Portrait of my brother Inktense Pencil Xpost Human Figure

[Hawkmoth]

Thought I'd cross-post this here because I've discovered that Inktense pencils are really nice for drawing portraits. I'm a beginner at portraits and find the Inktense pencil method quite forgiving. I just used one pencil on cold press watercolour paper, with wax resist crayon for highlights in hair/beard. I'm wondering if a wax blender pencil would work as a resist. Anyone tried that?

 

[Schuee]

Excellent work, Claudia. a creative way of using Inktense pencils. I’ve just got myself a small set and want to find out more about using them.

 

[ams]

What a beautiful portrait. I am just in awe.

 

[snoball]

Great work!

 

[Triduana]

Excellent!

 

[Artyczar]

I too am in awe. This is excellent!

 

[Queen Bee]

Great portrait.

 

[laika]

Nice portrait! What color Inktense did you use? I have used oil pastel blenders and white ones (scraped off later, in most cases) for resists with watermedia, but haven't tried pencil blenders.

 

[Lazarus]

Beautiful work.

 

[Hawkmoth]

Thanks so much for your lovely comments folks, I really appreciate the feedback.

Nice portrait! What color Inktense did you use? I have used oil pastel blenders and white ones (scraped off later, in most cases) for resists with watermedia, but haven't tried pencil blenders.

I used Inktense number 2000 'Bark'. It's my favourite Inktense colour, and worked really well for the portrait because you can get a full range of tones from one pencil - from a very light wash to an intense dark. I did a previous portrait using 2010 'Sepia Ink' and that was good for tonal range too, but I prefer the subtle colour of the bark.

Excellent work, Claudia. a creative way of using Inktense pencils. I’ve just got myself a small set and want to find out more about using them.

Hi Penny. I hope you enjoy experimenting with your Inktense pencils. I have the pencils and the blocks and I'm a huge fan. They are very versatile. I use the blocks on fabric, to create watercolour-style backgrounds for stitched landscapes.

The pencils are similar to watercolour pencils, but the colours are more intense (fade less on drying). The pigment also moves around less when you wet it. They definitely require a bit of practice and experimentation, but they are great once you get the hang of it. Once it's been wet and dried, the colour is pretty much fixed, so you can use other layers of wet media on top without disturbing it.

 

[Perry]

Very nice portrait!

 

[Charlie’s Mum (Maureen)]

That’s a really good portrait, IMO! Well done.

 

[joe1It]

is wonderful

 

[Bongo]

wow.. excellent work

 

[JessieNebulous]

This is so well done! Excellent job.

 

[RaquelB]

That's a wonderful portrait Claudia, such an intense expression and showing great dexterity!
Would you share some of your technique? Do you use the Inktense directly on the paper or dissolve/spread the pigment with a brush?
To work with water-soluble regular coloured pencils I used a pallete made by covering a piece of cardboard with mylar, but didn't try it with Inktense...

 

[Hawkmoth]

That's a wonderful portrait Claudia, such an intense expression and showing great dexterity!
Would you share some of your technique? Do you use the Inktense directly on the paper or dissolve/spread the pigment with a brush?
To work with water-soluble regular coloured pencils I used a pallete made by covering a piece of cardboard with mylar, but didn't try it with Inktense...

Hi Raquel
This portrait went really well. Unfortunately it does not reflect my general level!

I've done several of these Inktense portraits and I do them differently depending on the subject and the photo, but it's always a combination of both methods. I always use the dry pencil to draw in some areas directly onto dry paper, and then wet it using a waterbrush (then move the brush around a bit to carry pigment to other areas). I also always use the palette and brush technique for some areas too. I like the different types of marks together in the same picture. I work in a couple of 'layers', leaving it to dry in between.

I'm still very much trying different ways and figuring it out. I haven't been able to recreate the bold approach I had with this one - I seem to have lost my nerve a bit with the brush strokes and am tending to build up layers of washes instead, which creates a much smoother, less dramatic look.

 

[RaquelB]

I am so pleased to have learned today that you are the WC's Claudia whose work I really admired there...! You certainly have the ability to do "smooth" AND "dramatic" Simply wonderful...

 

[Hawkmoth]

I am so pleased to have learned today that you are the WC's Claudia whose work I really admired there...! You certainly have the ability to do "smooth" AND "dramatic" Simply wonderful...

Yes, I was pleased to realise it was you too! Lots of old friends here. Penny (Shuee) is very active. Thanks for your very kind words about my work but it's actually very patchy. You only see the good stuff! Plenty of others just end up in the recycling basket!