogous adjacent hues.

Begin a frog drawing with colored pencils, follow along, blend background colors in time-lapse segments, reference a photo or worksheet, and explore yellows, greens, blues, oranges, and reds.

Use Strathmore Bristol vellum paper and other papers to transfer a frog reference, keeping transfers light, marking landmarks, and starting with the background before rendering the frog and landscape.

Layer yellows, greens, and oranges to build a frog drawing with a loose background, deepen tones with blue indigo and black, and use Ganzel blending and edge tape.

Layer greens to build the frog, balancing warm and cool hues while judging hue and edge near the base, then apply color pencils for gradual texture.

Layer warm yellows and greens to form a base background, wash to unify colors, then blend with color pencils toward the frog transfer, preparing to finish areas.

continue this project by moving from an under wash to detailed color pencil work, layering greens, indigo blue, amber, and brown with white burnishing in circular patterns.

Layer colors to build a warm background with color pencils, burnish greens, blend yellow and orange, and prepare the frog in part 6 with patient, iterative practice.

Color palette for the frog focuses on yellows, oranges, and reds, with indigo blue accents in the legs; use a colorless blender for seamless blending and preserve white paper.

Layer indigo blue with touches of black to deepen the frog's eye, blend with warm and cool greys and white, and emphasize textured skin.

Follow along to build the frog’s form with varied colors and textures, using highlights, erasers, masking fluid, and overlays to refine the overall look.

Master the frog drawing by layering and blending blues, grays, and peaches with colored pencils, preserving highlights and using overlays and a blender for texture.

Practice layering and blending to render a blue frog, manage value with neutral grays, unify colors for realistic shading, and push background blur for focal emphasis.

Develop realism by refining the frog leg with sharper lines and precise highlights using powder blue, the eraser, and selective adding or subtracting from the photograph.

Place a sheet of paper between your hand and the frog leg drawing to avoid smudging, then follow the photograph or adjust the content while layering blues and shading.

Zoom in to reveal frog drawing details, adjust color choices like ultramarine blue and cerulean, and refine highlights and background while keeping a toned-down finish.

Tackle the foreground with neutral browns, grays, and indigo blue to build a textured rock base against an earthy background, using alcohol markers for rapid shading.

Master frog drawing techniques with colored pencils and blending markers, building a base and layering powder blue, pale sage, and greens to create natural textures, light, and detailed finishing touches.

Finalize frog drawing by refining the background with tonal layering and subtle blends, using greens, yellows, grays, and a hint of orange to keep the frog as the focal point.

Apply a 50 percent gray to unify and cool the frog drawing, creating a neutral receding background, blend subtle transitions, then add selective dark dots for realism.

Design a character for a project, from imagination or following Jonathan’s drawing, using colored pencils and luminance 6901 from Karen Dash, plus a blender, burner, and an alcohol marker.

Draw a character in an action pose with color pencils on Strathmore Bristol vellum, use masking fluid, and apply light theory with primary and secondary light for three-dimensional form.

Build a character drawing in layered blue pencil tones, establishing line work, core shadows, and the terminator while gradually varying pressure and preserving transfer lines.

Learn to render character design with controlled light and shadow, building form from circles and ovals, sharpening pencils (even with sandpaper) for precise value and wispy hair.

Build layered color pencil shading to develop core shadows for the bracelets and eye, using burnt sienna and blue, while protecting the tooth of the paper and sharpening lines.

Develop depth and three-dimensional form with colored pencils by patiently building up layered tones, while tracking the light source, cast shadows, and terminator across the character design.

Develop the value range from the light source by layering blue tones, building midtown shading, and adding reflective light, while reinforcing darker areas.

Apply darker blue to deepen the outfit and build a full value range from dark to light, layering lighter blues to reveal reflective light and highlights.

Develop character clothing textures by layering blue tones, modulating pressure, and switching mark styles from circles to wispy strokes, while building midtones and highlights through gradual buildup.

Explore color layering in character design by warming blue with a touch of yellow, building value with light to moderate pressure, and refining form to reveal a three-dimensional terminator shadow.

Layer light and dark blues to build a solid gradient and volume in character design, blending highlights on the nose and eyes, while masking fluid removal creates glowing hands.

Learn to build a smooth, three-dimensional character tone by layering and burnishing with lighter and darker pencils, adding midtone blue at the light edge to suggest wraparound form.

Learn to refine a character design with color pencils by burnishing to blend color, reduce white speckles, and add reflective light, highlights, and warm or cool adjustments using white pencil.

Master circular burnishing to build solid color and a soft, three-dimensional character look, using Bernard Shaw pencils, edge softening, and timelapse blending with alcohol markers and a blender.

Learn to blend and burnish hair shading into the face with a blender and blending marker, feathering soft edges for a three-dimensional form.

Develop a refined eye drawing by building a smooth surface, masking, and layering blue, violet, and gray tones to create realistic shading and bold highlights with burnishing.

