Zestit has a neutral pencilblend as well. I am sensitive to smells. I can laugh my ass off when I see artists sniff their products bc for the life of me my nose is not ment for that sniffing. As for the powder : works best on pastelmat by clair fontaine and works for pastel pans as wel as colored pencils but panpastel do have a blender pan as well. thanx for indepth exploring, i have the ohuhu bender. Saves me the money,lol
By dissolving the pencils binder with solvent you "make space" for more layers than your paper would have been able to take. Wich is amazing if you want to achieve a higher saturation of pigment, or more complex texture. Amazing work you've achieve there.
Wow, Sarah! This is one of the most comprehensive and easy to understand guide to testing blending. You went over and above with the wax v oil based pencils, as well as the paper comparison!! So impressed - thank you for all your hard work and long hours putting this together!
It is important to note that odorless mineral spirits are toxic. You need to have decent ventilation in your workspace to use it safely. By the way, the Strathmore Bristol Vellum you are using is the 300 series, which is made from wood pulp. I use the 500 series Strathmore Bristol Vellum which is 100% cotton and archival quality. There is a performance difference.
one thing about using a white pencil to blend: make sure it's a cheap one! they tend to have less pigment than a white prismacolor (for example) so there's not much of a white cast after blending. I usually use a white crayola pencil and that works well
Thanks for doing this; this was really helpful! I'm going to have to check into burnishing and blending pencils. Just a thought, but the people recommending the white pencil may have been talking more about cheap pencil sets than the nice pencils. In the cheaper sets, the white pencils don't really do much, so they can work more like a burnishing pencil. I use that for my highlight areas where I don't want to lay down any more pigment when I burnish. It adds only a little white, which doesn't hurt the highlights anyway.
Hey! I just wanted to say thanks for giving us a shot in REAL TIME. Oh my goodness you have no idea how helpful that is for an unschooled new colorer. (See how I made up my own words) 😆 Anyway, when we (I) only see the speeded up version it still leaves me guessing as to pressure, form, direction and so on. So thank you for including that bit. I'd be very happy to see more REAL TIME examples. Be well, from PA, USA
My main medium has been acrylics and watercolors, but I’ve always wanted to improve with colored pencils. They’ve always intimated me for some reason, but your videos have not only encouraged me, but helped me jump in and finally try it. Can’t thank you enough! :)
I have been meaning to try that, now I will thanks to your review. What strength alcohol do you use? And, do you think gin or vodka would work well at all? LOL
@@IFortuna2 LOL maybe gin and vodka would work too, worth a try 😂 but I’m pretty sure I used 70% rubbing alcohol and in the same way Sarah did in the video - wiping most of it off on a paper towel and just working carefully.
Sarah, you are really amazing. The amount of time and work you put into this video is unbelievable!!!! Thank you so so much for this, as I’m just learning pencils and this is huge!!!!!!!
I would like to thank you for this video. You are providing us with so much helpful information to make decisions that otherwise will be hard to do. Thank you so much. It is highly appreciated.
there is a reason for the orange smell, orange oil is naturally a great solvent for those things already.. I used that "knowledge" to make my own.. I used a few drops of pure orange oil in 95% cosmetic alcohol... to be used in a container for dipping with a brush or also into a watercolor water tank brush (I think it's just a bit harder to control the amount in those).. anyway, I still prefer burnishing as well but those are really good for backgrounds or light areas
I am new to colored pencils, my go to medium is acrylics. My daughter gave a set of Parisimatic pencils for Christmas and I love them. However I am as yet not really good at blending so I tried coconut oil, it worked. I used it on a picture I created for my granddaughter, it seemed to work well, but I am glad I found this video. Thank you for all the work you do for us.
When I started coloring about 4-1/2 years ago, I tried and used the Prisma blender for about the first 6 months. I never really cared for it though and hated how “scratchy” it is...so I learned (through videos) how to layer and blend with just my pencils and honestly, this is my favorite way to blend... I have discovered the Caran d’Ache Full Blender though and if I feel I need a little extra “help”, I will use that. As for solvents, I have stayed away from them, scared to use the “regular” solvents (like Gamsol) due to sensitivity to chemicals. Have used petroleum jelly at times with good results, but still-really prefer not to and you have to make sure to wipe your pencil off well to prevent them from continuing to “melt/soften”. I have been experimenting with rubbing alcohol for those times I want to sped up the process and so far, kind of liking it, but not for everything or every image. I did get a couple of colorless markers, but haven’t had a chance to really try them out yet.
Alcohol works?! I am amazed, thank you so much for testing these side by side so I can see how they compare. I've heard that the solvents still need to be used in well-ventilated areas despite being odorless, which means I can't use them in winter months in my super old house with no vents or air circulation unless I want to jack up my heating bill... but an alcohol blender (or, if it works as well, rubbing alcohol) would be such an accessible alternative for me. Thank you again!!
You are right to be cautious. Alcohol inks actually have a warning on the package not to use them without breathing protection. I don’t know if those use rubbing alcohol or some other kind, but I’d be very cautious with rubbing alcohol too. At least make sure there’s plenty of ventilation wherever you use it. I use an industrial mask designed specifically for fumes when I’m working with alcohol inks.
