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Basic techniques with Goldfaber Aqua

What a combination! The Goldfaber Aqua is an ordinary drawing pencil. Really? Of course, you can use it simply for drawing – quick sketching, hatching or even shading on surfaces. But what makes Goldfaber Aqua so special? The colour is entirely blendable with water! Get some brushes and water and see the drawing transform into a lively and vibrant watercolour painting. This pencil will send you on a journey of discovery. This is because your curiosity will be awakened by the many different ways of combining of dry and wet techniques. You will be amazed at the possibilities this opens up for drawing and painting.

Artists' Recommendations

  • Everybody 
  • 30 min
What you need:

Colour pencils Goldfaber Aqua

Glazing

Watercolours are transparent and can be mixed to give new shades of colour. You can make use of this effect through glazing.

Step 1

Apply several thin washes of paint on each other...

Step 2

...during this process, make sure that each wash fully dries...

Step 3

...before applying the next wash.

Masking

The contrast with the white in the background contributes to your picture's liveliness. These white areas need to be designated and left blank during painting, which is not always easy for a beginner. If you want to ensure that certain areas on your picture remain white, then you should mask these areas.

Step 1

The masking fluid is applied as a liquid and forms a rubbery film when dry.

Step 2

When it is dry, you can apply watercolours however you want – the masked surface will remain unaffected.

Step 3

After your picture has dried completely, use your finger to rub off the masking film carefully from the paper surface.

Wash technique and wet-on-wet technique

These two techniques require you to work with generous amounts of water. Colours flow wildly, but painterly, into each other. For the wash technique, paint is applied on dry paper, whereas for the wet-on-wet technique, the paper is wetted with clean water before paint application, such that the paint runs more intensively.

Granulation

On papers with strong textures, you can use a very beautiful effect. Hold an almost dry bush in a very flat position and glide it gently across the surface of the paper, such that the
pigments are applied only to the top layer of the paper grain. This produces random white regions that create a wonderful contrast to the colour.

Really useful: The water brush

You like traveling, and paint while you are on the go? Then the water brush from Faber-Castell is the ideal companion for you. Its cap has a special shape enabling you to achieve amazing effects.

 

Good to know: With varying the pressure on the water tank you control the amount of water you need for watercolouring.

Scraping technique

Scraping technique: You can easily move the dissolved paint on the paper using the wedge-shaped side on the cap to create interesting textures.

Scratching technique

Scratching technique: The integrated grooves on the cap can be used to create unusual effects. The damp paper can be scored to give your picture elaborated line patterns in less than no time.

Really creative

You will have a lot of fun with these simple techniques!

Colour spritzing

Colour spritzing: Give your watercolour painting an unparalleled sense of airiness by using the splatter painting technique. Run the brush tip over the lead of the coloured pencil in short, quick up- and down strokes to throw splatters directly on the picture.

Different distances

Try out different distances to see which of them give you the best results.

Drawing on wet paper

Drawing on wet paper: You have to try drawing on wet paper. How much a stroke made using Goldfaber Aqua will run on a paper is different depending on how much the paper has been wetted.

Salt technique

It is guaranteed to produce beautiful textures! Sprinkle coarse salt on the wet picture and let everything dry. Then remove the salt and be delighted by the interesting textures.

Producing pigments

You can use either a sandpaper block or a knife to scrape pigments directly from the lead of the coloured pencil onto the paper.

On wetted paper, the colours will dissolve immediately in the film of water. On dry paper, you can take the pigments using a and further process them.

Effects using spray bottle

You can achieve a really great-looking effect using a simple spray bottle. Draw your picture as your normally would – and then spray water on selected spots. You will be thrilled by the result of the colours running!

Sgraffito

The last time you tried the sgraffito technique was probably during your childhood using wax crayons. But sgraffito is also an interesting way of using coloured pencils.
Here's how it works: the first step involves completely covering one colour with another; the underlying colour should ideally be brighter than the upper colour. Then carefully scratch out lines and areas from the upper layer using a knife. And just like that, you have magically reated beautiful contrasts and patterns!

Find more inspiration