Burnish to unify shading, refine a cartoony eye with subtle highlights, and blend browns, oranges, and blues for a cohesive character and outfit in the colored pencils drawing masterclass.

Showcases building a rounded arm form by circling and crossing strokes, then refine with burnishing, touchups, and selective color layering to create mass and volume.

Burnish the leg area to emphasize form, keeping focus on the face and hands. Blend with markers and blue tones to blur edges and refine hands and bracelets.

Develop pressure control and color nuance by layering blue and yellow tones to create a translucent flame, comparing values, and burnishing darker edges for contrast.

Blend pigments with a blender and markers, layer blues first then yellows and oranges, clean markers to avoid green tint, and unify the flame texture.

Refine a character drawing by layering with markers, burnishing with a blender, and reestablishing hand anatomy within the flame, while avoiding paper fatigue and overwork.

Learn to draw a landscape with colored pencils, creating a sky gradient and varied textures. Master pressure, control, pencil angles, masking, and color layering for sea, shoreline, and boat.

this landscape drawing lesson guides you through planning background, middle ground, and foreground, using frisket masking and transfer to create a gradient while deciding which details to omit for composition.

Master a dark-to-light gradient in a landscape using three blue pencils (fiber Castelo Poly Cronos) with layering and pressure. Apply atmospheric perspective to imply depth and protect clouds with frisket.

In this landscape part 3, learn to layer and blend blues with light pressure to build a gradual sky gradient, controlling pencil angle, pressure, and motion for a smooth transition.

Continue building the landscape with layered washes to create a soft gradient. Use tapping and circular motions with a soft brush, letting each layer dry before applying the next.

Continue layering tones to build depth in the landscape, using straight and circular strokes, medium pressure at the top, and blending with a lighter pencil and gamson.

Layer colors to build depth in the landscape, let it dry for five minutes, then refine value by spotting light and dark areas, adding white, and reworking with Ganzel.

Lay down the dark land mass with indigo and blues to unify shadow and sky, then build texture using varied color pencils and mark-making to suggest shrubs and undulations.

Practice mark making with indigo blue, olive greens, and warm browns to render landscape textures, guiding the eye from dark to light.

Apply alcohol markers to build a first texture layer for landscape foliage, blending and unifying colors. Add reflective light from the sky using indigo and burnt umber for depth.

Pull color with mounting putty to sculpt soft, three-dimensional clouds in the landscape. Blend blues and a cold gray with a small synthetic brush to study cloud structure.

Burnish the sky with blue and white, add cloud breaks along the horizon, blend cool gray tones for depth as you push the sea to the foreground and place boat.

Advance the seascape by refining the horizon with indigo blue and green pencils, mask the boat, build darker values gradually, and hint at waves and the light source.

Apply a base coat of yellow to reveal through the scene, touch up boat wood, and lay in a darker burnt umber shadow to build depth in this landscape drawing.

Master layered color blending with light pressure to refine landscape value and subtle nuances. Build depth using alternating yellows, greens, and turquoise for a cooler hue.

Layer colors with cadmium yellow, light green, blue for water, and raw umber shadows; burnish with white, blend beige beach tones, and pause as needed while building the landscape.

Layer dark greens and blues in the water, blend colors with a blender, and deepen shadows. Add wine tones along the shoreline for waves, then brighten with light cobalt turquoise.

Add layers of light cobalt turquoise to depict water and shoreline, with light green and highlights, and vary pencil pressure to lift highlights with a blue tag for contrast.

Add lighter value to the water with white, burnish and blend, then layer raw umber, dark sepia, and light cobalt turquoise to define the boat shadow and edges.

Unify areas with a blender and burnish with white, then finalize the boat by sharpening pencils and layering dark indigo, cooling the tones with 151 blue.

Deepen values with black and indigo blue, warming some areas with warm gray and cooling others with cold gray. Add blues to boat roof and sides to unify the landscape.

Develop colored pencil techniques for painting boat planks by softly breaking lines and layering red browns, desaturated red, sepia, and burn amber to suggest wood grain.

Apply cadmium yellow and white highlights to the boat, blend pale geranium with orange for analogous color scheme, and layer dark cadmium orange with blues and greens to add depth.

Lay in tone for the boat with light layers of yellows and greens reflecting water, then mimic wood grain with rotating browns and blue tinted texture, and keep pencils sharp.

Layer colors on the boat from deep red-brown to neutral beige, judge value and color, vary pressure, blend with a blender, cool and neutralize areas, and burnish sunlit highlights.

Apply highlights with a sharpened white pencil, refine with a blender to remove paper showing, and blend shading for a gradient landscape, practicing patience and careful edge work.

Master portrait drawing by building skin tones through six practice exercises using Prisma color and Karen Dash luminance set, transferring foundational lines from a reference photo for the final project.

Master portrait shading by exploring flesh tones and lighting with color pencils. Emphasize the flesh sphere concept and a dominant shadow color, while choosing similar hues rather than exact pencils.