The end of this video made me LOL. It reminded me of the Blend-Tec “Will It Blend?” Videos that used to be here on you tube. They were advertising how strong their blenders were, and did all sorts of crazy things, like a full turkey dinner (with and without the bones!) and my all-time favorite, a cell phone. EDIT: here’s a link to one they did blending markers: ua-cam.com/video/R6WfSZzi4_Y/v-deo.html Enjoy! Thanks for your reviews. I’m a Certified Zentangle Teacher (though I haven’t taught yet!), and I haven’t done much with regular colored pencils. I now have an insane collection of Pigma Microns, and a whole lot of Gelly Rolls, in addition to things I got before my CZT course last year. I do have watercolor pencils from Arteza that I’ve really enjoyed using, and I may experiment with getting one of the colorless blenders or the clear burnishing pencils you showed, which seemed quite impressive for the cost, and wouldn’t take up a lot of space in my tiny room. Thank you for a very impressive and thorough video!
I actually like using an alcohol blender marker. I usually use this because I prefer burnishing, and the alcohol marker disperses the color without mixing them together. It also adds a cover that I can work over to add more pigment if I choose to when it dries.
The powdered blender is also for oil based, not wax based pencils. They said that you can lightly gesso your paper, and let it dry thoroughly, but sanded paper is the best. I love using sans d paper, so I'm excited to try this for my portraits.
Monumental effort. I use odorless on watercolor paper with Faber Castellated and Prisma. The Bristol paper is so rough. But all of this really helped me.
I really appreciate the dedication in this video! From doing both oil based pencils and wax based pencils to testing different types of papers, this is really helpful! I really hope you reach your 1M-subscriber goal soon!
You're so smart and generous with your experienced advice. I love all the tips you share and how you show us the goof ups too. Btw inktense was half off today at the big merch delivery site.. not saying names. Anyhow, I really like watching your array of videos and hearing your cute accent. Best to you dear girl... Love Marcia in modesto
It's obvious you went to a lot of trouble. Thank you for posting this video. It confirmed what I had already suspected so I found it very useful and a time saver.
Thank you for taking the time to do this! I hope your hand has recovered. 😁 Are the blending stumps made of tightly wrapped paper and also known as tortillons? If so, I didn’t know they were used alone; I’ve always seen them used with solvents (the same way you used the cotton swab) and cleaned by rubbing them on sand paper to remove the paper stained with pigment. You can buy generic tortillons in different lengths and thicknesses, usually with a cleaning block made of several strips of sandpaper stapled to something that looks like a 6 inch (or so) thin, wooden ruler. You simply pull off a used strip for a fresh one for cleaning your stumps. There are videos on UA-cam demonstrating how to make the tortillons if you have an excess of white paper and you’re really bored, but you can find sets for a good price in art supply stores or online.
Ohh Bless Your Beautiful Artistic Heart..when you realized you did ALL that work and using one wax & one oil base.. ouch.. I Appreciate All you do.. Your Imagination I swear is Endless.. I will be going back and rewatch your videos.. I'm always learning more..Thanks!!🙏🤟❣
Your poor nose! I can relate though. I've been around a great many fumes myself. Fresh air helps! PS: You're a trooper for doing all the long-winded tests for us. Thank you!
Card makers use paper blending stumps or the Tim Holtz alcohol marker (it comes empty and you fill it yourself) with the Gamsol. Check out Gina K or Jennifer McGuire videos for how they use them.
Honestly, if you’re just starting out, you don’t need any of these. Just stick to the layering and burnishing method I’ve linked to in the description!
Super useful! Especially since you used the 2 pensils i also use. To blend i use vaseline, baby oil, white pensil, prismacolor blender and caran dache blender
This was interesting, since I'm a student with a budget, I'm looking forward to the household blending comparison since I have babyoil already at my drawer. Since I'm a new subscriber. How often does Sarah upload?
The Zest I was using wasn’t good. It was supposed to be “Zest-It”, which looks different to what I’ve shown in this video. The one in this video stained over time, so I don’t recommend it. The proper Zest-It brand is recommended by a lot of artists but I haven’t been able to find it for myself yet
I realised when I went to the next video that this had already been suggested, a lot, haha, sorry! But that’s awesome, I’m gonna do this! I’m researching Polychromos... I think I’ve picked them over Prismas, but still making my mind up to purchase (I do have the Creyarts,from Kogan/DickSmith Aussie I bought last year and I like them but I know they not supposedly the greatest....) and tho I have full set syndrome, I’m only gonna get a 36 set this time 😂
I’ve got a paper video coming soon! Personally I like Bristol Vellum, but Prismacolors are versatile and work on lots of papers, so try a few and see what you prefer!
You could've included petroleum jelly and blend some pencils that way cuz it's something you'll always have in your house and is amazing at least with prismas
I have a request for you... Can you please draw realistic chocolate , cake , donuts , cookies etc with color pencils (a detailed and beginner way) ... Maybe you can make a series and draw each in one video (if that's not a problem) I would be very thankful because I cannot find any tutorials for these...!
The best way to draw something realistic is to use a reference photo and try to copy it. In my last video, I showed a few different tricks with pencils and markers combined to get the cake texture. Otherwise it’s just about looking closely at the details in your reference picture and copying them!
Personally, the thought of messing with chemicals bothers me. I just purchased some blending pencils to try. I have a Derwent, Prismacolour and the Caran Dache. The CD arrived broken...so started with that. Lovely. Will try the rest, but that is as far as I am happy to go. Which is fine, I want my hobby to stay a hobby having gone through 5 months where it got totally out of hand. I am hoping it is back in balance.
