Easy-to-follow demonstrations show you how to use colored pencils to paint trees, flowers, animals, people and other popular subjects. The colored pencil is an easy-to-use, inexpensive and incredibly expressive medium. And nobody is more skilled with the pencil than Bet Borgeson. Using many visual examples to illustrate her points, Bet will teach you how to use layering, burnishing, lifting color and other basic colored pencil techniques to create an exciting range of effects—from highly detailed realism to loose, luscious color. She also offers advice on choosing the right materials, conveying textures, layering in backgrounds, and combining colored pencil with other mediums.
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100 reviews for Basic Colored Pencil Techniques (Basic Techniques)
4.3out of 5
★★★★★
★★★★★
7
★★★★★
1
★★★★★
1
★★★★★
2
★★★★★
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★★★★★
PB King –
I have read several books on colored pencils. This is my favorite. The first one to read but maybe not the last one.
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★★★★★
Mrs. H. Johnston –
It is not pitched at beginner level although it is called basic. It needs experience of the topic to understand it. The digital version is unsatisfactory as illustrations and explanations are not on the same page.
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★★★★★
Bill Hansen –
This is not a terrible book, but it’s also not a good introductory book on the use of colored pencils. It covers the most basic of penciling techniques, and some basic color matchings. But it rapidly veers off into several quite advanced artistic techniques, and it doesn’t cover any one of those in enough detail to be helpful to the beginner. The examples in the book are not to my taste at all, but that would be okay if there were a lot more detail about how the results were achieved. Better instruction is available on the internet, and in a very few other books on artistic use of colored pencils. Hint- look for books by Gary Greene, among others.
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★★★★★
Outdoorsy Mom –
This book just didn’t do it, for me. I was hoping for some helpful information and there is a bit of that, but I couldn’t get past the illustrations. No doubt the author is a talented artist, however I felt her work looked a bit washed out, as though it wasn’t really finished. Nothing “popped,” which is one of my favorite capabilities of coloured pencils. Also, I kept getting the feeling that the perspective and/or the light/shadows were off in some paintings and the values weren’t pushed enough. These things kept distracting me and putting me off. Also, the demos are very illustration-oriented, which is fine, if that is what you are looking for, but don’t buy this book if you want to learn other applications, like sketching, realism, etc.
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★★★★★
LKJ –
I’m just starting to work in colored pencil. I was basically drawn to this book by the beautiful artwork included. I love the author’s work and wish I owned one of her pieces. I’ve been ordering a LOT of new art instruction books. When I receive them I always skim thru them until I have time to sit down with them and try out the exercises. But with this one I find I just want to sit down now and read it cover to cover. Each time I pause I learn something. The author presents tons of useful information in a very easy to follow manner. I’m thrilled to have this as part of my new library of books. I actually went to the author’s website to see if I could purchase a print of one of her pieces. No luck, but I did discover that she offers online tutorials. I may end of doing one or those as her books are amazing!
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★★★★★
Nathalie Proulx –
Great book to start out with colored pencils.
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★★★★★
Lorna –
great book! perfect for beginners.
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★★★★★
PaulaDM –
I am very new to drawing with colored pencils and found this book to be very helpful. Explains different methods of layering color with very good examples from the artists work. Examples of layering color to provide definition to an object as well. This book will be a reference book for me as I continue drawing.
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★★★★★
Robink –
I read the reviews on all the colored pencil technique books on Amazon and chose this one. I taught myself watercolor and had been doing some colored pencil illustrations, but needed some help! This book shows all the tricks and tips I could ever need and the steps are usually broken up into understandable stages of a drawing – but not always. I would have liked to see more of the tools at work in the instructional photos. Sometimes just “use an eraser for this effect” doesn’t make sense without the eraser right there, doing it. I am actually creating my art using Corel Paint with the colored pencils and this book is a terrific help!
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★★★★★
CLG –
I was immediately struck that the author uses Prismacolor Professional Colored Pencils, my own brand of choice. This made it easy to practice her techniques using the same colors as stated by each image. I learned the best way to layer color – basic tonal layering, heavy pressure layering, two layer approach, spot layering (basic, bold, blended), plus doing the single layer approach. Other techniques covered are the lifting of color, covering large areas, using various colored paper for special effects and so much more that it would take another paragraph to fully describe the multitude of methods the author covers in this book. This book has steered me on the path to produce interesting works of art with colored pencils, where before I managed to use my college art classes to some degree, but not in the quality I really wanted to see my work develop. This is a good book for beginners and intermediates, maybe even good review/reference for the advanced artist. I am so pleased with this book over other colored pencil technique books that I am sure that the others will get dusty from lack of use, while this one will become a true tool to help me with my future artistic endeavors.
