I’d never considered “mixed media” pieces (I should say-I am NOT a professional artist, by any measure. I dabbled in many mediums over the years…but I didn’t start painting again until after health issues forced a retirement, and my precious late son and his friends began sending me boxes of brushes, paper, paint chips, ink sticks..and stones..from China. And after he passed suddenly in ‘21, my best friend & eldest daughter-REAL artists, suggested we try merging Chinese traditional painting with Western Watercolor…to honor my Son’s legacy of bringing people together through art, food, sports…and helping each other out). Back to what I was saying…more to the point…I seem to have found a comfortable combination of inktense pencils and/or Chinese ink, then western watercolors, then either more Inktense or high quality watercolor pencils for highlights and/or finishing touches. While I normally don’t use glittery or metallic mediums UNLESS it’s my gold or silver ink for Chinese calligraphy; I LOVE occasionally mixing in some Kuretake gold mica ink-either by itself for subtle highlights (especially in Fall scenes, and I occasionally use the silver for winter scenes) OR, just a tiny touch, mixed in with some paints or inktense..but the “barely there”, very natural looking shimmer when mixed with granulating paints-can add a wonderful touch to, for instance, the white sand beaches of NorthWest Florida, even in the shadows.
@@elaineg60 oh I love the idea of mixing some in for sand 😁 I have the gold mica and it’s amazing, may have to get some silver next time I put an order in.
I love my Albrecht Dürer. It’s the only brand of watercolor pencils I’ve tried, because after buying the complete set of 120, there’s no need (and no budget 😅) for anymore! I also love water soluble graphite. My favorite are Faber Castell, Caran D’Ache Technalo RGB and Art Graf sticks.
I really enjoy watching your videos especially the ones where you use water soluble pencils. I would really like to see a video where you use Derwent’s Graphitint pencils.
Also fully obsessed with my inktense but for me they are like an adaptive explosion of color for me on paper or I use a pallet I sort of save them for fabric 😂
I absolutely love the Inktense! So vibrant! The Albrecht Durer were purchased for Christmas this year and so far they are simply fabulous! I also have Derwent regular watercolor pencils and they’ve been a favorite for years. Thank you Francoise ❤️
Albrecht Durer are my favourites too, and the water soluble graphite. I have found over the years that I can't go wrong with Faber-Castell. I have tried so hard to like Derwent as they are a UK company (I'm in the UK), but they never quite cut it for me. I regret spending so much on inktense as I just can't seem to get the results I want. Maybe my paper choice is the problem. The only thing that worked well for me was to use the inktense blocks to create a grisaille underpainting before glazing with watercolour. I always combine them with watercolour now.
Thank you for sharing ! What problem do you notice with Inktense in particular if you don't mind sharing? As you saw from one tree to the next I get very similar same results between FC and Inktense, hence my curiosity because I've heard others have a hard time with them.
@paintingandchocolate The biggest problem I have with inktense is creating soft edges. It dries so fast and tends to stain (not lift) in my hands, leaving unsightly brush marks. I like a smoother finish. I think it's just a preference rather than a flaw. It's fine for textured or detailed pieces. I just prefer soft and flowy.
I have the Albrecht Durer and their water soluble graphite pencils as well, love them both. I’m also a sucker for Faber Castell and have their Pitt artist fine liners and a set of their pastel pencils. 😁 The first Albrecht Durer ones I bought were the jumbo ones 😂
What a great comparison video! Based on one of your earlier videos where you recommended the Faber Castell pencils, I had been eager to try them. We have a Blick Art store close by (Tampa, Florida) and I was able to purchase some Albrecht Durer pencils recently. Had to purchase open stock because they did not have any sets in the store. I am glad to have followed your advice, as the pencils are lovely! Blick Art also has the Caran d’Ache as open stock, so they, as well as the Derwent ones, are on my wish list! I have small sets of Faber Castell Goldfaber, as well as Prismacolors. The Prismacolor red is so vibrant, and probably my favorite! The Goldfabers are mediocre, but some of the colors are quite nice. Thanks for all the information you put out on watercolor pencils. Being able to use this medium opens up a whole new world of possibilities. And….they are very convenient for travel!