I just bought the prismacolor colorless blender.. it's kind of hard I expected it to be like a soft wax. I'm wondering if their old.. Can anyone tell me if they're supposed to be kind of hard or not?
Hi Sarah! I have some ideas I think they might work if you do this again. Nail polish top coat - not sure but give it a go! Water on a cotton pad Marker Hope you like my ideas!
The polychromos looks terrible, (not because of you Sarah - you're amazing as always!), it's just the polychromos in general. I think it's best used for detail work so it's better to have 2 different types of coloured pencils. I know prismacolor isn't very lightfast but I hear good things about caran d'ache pablo, although I haven't tried it yet as I'm still awaiting for the shipment, hopefully it's smoother! But I have a set of prismacolor too. I am never going to buy the polychromos though.
Damn you, Sarah! How dare you! Every time I look for the best of something you make it about people's preferences instead! Why can't there be a more objective results for artists who don't know what they like?! Ugh. But nah, real talk, you put so much effort into these comparison videos and I love hearing your feedback. And youtube unsubscribed me for no reason, but joke's on them because I follow your weekly letters! SO, HA! Take THAT, Algorithm!
i would teach you design of experiment statistics for free for these types of data you collect. what you're doing is collecting ↝ population data ↜ and stats is the maths used to design experiments and tabulate the collected data. im an immunobiochemist w over a decade of R&D experience in the diagnostic industry. my sample sizes (the number of samples used for a given experiment) were upwards of 500 for every single experiment. and the experiments were at the very least 6 conditions per each parameter. this type of set up is my warm up for work. also, set up your experiments with uour variable applied to all your supplies before you move on to your next constant. your constant is your prncils and your variables are your solvents. use one solvent across all your pencil groups before moving on to another solvent. that's a more accurate experiment design than using all the solvents on each brand of pencil.
You can also use the blending stump to dip it in the odorless mineral spirit and then use it in small circular motions on your painting. Thank you for your hard work! 🫶
Sarah you are a QUEEN! All those swatches to prepare... it would overwhelm me massively. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to be so comprehensive, and as always the production quality & editing of your videos is second to none. As a video creator myself, I can totally appreciate how much work goes into your videos - in front of the camera but mostly behind the scenes. Thank goodness you have Shane to help! #dreamteam Genuinely think you’re on the way to being the best colouring channel on UA-cam. Thank you for being someone to aspire to!
Wow what a fantastic informative video! Thank you so much Sarah! I can only imagine the hours you spent swatching and editing this! Thank you for your hard work 💕
Art Spectrum (listed in this video as Artist's solvent) and Gamsol are both the same thing, just FYI to anyone wondering. Art Spectrum have the advantage of being an Aussie owned and made brand and they make some good stuff in case you are local and want to support an Australian business. :)
I couldn't watch the end. 😧 I use whatever is handy, I have a roll of waxed paper under my drawing table, it blends wax, oil, graphite & charcoal really quite well. My mom gave me a Grumbacher plastic eraser that blends wax & oil pencils surprisingly good. Mostly, I use the Prismacolor blending pencil for dry, & Grumtine (smells like oranges😵💫 urgle) or turpentine, occasionally linseed oil for wet.
For quite some time, I’ve been using my ohuhu colorless blender on pencils. I didn’t have anything better to use besides markers other than those blending stubs (which are grey from all the led pencils I used to use). The solvents seem like something I’d like, though if I can, I may try many different methods for myself. Thanks for the blender analysis of sorts! This’ll make things a ton easier when deciding which route I’d like to go down!
I used the lip saver Carmex to blend the other day. I was too lazy to get the Vaseline from the bathroom. It worked very well, however, there is an oily, waxy residue left. Need to be careful after applying because it can transfer your desk brush, hands and other paper and smear. Although I liked the way it performed I may not use it again or use it sparingly. Using pencils like Holbein and Prismacolor, only a small amount of blending is needed depending on the paper used. I also have a lavender "odorless" solvent that I use for my oil painting and I will be trying it next. Jerry's Artarama carries it. And, Dick Blick carries Holbein ow in the U.S. if anyone is interested at about $3 a pencil. They also have open Stock Prismacolor at a little over $1 per pencil and if you buy 12+ they knock off about .20 cents per pencil. Good deals.
I'm a watercolor artist, and still pretty new to colored pencil. I happen to like the natural and slightly 'grainy' look of colored pencil art. The medium looks how it looks and isn't that what makes it unique? So I don't quite get why most colored pencil artists try to make their colored pencil drawings looks like paintings by using solvents to dissolve the pencil wax/oil into a type of 'paint.' If a painted look is desired, then why not just use paint? It's a lot faster than drawing. Maybe there's something I'm not understanding?
I still cannot see the difference between a blender pencil and a burnisher. Is my brain really that slow? They both appear like a burnisher to me. Can someone help me please?
The blender pencil is a little better at actually blending the colors together. I prefer it, even for burnishing. I was confused for a long time too and didn’t see the point in having both! Even now, I rarely use my burnishing pencil.
