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Basic techniques with Albrecht Dürer Artists’ Watercolour Pencils

Albrecht Dürer artists’ watercolour pencils provide artists with great versatility of expression when drawing, shading and painting in watercolours. High-quality materials, combined with Faber-Castell’s experience, have resulted in pencils that produce unsurpassed watercolour effects. The coloured surface can be transformed with only a few fine or broad brushstrokes to reveal the full and unique power of the colours. Depending on the paper being used, the pigments can be completely dissolved, and will then behave in the same way as classic watercolour paints. As watercolours are transparent, the overlapping colours mix visually to create new colours. Many watercolour artists choose to use the pencils for the fine details in their watercolour paintings, as well as for watercolour sketches while travelling. The leads in Albrecht Dürer artists’ watercolour pencils can be transformed completely into watercolour paints, and have a high level of light-fastness and break-resistance.

Artists' Recommendations

Blocks of rich colour

To create blocks of intense colour, hold the pencil in an almost vertical position and press down hard on the paper.

Shading

To colour an area evenly, hold the pencil at a very shallow angle, and only press down lightly on the paper. The structure of the paper will be visible, while individual strokes will not.

From light to dark

Light colours are transparent, while dark colours provide coverage. Superimposing layers of colour increases the brilliance and vividness of the colours.

Running and dissolving with water

Paint over a coloured surface on the paper with a damp brush. The more often the surface is painted over, the more the strokes will dissolve.

Hatching and cross-hatching

Drawing many lines alongside each other will create an area of colour, which can be intensified by repeatedly overlaying lines at different angles.

Dissolving the colour with a spray bottle

Spraying the coloured surface with water from a spray bottle will make the colours especially intense and cause them to merge into interesting transitions, based on the structure of the paper.

Drawing on wet paper

The artists’ watercolour pencils release a great deal of pigment when used on dampened paper. The pencil tips become very soft, and glide smoothly across the paper.

Glazing technique

Areas that have been painted over completely with water will dry into the paper, and can, depending on the paper, subsequently be painted over again. Painting with glazes gives a picture layer-for-layer depth.

Fixing

Albrecht Dürer artists’ watercolour pencils adhere firmly to the paper and do not require fixing. “UV sprays” will also only enhance their permanence in rare cases.