I love my Faber Castell water colour pencils and water soluble graphite pencils. I have Kuretake graphite paints and they don’t come with a black or grey so I’ll use the Faber Castell graphite pencils with them to do cloudy skies and areas I want pure grey or black. I have a cheap set of temu watercolour pencils as well and strangely they are really good and leave no marks, they’re vibrant and fun.
@@paintingandchocolate yes I was surprised as well, the temu ones are what I started with and I keep them because I have 120 colours 🤣 (admittedly I’m close to that number with Faber Castell too)I have 3 Caran d’Ache pencils because I wanted some skin type tones that I couldn’t find in Faber Castell, I haven’t tried them yet so it will be interesting to see how they compare.
@@Amanda-uc5jqThe same chinese pencils are cheaper on Temu than on Amazon, so can you say wich pencils did you buy, please? Because there a lot of chinese brands. Just to share, the Arteza and Mondeluz from Koh-i-noor are very good too, for beginners. I already tested Mondeluz and they are pretty good.
I have the Inktense, Fc and Cd'A sets, and love them all for different reasons. I like the Inktense to use in conjunction with w/c, and also great for taking out a few for plein aire sketching. I find the colours of Fc to be brighter than Cd'A, but eh the Cd'A is great for botanicals and natural history subjects as they have some lovely subtle colours that are absent from the other sets. Horses for courses! But they all mix well together and are a joy to use (depending on the paper!!!)
FC Graphite Aquarelle Derwent Inktence Derwent Graphitint CD Museum FC Albert Dürer Already bought the first 3, love them. Thank you Françoisel, for another great video.
What's your favorite brand? To paint along with me, you may join my Patreon here: www.patreon.com/francoiseblayac
I’d never considered “mixed media” pieces (I should say-I am NOT a professional artist, by any measure. I dabbled in many mediums over the years…but I didn’t start painting again until after health issues forced a retirement, and my precious late son and his friends began sending me boxes of brushes, paper, paint chips, ink sticks..and stones..from China. And after he passed suddenly in ‘21, my best friend & eldest daughter-REAL artists, suggested we try merging Chinese traditional painting with Western Watercolor…to honor my Son’s legacy of bringing people together through art, food, sports…and helping each other out).
Back to what I was saying…more to the point…I seem to have found a comfortable combination of inktense pencils and/or Chinese ink, then western watercolors, then either more Inktense or high quality watercolor pencils for highlights and/or finishing touches. While I normally don’t use glittery or metallic mediums UNLESS it’s my gold or silver ink for Chinese calligraphy; I LOVE occasionally mixing in some Kuretake gold mica ink-either by itself for subtle highlights (especially in Fall scenes, and I occasionally use the silver for winter scenes) OR, just a tiny touch, mixed in with some paints or inktense..but the “barely there”, very natural looking shimmer when mixed with granulating paints-can add a wonderful touch to, for instance, the white sand beaches of NorthWest Florida, even in the shadows.
@@elaineg60 oh I love the idea of mixing some in for sand 😁 I have the gold mica and it’s amazing, may have to get some silver next time I put an order in.
Very beautiful and interesting ❤❤❤bravissima
Thank you 🙂
The landscape set in the Caran D'ache is a nice set with the right amount of colors.
I haven't seen it, it's interesting
I love my Albrecht Dürer. It’s the only brand of watercolor pencils I’ve tried, because after buying the complete set of 120, there’s no need (and no budget 😅) for anymore! I also love water soluble graphite. My favorite are Faber Castell, Caran D’Ache Technalo RGB and Art Graf sticks.
I didn't know so many enjoyed the water-soluble graphite as well, I didn't try Art graf yet (almost!)
I really enjoy watching your videos especially the ones where you use water soluble pencils. I would really like to see a video where you use Derwent’s Graphitint pencils.
Also fully obsessed with my inktense but for me they are like an adaptive explosion of color for me on paper or I use a pallet I sort of save them for fabric 😂
It must be nice on fabric
I absolutely love the Inktense! So vibrant!
The Albrecht Durer were purchased for Christmas this year and so far they are simply fabulous!