My method was white pencil and or Prismacolor colourless blender pencil. I stopped using the white pencil because it changed my colors. I have Derwent blending pencils but don't find them as good as Prisma though it could be I just feel better with the tried and true. I do background blending almost entirely with just light layering of pencils, but sometimes the blending pencil for a smooth look and it always looks good. I mostly do coloring book pages but some drawing and sketch book stuff. I'm not s burn artist, but my coloring impresses even me, especially when I use a good tutorial. I really appreciate watching you show us these blending tools. I've been doing pencil work about 15 months and improving because of people like you. None of my friends or family care much about art even when I did watercolors that were vetted and hung at the local gallery. You're like an actual friend. Love Marcia in modesto
As an experiment i used Isopropyl Myristate or I.P.M. as a solvant. I had some on hand from my sculpture work with Monster Clay. The first test blended well with the oil based pencils but I used too much and there was an oily halo around the colors. The second experiment I used very little IPM almost nothing and it came our perfectly. IPM is non toxic and used in the theater for removing makeup.
I swear I use more materials swatching than actually drawing 😅 Remember to be careful disposing items that were soaked in solvent, and to ask your doctor about protecting your lungs and skin if you use them often!
Just started watching the video, and I noticed something right away. You mentioned the powdered blending, but didn't include sanded paper. The blending powder ONLY works on sanded paper, as per the instructions and all the research videos I've watched. I'm waiting for my shipment to come in, so I haven't used it yet, but that is the point about powdered blender for colored pencils is that it will not work on the papers you mentioned. Ok, back to the video.
Sarah you are so awesome. I can't imagine the headache this project was but was perfect because I was curious about OMS products. Thank you for doing this for us! I can't believe your channel has been around just a year. You're my UA-cam hero.
I am not able to watch the video right now. But a quick once over I wanted to lend a tip? I used an empty alcohol marker, to put Gamsol in. Its WONDERFUL! Look up a video here on UA-cam, its very easy. Just be careful not to add too much Gamsol. It doesn't take much, and you can add more if needed. I
Do you think touching the paper risks oil from your hands leaving residue and therefore affecting the uniformity of application of your pencils and paper and even the blending medium? In college we were taught to never rest your hands directly on your paper. Apparently, you’ve never had bad results from this? I use a clean piece of paper of paper towel to rest my hand on. Interested to hear what you or anyone else has to say.
Any time you use a chemical, in art or otherwise, you need to understand it, store and use it with respect, and take necessary precautions for exposure. Directly inhaling solvents and alcohol is not only dangerous and damaging... it's highly irresponsible in a video tutorial especially when you never even mention the dangers or need for adequate ventilation, proper disposal, proper storage, or first aid for exposure. Gamsol alone is flammable, a vapor combustion risk, an aspiration intoxicant, and can be fatal if swallowed or inhaled. All of this information is located on the SDS, as well as directly on the label. You are lucky "feeling like you have a cold" is the only health effect you suffered.
Want to see those pencils BLEND? Check out the next video here: ua-cam.com/video/tBU1X1_u_9o/v-deo.html
Zestit has a neutral pencilblend as well. I am sensitive to smells. I can laugh my ass off when I see artists sniff their products bc for the life of me my nose is not ment for that sniffing. As for the powder : works best on pastelmat by clair fontaine and works for pastel pans as wel as colored pencils but panpastel do have a blender pan as well. thanx for indepth exploring, i have the ohuhu bender. Saves me the money,lol
By dissolving the pencils binder with solvent you "make space" for more layers than your paper would have been able to take. Wich is amazing if you want to achieve a higher saturation of pigment, or more complex texture. Amazing work you've achieve there.
Wow, Sarah! This is one of the most comprehensive and easy to understand guide to testing blending. You went over and above with the wax v oil based pencils, as well as the paper comparison!! So impressed - thank you for all your hard work and long hours putting this together!
Thank you!
I DO AGREE!! Thanks for this amazing vidéo !🙏🌸🦄🌸
It is important to note that odorless mineral spirits are toxic. You need to have decent ventilation in your workspace to use it safely. By the way, the Strathmore Bristol Vellum you are using is the 300 series, which is made from wood pulp. I use the 500 series Strathmore Bristol Vellum which is 100% cotton and archival quality. There is a performance difference.
Ooh thanks for the paper advice! I didn’t realize the 300 and 500 were so different.
@@SarahRenaeClark hi Sarah
Your the best Sarah ❤️♥️😀
one thing about using a white pencil to blend: make sure it's a cheap one! they tend to have less pigment than a white prismacolor (for example) so there's not much of a white cast after blending. I usually use a white crayola pencil and that works well
Thanks for doing this; this was really helpful! I'm going to have to check into burnishing and blending pencils.
Just a thought, but the people recommending the white pencil may have been talking more about cheap pencil sets than the nice pencils. In the cheaper sets, the white pencils don't really do much, so they can work more like a burnishing pencil. I use that for my highlight areas where I don't want to lay down any more pigment when I burnish. It adds only a little white, which doesn't hurt the highlights anyway.
Hey! I just wanted to say thanks for giving us a shot in REAL TIME. Oh my goodness you have no idea how helpful that is for an unschooled new colorer. (See how I made up my own words) 😆
Anyway, when we (I) only see the speeded up version it still leaves me guessing as to pressure, form, direction and so on. So thank you for including that bit. I'd be very happy to see more REAL TIME examples.
Be well, from PA, USA
😍 The effect of that blending powder! Awesome. 😎
My main medium has been acrylics and watercolors, but I’ve always wanted to improve with colored pencils. They’ve always intimated me for some reason, but your videos have not only encouraged me, but helped me jump in and finally try it. Can’t thank you enough! :)
That’s wonderful!
