What do I do with watercolour pencils?

[mysticclare]

Now I've got my watercolour pencils - what do I do with them? I've been meaning to get some for ages, but they don't come with instructions...

I colour in stamped images and then do something with the paintbrush and water? Just turns into mud when I try it...

Ideas/instructions/inspiration please!

Clare

[cw18]

you need to make sure you're using the right kind of inkpad to create your stamped image. A pigment one will bleed as soon as you get water near it, so you need a dye based one. I use Stazon or a Verafine.

[Dan99]

I echo what Cheryl's said. After stamping you could colour your image with the pencils in the usual way, or pick up colour from the tip of the pencil with a wet brush and then paint your image, or colour around the edges of the image with the pencil, then drag the colour out into the rest of the image with a wet brush, which gives a graduated effect. I'm sure others will have even more techniques! IHTH.

[JaneH]

Also be sure you're not adding too much water. If you do, it will look muddy and the paper will sometimes buckle.

One tip is to get one of the aquaflow brushes (where the water is INSIDE the brush), then just touch it to the watercolour pencil and practice on a piece of scrap cardstock until you get the right mix. And remember that not all watercolour pencils are created equal. Some are too hard and just don't want to blend. Others can leave a kind of gritty residue.

So...Stazon ink, good quality watercolour pencils, good quality paper (get watercolour paper if possible), and lots of practice. The results will be worth it.

[madhattermillie]

my advice is to forget they are pencils! lol!

i am not happy if i colour in with a pencil then blend, it never looks quite right, so what i have found works for me is to put a drop of water onto the back of my hand, scribble the pencil through it to get some of the paint, and paint a really light coat onto the pic, let it pretty much dry, then using the same technique, start ading more paint to the edges and blending. I try to let a colour dry as much as possible before painting next to it, or i find the colour bleeds (i use derwent pencils)

your best bet, is stamp loads of images with stazon or similar, and have a really good play, get to know your pencils and what works best for you.

[Insomniac]

Just to add,ordinary dye based ink pads will bleed if you water colour on an image. I use dye based and marvey le plume,tombo,whispers etc pens to create a water colour effect. If you want the outline to stay inchanged, you need the permenent ink pads like stazon,as mentioned. I also use embosed images to water colour in. I see some fantastic work on the cards thread on here-I haven't got the skill that those ladies have but love to keep trying.

[debby4000]

Not sure if this link will work but it shows Katharine how she colours with watercolour pencils and then H2os but it will give you some idea.
Also there's bit about how I watercolour on my blog

[mysticclare]

Thank you so much, these tips are really helpful.