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★★★★★
Bev in Arkansas –
I found Borgeson’s handling of background very interesting and different from all the other colored pencil artists’ books. Her use of spot layering and single layer color juxtaposition helps to make the large areas go quickly. She also presents other methods to speed up colored pencil application. Of course, she covers all the basics, too. A good book for any colored pencil artist.
PB King –
I have read several books on colored pencils. This is my favorite. The first one to read but maybe not the last one.
Mrs. H. Johnston –
It is not pitched at beginner level although it is called basic. It needs experience of the topic to understand it. The digital version is unsatisfactory as illustrations and explanations are not on the same page.
Bill Hansen –
This is not a terrible book, but it’s also not a good introductory book on the use of colored pencils. It covers the most basic of penciling techniques, and some basic color matchings. But it rapidly veers off into several quite advanced artistic techniques, and it doesn’t cover any one of those in enough detail to be helpful to the beginner. The examples in the book are not to my taste at all, but that would be okay if there were a lot more detail about how the results were achieved. Better instruction is available on the internet, and in a very few other books on artistic use of colored pencils. Hint- look for books by Gary Greene, among others.
Outdoorsy Mom –
This book just didn’t do it, for me. I was hoping for some helpful information and there is a bit of that, but I couldn’t get past the illustrations. No doubt the author is a talented artist, however I felt her work looked a bit washed out, as though it wasn’t really finished. Nothing “popped,” which is one of my favorite capabilities of coloured pencils. Also, I kept getting the feeling that the perspective and/or the light/shadows were off in some paintings and the values weren’t pushed enough. These things kept distracting me and putting me off. Also, the demos are very illustration-oriented, which is fine, if that is what you are looking for, but don’t buy this book if you want to learn other applications, like sketching, realism, etc.
LKJ –
I’m just starting to work in colored pencil. I was basically drawn to this book by the beautiful artwork included. I love the author’s work and wish I owned one of her pieces. I’ve been ordering a LOT of new art instruction books. When I receive them I always skim thru them until I have time to sit down with them and try out the exercises. But with this one I find I just want to sit down now and read it cover to cover. Each time I pause I learn something. The author presents tons of useful information in a very easy to follow manner. I’m thrilled to have this as part of my new library of books. I actually went to the author’s website to see if I could purchase a print of one of her pieces. No luck, but I did discover that she offers online tutorials. I may end of doing one or those as her books are amazing!
Nathalie Proulx –
Great book to start out with colored pencils.
Lorna –
great book! perfect for beginners.
PaulaDM –
I am very new to drawing with colored pencils and found this book to be very helpful. Explains different methods of layering color with very good examples from the artists work. Examples of layering color to provide definition to an object as well. This book will be a reference book for me as I continue drawing.
Robink –
I read the reviews on all the colored pencil technique books on Amazon and chose this one. I taught myself watercolor and had been doing some colored pencil illustrations, but needed some help! This book shows all the tricks and tips I could ever need and the steps are usually broken up into understandable stages of a drawing – but not always. I would have liked to see more of the tools at work in the instructional photos. Sometimes just “use an eraser for this effect” doesn’t make sense without the eraser right there, doing it. I am actually creating my art using Corel Paint with the colored pencils and this book is a terrific help!
CLG –
I was immediately struck that the author uses Prismacolor Professional Colored Pencils, my own brand of choice. This made it easy to practice her techniques using the same colors as stated by each image. I learned the best way to layer color – basic tonal layering, heavy pressure layering, two layer approach, spot layering (basic, bold, blended), plus doing the single layer approach. Other techniques covered are the lifting of color, covering large areas, using various colored paper for special effects and so much more that it would take another paragraph to fully describe the multitude of methods the author covers in this book. This book has steered me on the path to produce interesting works of art with colored pencils, where before I managed to use my college art classes to some degree, but not in the quality I really wanted to see my work develop. This is a good book for beginners and intermediates, maybe even good review/reference for the advanced artist. I am so pleased with this book over other colored pencil technique books that I am sure that the others will get dusty from lack of use, while this one will become a true tool to help me with my future artistic endeavors.
Bev in Arkansas –
I found Borgeson’s handling of background very interesting and different from all the other colored pencil artists’ books. Her use of spot layering and single layer color juxtaposition helps to make the large areas go quickly. She also presents other methods to speed up colored pencil application. Of course, she covers all the basics, too. A good book for any colored pencil artist.