That was a great video, thanks!! And under such personal sacrifices! 🍊😅 I do hope no pencils were hurt in the final blending process... 😂
"What are you doing?" "Pretending I'm 3!" 🤣🤣🤣😍😍😍 Ahh! The sweet importance of making memories!
I use rubbing alcohol on a cotton bud so it makes sense that the alcohol blenders work well, too! What a great video :)
I have been meaning to try that, now I will thanks to your review. What strength alcohol do you use? And, do you think gin or vodka would work well at all? LOL
@@IFortuna2 LOL maybe gin and vodka would work too, worth a try 😂 but I’m pretty sure I used 70% rubbing alcohol and in the same way Sarah did in the video - wiping most of it off on a paper towel and just working carefully.
Sarah, you are really amazing. The amount of time and work you put into this video is unbelievable!!!! Thank you so so much for this, as I’m just learning pencils and this is huge!!!!!!!
I would like to thank you for this video. You are providing us with so much helpful information to make decisions that otherwise will be hard to do. Thank you so much. It is highly appreciated.
there is a reason for the orange smell, orange oil is naturally a great solvent for those things already.. I used that "knowledge" to make my own.. I used a few drops of pure orange oil in 95% cosmetic alcohol... to be used in a container for dipping with a brush or also into a watercolor water tank brush (I think it's just a bit harder to control the amount in those).. anyway, I still prefer burnishing as well but those are really good for backgrounds or light areas
I am new to colored pencils, my go to medium is acrylics. My daughter gave a set of Parisimatic pencils for Christmas and I love them. However I am as yet not really good at blending so I tried coconut oil, it worked. I used it on a picture I created for my granddaughter, it seemed to work well, but I am glad I found this video. Thank you for all the work you do for us.
I use the blending stump with my solvent when I use it. Those 🕑 work very well together.
When I started coloring about 4-1/2 years ago, I tried and used the Prisma blender for about the first 6 months. I never really cared for it though and hated how “scratchy” it is...so I learned (through videos) how to layer and blend with just my pencils and honestly, this is my favorite way to blend... I have discovered the Caran d’Ache Full Blender though and if I feel I need a little extra “help”, I will use that. As for solvents, I have stayed away from them, scared to use the “regular” solvents (like Gamsol) due to sensitivity to chemicals. Have used petroleum jelly at times with good results, but still-really prefer not to and you have to make sure to wipe your pencil off well to prevent them from continuing to “melt/soften”. I have been experimenting with rubbing alcohol for those times I want to sped up the process and so far, kind of liking it, but not for everything or every image. I did get a couple of colorless markers, but haven’t had a chance to really try them out yet.
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Alcohol works?! I am amazed, thank you so much for testing these side by side so I can see how they compare.
I've heard that the solvents still need to be used in well-ventilated areas despite being odorless, which means I can't use them in winter months in my super old house with no vents or air circulation unless I want to jack up my heating bill... but an alcohol blender (or, if it works as well, rubbing alcohol) would be such an accessible alternative for me. Thank you again!!
You are right to be cautious. Alcohol inks actually have a warning on the package not to use them without breathing protection. I don’t know if those use rubbing alcohol or some other kind, but I’d be very cautious with rubbing alcohol too. At least make sure there’s plenty of ventilation wherever you use it. I use an industrial mask designed specifically for fumes when I’m working with alcohol inks.
Can also get an air purifier for your room to help a bit more.
Thank you for the tremendous amount of work you put into this video.
This was EXCELLENT video! Thank you for this effort and time. Very informative!
The end of this video made me LOL. It reminded me of the Blend-Tec “Will It Blend?” Videos that used to be here on you tube. They were advertising how strong their blenders were, and did all sorts of crazy things, like a full turkey dinner (with and without the bones!) and my all-time favorite, a cell phone.
EDIT: here’s a link to one they did blending markers:
ua-cam.com/video/R6WfSZzi4_Y/v-deo.html
Enjoy!
Thanks for your reviews. I’m a Certified Zentangle Teacher (though I haven’t taught yet!), and I haven’t done much with regular colored pencils. I now have an insane collection of Pigma Microns, and a whole lot of Gelly Rolls, in addition to things I got before my CZT course last year. I do have watercolor pencils from Arteza that I’ve really enjoyed using, and I may experiment with getting one of the colorless blenders or the clear burnishing pencils you showed, which seemed quite impressive for the cost, and wouldn’t take up a lot of space in my tiny room.
Thank you for a very impressive and thorough video!
I actually like using an alcohol blender marker. I usually use this because I prefer burnishing, and the alcohol marker disperses the color without mixing them together. It also adds a cover that I can work over to add more pigment if I choose to when it dries.
Thanks for your pencil colour tips as I was not very good at it. They really helped and your videos are great
The powdered blender is also for oil based, not wax based pencils. They said that you can lightly gesso your paper, and let it dry thoroughly, but sanded paper is the best. I love using sans d paper, so I'm excited to try this for my portraits.
Monumental effort. I use odorless on watercolor paper with Faber Castellated and Prisma. The Bristol paper is so rough. But all of this really helped me.
WoW!!! These tips of yours are really helpful 😀💖.
I really appreciate the dedication in this video! From doing both oil based pencils and wax based pencils to testing different types of papers, this is really helpful!
I really hope you reach your 1M-subscriber goal soon!
