Our Pencil Blend is non-toxic and non-flammable which many Pencil Artists value for use with their pencils and in the studio environment. Artists share their techniques for Blending Coloured Pencils When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (1 layer) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (1 layer)– When I first applied Pencil Blend to the shaded square with a brush, the drawn lines did not instantly dissolve. I worked the liquid into the shading with the brush and although some of the colour clearly broke down to soften the shading, it was far from the extent of dissolving you would expect when applying a wet brush over a watercolour pencil. If anything these was less effect using a paper stump dipped in Pencil Blend, which is surprising as in the past the greater degree of pressure you can apply with the paper stump meant that drawn lines had a tendency to break down further than when PB is applied with a brush,

Shading with the pencil without any blending –As expected, drawn lines are visible and there is a fair amount of texture. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers) –If you compare this square with the Pastelmat equivalent above, you can see how much texture will hold colour in place. On this very smooth paper the colour is easily lifted by both the paper stump in particular. The brush has not been capable of smoothing the drawn lines over at all.

The Tests I Carried Out

When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (1 layer) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (1 layer) –The Pencil Blend broke down the colour a little when blended with a brush, but not all the drawn lines were softened by the Pencil Blend. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– The colour appears markedly more vibrant and strong after 3 layers of application – the paper can hold a lot of colour. Again it was easier to maintain the gradation from dark – light when using the brush rather than the paper stump.

When I burnished with a dry paper stump – Blending with a dry stump works really well, so there is an argument for not using any PB at all. The result is a soft powdery, smoky blend. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– I found that I couldn’t get it much darker than I achieved with just one layer, the graphite was already as dark as it could be (which was pretty dark!) The strokes of graphite where the paper could not take anymore are visible as slightly shiny streaks. When I burnished with a dry paper stump the colour lightened and saturation was reduced, but it softened the pencil marks well, although you could still see a trace of the drawn lines. Shading with the pencil without any blending –The texture of the Pastelmat brings out the tonal depth of the pencil I then thought I would try blending with water to see what results occurred in comparison. The water went some way to blending but it was very uneven. Some drawn lines were completely softened but it accentuated other areas where the graphite was less dissolvable, creating interesting textures but a no means smooth, blended, burnished square.When I burnished with a dry paper stump– The darkest area becomes slightly lighter after burnishing, but more solid, as to be expected. Burnishing with a dry stump creates a smoky soft blend and the pencil lines are softened away completely. The colour was laid quite lightly and graduated to indicate the roundness of the shape. Extra pencil can always be added, whereas it's difficult to remove if too much has been applied. Pencil Blend does not work on water soluble pencils. Pencil Blend works best with soft, oil based pencils such as Faber Castell Polychromos or Faber Castell Oil Base Pencils. It only works to a degree with wax based pencils such as Luminance or Derwent Studio pencils. When I burnished with a dry paper stump– The dry paper stump was able to soften most of the square but the shading kept a powdery look as some of the colour is held in the crevices of the paper’s texture.

When I burnished with a dry paper stump – When I used a dry paper stump to burnish it easily softened any traceable drawn lines. When I burnished with a dry paper stump – There is a slight softening of the drawn lines where blending with a dry paper stump. This is most apparent in the dark corner of the square. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (1 layer) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (1 layer)– The PB with a brush did not break down the drawn pencil lines as much as I would have expected – only very slightly. Using the paper stump was more effective but I think that was wholly because of the pressure I was applying with the paper stump. Dampened colour will usually be darkened with the fluid but return to its normal colour as it dries. Zest-it leaves no residue of itself on the work and has proven pigment stability. Shading with the pencil without any blending– As expected. Good tonal range, drawn lines are visibile on the slightly textured paper.When I burnished with a dry paper stump– Hardly any effect at all, although the tonal range is narrowed with the dark corner losing some of its colour and consequently appearing lighter. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (1 layer) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (1 layer) –There’s very little difference between the brush and paper stump after one layer – both ways of blending were able to soften the drawn lines. It was easier to maintain the gradation of tone from dark to light when blending with the brush rather than the paper stump. The white line seen in the paper stump square is the result of an indentation in the paper – a warning that Pastelmat needs to be kept flat! When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (1 layer) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (1 layer)– The pencil blend with a brush struggled to soften the drawn lines, which proves added pressure is more effective. Using the Pencil Blend increased the darkness and intensity of the graphite, but didn’t do much in terms of softening drawn lines. The paper stump softened the lines more than the brush. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers) – Again, surprisingly the Pencil Blend failed to soften the lightest drawn lines although it did have a slight effect in the lighter corner of both squares. The square where I used a brush to work the Pencil Blend into the shading appeared slightly more blended than the square that I used the paper stump on. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– After 3 layers there is very little different between the brush applied square and the paper stump square. They appear very even and matt and solid in their colour.

When I burnished with a dry paper stump– It was easy to soften a lot of the shading, save for some of the heaviest drawn lines in the darker corner of the shaded square. A Tortillion dampened with Pencil Blend from the Blending Sponge was used to give a smooth finish to the blending. Extra pencil was gently added where necessary and blended to form the cap of the mushroom.

Materials used

Whenever people tell us the product doesn't work, it is usually because too much fluid has been used. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– After 3 layers of colour and pencil blend, the colour freely moved around on this very smooth surface. As a result with the brush and PB the square appears pretty uniform in its colour and tone, with my gradation getting lost in the blending. When the paper stump square, the drawn lines are still visible. I would say Pencil Blend doesn’t work too well with Luminance on this surface Conclusion with Luminance – by far most effective on Pastelmat, didn’t really work on the other papers, which implied it may not be suited to use with wax pencils. Testing its efficacy with a harder wax pencil – the Derwent Studio – will offer a useful comparison. When I burnished with a dry paper stump– The paper stump is capable of smoothing all but the very heaviest drawn lines. The tonal range is reduced as some of the heaviest colour is lifted from the surface by the paper stump, but the square does look smooth and well blended.