Scribbles and Washes.
Someone on Bluesky Social Media mentioned Inktense watercolor pencils. Since I like the look of both watercolor and pencil lines, I was intrigued. The small set I picked up made me nervous at first as they were mostly bright colors. I don’t know why, but for some reason I’m always worried I won’t be able to control the brilliant hues. First impression when applying them to a sheet of simple sketch paper was mixed. They rolled across the paper like butter, but when I added water to see how they would blend, brighter colors became too ominous over the lighter ones. I decided I’d try to layer washes. A lighter color first, then additional colors after. The paper could not take repeated washes. Time for better paper and more experimenting.
Better Paper.
Even a better quality of paper can only take so many washes. I decided to work with a couple colors at a time using a lighter touch in my strokes. Applying a wash, remembering to leave a little white paper showing through, gave me a little confidence that this media had possibilities. After that wash dried I came back in with some shadow colors.
I could see this would take a bit heavier of a stroke to create the richness of a normal watercolor wash. Therefore, my vision for this sample piece became one of mild washes with darker line work to define the final piece.
I like how the piece turned out. It has somewhat of a vintage look to it. The Bark 2000 pencil was especially effective for outlining and hash work.
There is so much more to learn about this media, and perhaps I will look into what other colors are available.
Don’t be afraid to try new things, and happy creating.