Thanks so much for all the hard work to give us all the info. Your hands have to be hurting. :( LOL! Loved the blender part at the very end. LOL!
Wow! So informative! Appreciate your video so much!
You're so smart and generous with your experienced advice. I love all the tips you share and how you show us the goof ups too. Btw inktense was half off today at the big merch delivery site.. not saying names. Anyhow, I really like watching your array of videos and hearing your cute accent. Best to you dear girl... Love Marcia in modesto
It's obvious you went to a lot of trouble. Thank you for posting this video. It confirmed what I had already suspected so I found it very useful and a time saver.
Thank you for taking the time to do this! I hope your hand has recovered. 😁 Are the blending stumps made of tightly wrapped paper and also known as tortillons? If so, I didn’t know they were used alone; I’ve always seen them used with solvents (the same way you used the cotton swab) and cleaned by rubbing them on sand paper to remove the paper stained with pigment. You can buy generic tortillons in different lengths and thicknesses, usually with a cleaning block made of several strips of sandpaper stapled to something that looks like a 6 inch (or so) thin, wooden ruler. You simply pull off a used strip for a fresh one for cleaning your stumps. There are videos on UA-cam demonstrating how to make the tortillons if you have an excess of white paper and you’re really bored, but you can find sets for a good price in art supply stores or online.
They are slightly different (blending stumps are made from paper pulp) but essentially the same concept and purpose.
Ohh Bless Your Beautiful Artistic Heart..when you realized you did ALL that work and using one wax & one oil base.. ouch.. I Appreciate All you do.. Your Imagination I swear is Endless.. I will be going back and rewatch your videos.. I'm always learning more..Thanks!!🙏🤟❣
Woah! That was a lot of effort!! Thanks much
Looking for Gamsol or blending stuff... should have known to just come straight to your channel rather than searching Google... cos here it is!
This is awesome. Thank you so much for making this video.
Awesome blending I loved this
Your poor nose! I can relate though. I've been around a great many fumes myself. Fresh air helps! PS: You're a trooper for doing all the long-winded tests for us. Thank you!
My favourite Technic is brushing
have never used a blender for colouring, but lately have used alcohol marker for blending,
Hey! Have you tried using colourless brush marker from tombow? I love the hack of using alcohol marker. It’s my go to for quick sketching
Have you tried Meltz from Holbein? It's really interesting looking and I'd love to see how it compares to these methods
Card makers use paper blending stumps or the Tim Holtz alcohol marker (it comes empty and you fill it yourself) with the Gamsol. Check out Gina K or Jennifer McGuire videos for how they use them.
Great suggestions!
Very useful!! Thanks!!
She is like ann readon of art
Wow! Thank you so much for your efforts! (new subscriber)
You think Agatha Christie is suspenseful? I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the winner! I’m just a beginner… great video!!!
It’s the end for me 😂
I have used rubbing alcohol with wax pencils on art diary paper.
Did you really chop up beautiful pencils in that blender? If so did the blender survive?
You’ll find out next week 😜
Just started using pencils. I don't have a preference yet. Still learning about highlights blending and shadowing. All seems a bit overwhelming.
Honestly, if you’re just starting out, you don’t need any of these. Just stick to the layering and burnishing method I’ve linked to in the description!
@@SarahRenaeClark ok. I was coloring last night, and found that using a silver metallic over the light red i was using gave me a cool red/purple.
Super useful! Especially since you used the 2 pensils i also use. To blend i use vaseline, baby oil, white pensil, prismacolor blender and caran dache blender
This was interesting, since I'm a student with a budget, I'm looking forward to the household blending comparison since I have babyoil already at my drawer.
Since I'm a new subscriber. How often does Sarah upload?
Every Friday!
@@SarahRenaeClark I'm excited for Friday :) thanks for your answer
I’m looking for the Zest and can’t find it. Is it just a UK item?
The Zest I was using wasn’t good. It was supposed to be “Zest-It”, which looks different to what I’ve shown in this video.
The one in this video stained over time, so I don’t recommend it. The proper Zest-It brand is recommended by a lot of artists but I haven’t been able to find it for myself yet
Interesting! Thx.
That powder would make doing skin tones a breeze
Thank you for doing this so we don’t have to
What about putting some Gamsol into an empty Copic marker? Would that be too wet?
I tried it with isopropyl alcohol and it works well!
I realised when I went to the next video that this had already been suggested, a lot, haha, sorry!
But that’s awesome, I’m gonna do this! I’m researching Polychromos... I think I’ve picked them over Prismas, but still making my mind up to purchase (I do have the Creyarts,from Kogan/DickSmith Aussie I bought last year and I like them but I know they not supposedly the greatest....) and tho I have full set syndrome, I’m only gonna get a 36 set this time 😂
Zest it makes an odorless version too
How do we get that blending paper
I’ve listed all the resources I used on my blog
so I need help, i just bought the prismacolor premier 72 pack and I have a question what paper do I use? and yeah just gimme tips ;-;
I’ve got a paper video coming soon! Personally I like Bristol Vellum, but Prismacolors are versatile and work on lots of papers, so try a few and see what you prefer!
You could've included petroleum jelly and blend some pencils that way cuz it's something you'll always have in your house and is amazing at least with prismas
It’s in the next video!