I also have Derwent regular watercolor pencils and they’ve been a favorite for years. Thank you Francoise ❤️
You're welcome, thank you for sharing about your own experience 🙂
Albrecht Durer are my favourites too, and the water soluble graphite. I have found over the years that I can't go wrong with Faber-Castell. I have tried so hard to like Derwent as they are a UK company (I'm in the UK), but they never quite cut it for me. I regret spending so much on inktense as I just can't seem to get the results I want. Maybe my paper choice is the problem. The only thing that worked well for me was to use the inktense blocks to create a grisaille underpainting before glazing with watercolour. I always combine them with watercolour now.
Thank you for sharing ! What problem do you notice with Inktense in particular if you don't mind sharing? As you saw from one tree to the next I get very similar same results between FC and Inktense, hence my curiosity because I've heard others have a hard time with them.
@paintingandchocolate The biggest problem I have with inktense is creating soft edges. It dries so fast and tends to stain (not lift) in my hands, leaving unsightly brush marks. I like a smoother finish. I think it's just a preference rather than a flaw. It's fine for textured or detailed pieces. I just prefer soft and flowy.
I have the Albrecht Durer and their water soluble graphite pencils as well, love them both. I’m also a sucker for Faber Castell and have their Pitt artist fine liners and a set of their pastel pencils. 😁
The first Albrecht Durer ones I bought were the jumbo ones 😂
I see what you mean now, they do dry a bit faster
Their markers are nice too
What a great comparison video! Based on one of your earlier videos where you recommended the Faber Castell pencils, I had been eager to try them. We have a Blick Art store close by (Tampa, Florida) and I was able to purchase some Albrecht Durer pencils recently. Had to purchase open stock because they did not have any sets in the store. I am glad to have followed your advice, as the pencils are lovely! Blick Art also has the Caran d’Ache as open stock, so they, as well as the Derwent ones, are on my wish list!
I have small sets of Faber Castell Goldfaber, as well as Prismacolors. The Prismacolor red is so vibrant, and probably my favorite! The Goldfabers are mediocre, but some of the colors are quite nice.
Thanks for all the information you put out on watercolor pencils. Being able to use this medium opens up a whole new world of possibilities. And….they are very convenient for travel!
I'm delighted they are helpful, it sounds like you have been having fun with them 😃
All of the pencils have lightfast charts on the websites. I only use the lightfast ones for fine art and put the rest in my art therapy supplies.
That's a good idea! To buy them in open stock then could be an option.
I love my Faber Castell water colour pencils and water soluble graphite pencils. I have Kuretake graphite paints and they don’t come with a black or grey so I’ll use the Faber Castell graphite pencils with them to do cloudy skies and areas I want pure grey or black.
I have a cheap set of temu watercolour pencils as well and strangely they are really good and leave no marks, they’re vibrant and fun.
Ohhh I'm surprised about Temu, thank you for sharing this! So far it seems FC is much appreciated by many 🙂
@@paintingandchocolate
yes I was surprised as well, the temu ones are what I started with and I keep them because I have 120 colours 🤣 (admittedly I’m close to that number with Faber Castell too)I have 3 Caran d’Ache pencils because I wanted some skin type tones that I couldn’t find in Faber Castell, I haven’t tried them yet so it will be interesting to see how they compare.
@@Amanda-uc5jqThe same chinese pencils are cheaper on Temu than on Amazon, so can you say wich pencils did you buy, please? Because there a lot of chinese brands. Just to share, the Arteza and Mondeluz from Koh-i-noor are very good too, for beginners. I already tested Mondeluz and they are pretty good.
Interesting !
I bet !
I have the Inktense, Fc and Cd'A sets, and love them all for different reasons. I like the Inktense to use in conjunction with w/c, and also great for taking out a few for plein aire sketching. I find the colours of Fc to be brighter than Cd'A, but eh the Cd'A is great for botanicals and natural history subjects as they have some lovely subtle colours that are absent from the other sets. Horses for courses! But they all mix well together and are a joy to use (depending on the paper!!!)
Thank you so much Lesley for sharing 🙂
FC Graphite Aquarelle
Derwent Inktence
Derwent Graphitint
CD Museum
FC Albert Dürer
Already bought the first 3, love them. Thank you Françoisel, for another great video.
Thank you ! I'm glad you enjoyed it 🙂
We Stan out WC QUEEN ❤
best from Poland
Hello!
❤🎉❤🎉
Big love for my AD even if I still forget how to spell it 😂😂😂
FC AD will do 🙂