Build flesh tones on a shaded sphere by layering dark to midtone to light colors, establishing core shadow (terminator), reflective light, and subtle color variations for a realistic portrait.

Build a second flesh tone in this portrait demonstration by layering warmer colors over core shadow, blending toward light areas and highlight, and adding reflective light to unify skin.

Master portrait shading with colored pencils by layering lighter to darker flesh tones, using blue-gray shadows and color adjectives to guide hue selection.

Explore a portrait 4th flesh-tone demonstration, building from base color through midtone to shadows with overlapping layers and gradients, using reflective light for peach, yellow, and violet highlights.

Learn to render a portrait with dark brown shadows, midtones, and reflective light, using blue indigo and violet nuances for depth and warm yellow ochre highlights.

Finish the sixth flesh-tone sphere by layering yellows, peach, and browns for a warm skin tone with mid and shadow values. Add blue or violet shifts to deepen the portrait.

Learn to build a nuanced flesh tone by layering colors, using the weight of the pencil, varied strokes, and shifts from cool to warm to add depth.

Master the flesh tone demonstration for colored pencils by layering cool and warm hues, using darker reds and blues to model shadows, midtones, and highlights.

Develop layered flesh tones for a portrait by applying lighter and darker colors, blues, violets, and ochre on practice paper, then blend and burnish to achieve varied skin hues.

Explore portrait drawing with colored pencils, focusing on paper selection, mark making, and layered skin tones using warm and cool colors, transfer prep, and pinky-supported strokes for controlled pressure.

Establish dark values and tone by slowly building shaded areas with light pencil pressure, concentrating on layering. Shift line directions as you build the portrait, staying patient.

Develop eye-hand coordination with a light touch, using the pencil's side to build layered portrait shading and soft edges. Avoid hard lines, and adjust features against shadows to enhance realism.

Build up dark tones to establish a value range and light source, then reinforce darker darks with the side of the pencil and added pressure, boosting confidence in the drawing.

Draw a portrait with colored pencils by building value gradually, postponing eyelashes and certain skin tones, and layering blue and warm browns to deepen shadows under the nose and chin.

Build up darks with warm reddish hues and cool blues, layering with the side of the pencil to render lips' shadows and makeup around the eyes in varied values.

Neutralize red with gray over violet to drop saturation, then layer pink, yellow ochre, and orange to build a realistic portrait foundation with blending of gold tones.

In this portrait session from the colored pencils drawing masterclass, build cheekbone with pink and red layers, control pencil pressure, and keep texture minimal around the eyes, lips, and nose.

Advance portrait drawing in part 19 of the colored pencils masterclass, continuing to draw amazing art with colored pencils.

Build the portrait colors gradually, layering blues and turquoise with a touch of black to deepen values while sparing the eye area to avoid muddy blends and preserve highlights.

Draw a portrait with colored pencils in this masterclass, guiding you through drawing with confidence. Sharpen your skills to draw amazing portraits.

Advance your portrait drawing with colored pencils in part 22 of the masterclass to draw amazing art.

Advance your portrait drawing with colored pencils in part 23 of the masterclass, continuing your practice within the colored pencils drawing masterclass to achieve stronger form and expression.

Develop portrait realism by layering skin tones with pinks, yellows, and golds, glazing lighter colors to blend values, and gradually build features like eyes, lips, and makeup.

Use a blender to refine portrait areas, leaving room to revisit and deepen darker values while preserving soft edges; blend with circular and directional strokes for shadows and highlights.

Develop your ability to gauge pigment and continually build tone, while exploring how different papers' attributes affect value and encouraging ongoing practice to learn those nuances.

Apply a lighter beige cream color (872) to unify the skin tone across the drawing, lay a base before blending with the blender, and adjust colors for different skins.

Learn to alternate between light and dark while building up and blending tones in colored pencil portraits, then decide when to stop and add more tone as needed.

Advance your portrait drawing with colored pencils in part 29 of the masterclass, refining shading and color layering to achieve more lifelike art.

Draw the eye by layering darks, eyelids, and lashes, render what's underneath first, blend across the form, and alternate directions for a saturated red, eye-catching result.

Learn to build a portrait eye with blue and black for rich tones, shape eyelashes with tapering strokes, blend for a soft to crisp edge, and refine highlights.

Blend with circles and layer colors to build a natural eyebrow and flesh tones, using multiple brow hues and directional hair strokes for realism.

Push contrast by darkening the lips and refining highlights to deepen the portrait, then pull out highlights with eraser, electric razor, and Exacto knife.

Build contrast in portraits with colored pencils by layering darks and lights, softening eraser marks for smoother transitions, and adding skin texture and highlights around the eyes, nose, and lips.

Refine a portrait with colored pencils by blending darks, smoothing textures, and creating crisp eye highlights, then compare rough versus smooth paper surfaces and complete with proper tape removal.