Forget the blending, buy good paper and show the texture it is beautiful if you want to blend smooth use an alcohol marker or watercolor
I have a request for you... Can you please draw realistic chocolate , cake , donuts , cookies etc with color pencils (a detailed and beginner way) ... Maybe you can make a series and draw each in one video (if that's not a problem)
I would be very thankful because I cannot find any tutorials for these...!
The best way to draw something realistic is to use a reference photo and try to copy it. In my last video, I showed a few different tricks with pencils and markers combined to get the cake texture. Otherwise it’s just about looking closely at the details in your reference picture and copying them!
Personally, the thought of messing with chemicals bothers me. I just purchased some blending pencils to try. I have a Derwent, Prismacolour and the Caran Dache. The CD arrived broken...so started with that. Lovely. Will try the rest, but that is as far as I am happy to go. Which is fine, I want my hobby to stay a hobby having gone through 5 months where it got totally out of hand. I am hoping it is back in balance.
I tried some of these chemicals a few years ago and haven’t used them again until doing this video, so I totally understand!
I just bought the prismacolor colorless blender.. it's kind of hard I expected it to be like a soft wax. I'm wondering if their old.. Can anyone tell me if they're supposed to be kind of hard or not?
It is a hard pencil. I was expecting it to be softer too!
@@SarahRenaeClark ok, thanks for clearing that up for me! 🙂
Me, a complete moron: *aggressively blends pencil with fingers*
There's a minimum amount of pencil needed for the blending and burnishing pencils to work well. That amount depends on the kind of paper you're using.
It would have been nice to have a conclusion, or showed them to someone else to pick their favorite.
They are all on the blog so YOU can pick your favorite.
Hi Sarah! I have some ideas I think they might work if you do this again.
Nail polish top coat - not sure but give it a go!
Water on a cotton pad
Marker
Hope you like my ideas!
The polychromos looks terrible, (not because of you Sarah - you're amazing as always!), it's just the polychromos in general. I think it's best used for detail work so it's better to have 2 different types of coloured pencils. I know prismacolor isn't very lightfast but I hear good things about caran d'ache pablo, although I haven't tried it yet as I'm still awaiting for the shipment, hopefully it's smoother! But I have a set of prismacolor too. I am never going to buy the polychromos though.
Blending with SOLVENT Never looks like this when I they it…
Better use gouache or oil then all that struggle
Damn you, Sarah! How dare you! Every time I look for the best of something you make it about people's preferences instead! Why can't there be a more objective results for artists who don't know what they like?! Ugh.
But nah, real talk, you put so much effort into these comparison videos and I love hearing your feedback. And youtube unsubscribed me for no reason, but joke's on them because I follow your weekly letters! SO, HA! Take THAT, Algorithm!
Haha! It's so hard to give an objective winner on these things. I try!!
i would teach you design of experiment statistics for free for these types of data you collect.
what you're doing is collecting ↝ population data ↜ and stats is the maths used to design experiments and tabulate the collected data.
im an immunobiochemist w over a decade of R&D experience in the diagnostic industry.
my sample sizes (the number of samples used for a given experiment) were upwards of 500 for every single experiment.
and the experiments were at the very least 6 conditions per each parameter.
this type of set up is my warm up for work.
also, set up your experiments with uour variable applied to all your supplies before you move on to your next constant.
your constant is your prncils and your variables are your solvents.
use one solvent across all your pencil groups before moving on to another solvent.
that's a more accurate experiment design than using all the solvents on each brand of pencil.
I use solvents for blending. Repetitive strain injury is a real issue and the heavy pressure necessary for non-solvent blending promotes that injury.
Who can count how many times I complained about oranges? 🍊🤷♀️😬
yet you wore an orange cardy!
You can get Zest it without the orange smell it's odourless. And in a sponge form. I love using it. Makes adding lots of layers super easy.
I have art studio envy...your work space is beautiful.
Greener grass. Greener grass! (Her backdrop is gorgeous, but what's behind the camera?)
*Yes, I pushed the button!* Watch the next video (coming Friday) to see what survived.
You can also use the blending stump to dip it in the odorless mineral spirit and then use it in small circular motions on your painting. Thank you for your hard work! 🫶
😂 awww I felt so bad for you when you accidentally used the wrong pencils but I had to laugh 😅 Thank you for sharing your talent ♡
Sarah you are a QUEEN! All those swatches to prepare... it would overwhelm me massively. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to be so comprehensive, and as always the production quality & editing of your videos is second to none. As a video creator myself, I can totally appreciate how much work goes into your videos - in front of the camera but mostly behind the scenes. Thank goodness you have Shane to help! #dreamteam Genuinely think you’re on the way to being the best colouring channel on UA-cam. Thank you for being someone to aspire to!
Thank you so much! ❤️
Thank you this was soooo usefull and informative. You are brilliant.
Wow what a fantastic informative video! Thank you so much Sarah! I can only imagine the hours you spent swatching and editing this! Thank you for your hard work 💕
Art Spectrum (listed in this video as Artist's solvent) and Gamsol are both the same thing, just FYI to anyone wondering. Art Spectrum have the advantage of being an Aussie owned and made brand and they make some good stuff in case you are local and want to support an Australian business. :)
I couldn't watch the end. 😧 I use whatever is handy, I have a roll of waxed paper under my drawing table, it blends wax, oil, graphite & charcoal really quite well. My mom gave me a Grumbacher plastic eraser that blends wax & oil pencils surprisingly good. Mostly, I use the Prismacolor blending pencil for dry, & Grumtine (smells like oranges😵💫 urgle) or turpentine, occasionally linseed oil for wet.
For quite some time, I’ve been using my ohuhu colorless blender on pencils. I didn’t have anything better to use besides markers other than those blending stubs (which are grey from all the led pencils I used to use).
The solvents seem like something I’d like, though if I can, I may try many different methods for myself.
Thanks for the blender analysis of sorts! This’ll make things a ton easier when deciding which route I’d like to go down!
I used the lip saver Carmex to blend the other day. I was too lazy to get the Vaseline from the bathroom. It worked very well, however, there is an oily, waxy residue left. Need to be careful after applying because it can transfer your desk brush, hands and other paper and smear. Although I liked the way it performed I may not use it again or use it sparingly. Using pencils like Holbein and Prismacolor, only a small amount of blending is needed depending on the paper used. I also have a lavender "odorless" solvent that I use for my oil painting and I will be trying it next. Jerry's Artarama carries it. And, Dick Blick carries Holbein ow in the U.S. if anyone is interested at about $3 a pencil. They also have open Stock Prismacolor at a little over $1 per pencil and if you buy 12+ they knock off about .20 cents per pencil. Good deals.
I'm a watercolor artist, and still pretty new to colored pencil. I happen to like the natural and slightly 'grainy' look of colored pencil art. The medium looks how it looks and isn't that what makes it unique? So I don't quite get why most colored pencil artists try to make their colored pencil drawings looks like paintings by using solvents to dissolve the pencil wax/oil into a type of 'paint.' If a painted look is desired, then why not just use paint? It's a lot faster than drawing. Maybe there's something I'm not understanding?
Personally I don’t like liquid paints because they’re messy.
Sorry, commenting as I watch...felt the pain when you used the wrong pencil. This is commitment above and beyond...thank you.
I still cannot see the difference between a blender pencil and a burnisher. Is my brain really that slow? They both appear like a burnisher to me. Can someone help me please?
The blender pencil is a little better at actually blending the colors together. I prefer it, even for burnishing. I was confused for a long time too and didn’t see the point in having both!
Even now, I rarely use my burnishing pencil.
@@SarahRenaeClark thanks Sarah.
My method was white pencil and or Prismacolor colourless blender pencil. I stopped using the white pencil because it changed my colors. I have Derwent blending pencils but don't find them as good as Prisma though it could be I just feel better with the tried and true. I do background blending almost entirely with just light layering of pencils, but sometimes the blending pencil for a smooth look and it always looks good. I mostly do coloring book pages but some drawing and sketch book stuff. I'm not s burn artist, but my coloring impresses even me, especially when I use a good tutorial. I really appreciate watching you show us these blending tools. I've been doing pencil work about 15 months and improving because of people like you.
None of my friends or family care much about art even when I did watercolors that were vetted and hung at the local gallery. You're like an actual friend. Love Marcia in modesto
As an experiment i used Isopropyl Myristate or I.P.M. as a solvant. I had some on hand from my sculpture work with Monster Clay. The first test blended well with the oil based pencils
but I used too much and there was an oily halo around the colors. The second experiment I used very little IPM almost nothing and it came our perfectly. IPM is non toxic and used in the theater for removing makeup.
I swear I use more materials swatching than actually drawing 😅 Remember to be careful disposing items that were soaked in solvent, and to ask your doctor about protecting your lungs and skin if you use them often!
I'm conflicted... First video I've seen from you. Loved it... BUT.... We're going to have to have a talk about citrus...
Just started watching the video, and I noticed something right away. You mentioned the powdered blending, but didn't include sanded paper. The blending powder ONLY works on sanded paper, as per the instructions and all the research videos I've watched. I'm waiting for my shipment to come in, so I haven't used it yet, but that is the point about powdered blender for colored pencils is that it will not work on the papers you mentioned. Ok, back to the video.
Sarah you are so awesome. I can't imagine the headache this project was but was perfect because I was curious about OMS products. Thank you for doing this for us! I can't believe your channel has been around just a year. You're my UA-cam hero.
Thank you! Such a compliment! ❤️
I am not able to watch the video right now. But a quick once over I wanted to lend a tip? I used an empty alcohol marker, to put Gamsol in. Its WONDERFUL! Look up a video here on UA-cam, its very easy. Just be careful not to add too much Gamsol. It doesn't take much, and you can add more if needed. I
Thanks for the suggestion!
Do you think touching the paper risks oil from your hands leaving residue and therefore affecting the uniformity of application of your pencils and paper and even the blending medium? In college we were taught to never rest your hands directly on your paper. Apparently, you’ve never had bad results from this? I use a clean piece of paper of paper towel to rest my hand on. Interested to hear what you or anyone else has to say.
Any time you use a chemical, in art or otherwise, you need to understand it, store and use it with respect, and take necessary precautions for exposure. Directly inhaling solvents and alcohol is not only dangerous and damaging... it's highly irresponsible in a video tutorial especially when you never even mention the dangers or need for adequate ventilation, proper disposal, proper storage, or first aid for exposure. Gamsol alone is flammable, a vapor combustion risk, an aspiration intoxicant, and can be fatal if swallowed or inhaled. All of this information is located on the SDS, as well as directly on the label. You are lucky "feeling like you have a cold" is the only health effect you suffered.
New to coloring & new to the channel it’s been super helpful! Thank you! 🤩. I know she was SICK of those colors after this test 😅