Riverdale Obsessions & Derwent Artists Pencil Impressions

 

If you've been following any of my social media feeds you may have noticed my recent obsession with the new CW show Riverdale. Logically it makes little sense as to why I like it so much. First off it is a teen drama and I have watched enough of those in my lifetime that I thought I was pretty much done with them, especially with (so bad it's good) Pretty Little Liars coming to an end later this year. But when I saw it pop up on my Netflix I couldn't resist the first episode. If it was rubbish I had only wasted 40 minutes of my life and I could move on to the next thing. But seven episodes and three drawings later here we are.

Fun fact I had already drawn someone from

the Archie universe without even knowing it until I started watching the show. In fact she was the first sketch I did in my #sketchaday2016 - Josie from Josie and the Pussycats back when she was a Riverdale Redhead.

But anyway back to this version of Riverdale. The best way I could describe Riverdale would be a mix of every teen drama you have ever watched, filled with cheesy but witty dialogue straight from the 90s, and then with the aesthetic of the 50s with a modern twist and film noir with murder mystery thrown in just for funzies. And not forgetting to mention at least one slow motion moment in each episode (not even a lie... watch each episode back) for dramatic effect. The show is an all round fun watch, plus it is just so pretty to look at across the board.  TV shows that have a strong visual identity paired with fun drama always appeal to me - the other show that springs to mind which is the same in that regard is Pushing Daisies.

After episode one I was hooked and started my usually obsessive research and not too far into my searching I came across the gorgeous character portraits and with my new Derwent Artist Pencils and grey toned paper in hand I began draw. I was hesitant to use my Artists pencils at first because as said in my previous blog post I hadn't really found them all that easy to use. But I will say they do fair quite well on toned paper and blend nicely too. I'd say if you have the skills you can make them work, you just need to spend some time with them and learn how to best use them. I will say though even though the colours are nice I still stand by the thought that the vibrancy of the colour just can't be achieved to it's full capacity with these pencils. In person the drawings look bright and strong but scanned in and compared to their reference you can see how muted the tones are!

My intentions in the beginning where not to one by one draw the whole cast but it's slowly starting to look that way. The colours schemes of each portrait are so beautiful and I can't help but keep drawing them. I started with Betty Cooper because I loved the pink and purple tones but also at the time of drawing she was my favourite character. Episode three, Body Double, is probably my favourite episode so far and Betty's role in that episode is just like..... YAAASSSS QUEEN! From the three drawings I still like my Betty one the best.

I then went onto draw Riverdale's favourite boy but every viewers least favourite eventually - Archie Andrews. All about the Boy is the alternative title me and my friend like to think Riverdale could have been called especially in those first couple of episodes. Every single character is in love with him. JUST look at those looks Jughead be throwing him.

Life before the hand!

And finally I recently finished Veronica Lodge. Her hand was the bane of my existence for those few days. It is combination of all of my weaknesses - out of focus subject, unidentifiable shadows (what are fingers cause I couldn't even see them at first) and hands in use. Thankfully it is now over and I don't need to think about it anymore. However her face was a joy to draw and I loved all the maroons and browns next to the blues and purples.

At the moment I'm taking a break from drawing anymore but if I was to do anymore Jughead would definitely be next and maybe Cheryl. Part of me wishes I did them in my Faber-Castell Polychromos but it's too late to turn back now. But overall I'm very happy with how they are turning out especially since they are the first coloured pencil drawings I have done in a while without having used a base of Promarkers. It's nice to prove to myself I can go back to basics and still have the drawings turns out well.

Anyway... now back to getting my Riverdale fix after that 3 week hiatus! 

Hazel, xoxo

First Impressions of Derwent Artists Pencils

So let me set the scene. I'm in TK Maxx with a friend wandering around all the nik naks before we were about to leave. As I was having a casual browse through the clearance section I catch a glimpse of the Derwent logo underneath a couple of books. Hidden on the shelf was a tin of 72 Derwent Artist pencils for... wait for it... £25. Quickly I whip out my phone to price compare incase I was getting excited about nothing. The cheapest price I could find online for these pencils, which originally retail for £115, is £75. And so before I know it I'm clutching at this large tin with a death grip as if I think someones going to fight me for them. I even caused a whole bunch of glassware shelves to the rattle in fear as I walk by with tin.

If you've read any of my blog posts before you might be aware that last year I spent a good amount of time searching for my ideal coloured pencil - click here for blogs on derwent coloursoft and faber-castell polychromos - and in that search I briefly considered buying the derwent artists pencils but eventually settled on faber-castell polychromos which I absolutely love and highly recommend to anyone looking for a good quality coloured pencil that aren't so expensive you have to sell an organ. Even though I hadn't bought the derwent artists pencils back then I was always curious about them since I knew they where wax based (unlike the oil based polychromos) and are considered a harder leaded pencil meaning they are easier to sharpen to a point making detail work a charm.

Now that I have tried them out the first thing I will say is that I am so glad that I got

them at the price that I did because if I had invested full price for them I would be quite disappointed with their pigmentation quality. Not that they are bad pencils, they just don't have the colour pay off I would expect for the price you pay for them. Even though I knew they where hard, which is great for layering, the colours seem almost diluted and you have to work quite a bit harder to get anything nearer the vibrancy of what the colours on the end of the pencils claim to be.

Before I tried them out with an actual drawing I went through all the pencils and

sampled them to see if they where the same quality across the set. While doing this I found that a couple of colours where more colour true than others and even some felt like they had a slightly different texture. You'll notice a blue square that pops more than the others and when using that one the lead felt slightly softer which I prefered since I didn't have to lean as hard. Overall the darker colours where easier to use over the paler colours such as the yellows.

Even though I knew they where hard leaded pencils I still expected to be able to eventually build up the colour but before I even got to the colour I expected the wax starts to build up making it hard to add more layers leaving you with a slightly faded colour that can go no further- you'll be able to see this with my bug drawing. I will say though that I tested these pencils at first on paper with little to no tooth (the WHSMITH basic sketch pads) which could have some part to play with this issue. When I eventually tried the pencils on paper with more tooth the colours seemed to pop a little more and I noticed it was very important to keep the pencil sharp in order to layer the colours correctly.  

If you look closely you will see the pencil has taken on an unusually hairy sort of texture.

I will continue to use these pencils mainly because they are so easy to use for detailed, light work, but what I think people need to know about them is they have limitations to what they can do. If you're going for a subtle look they are ideal but if you want to pack a punch with colour you're going to spend a long time trying build up colours that might not get to where you want them in the end. Something to keep in mind. Also, as touched on before, they need to be kept sharp and used on paper with some texture in order to perform at their best. The more smooth the paper, the more likely the pencil will burnish quicker making it harder to build up layers a depth.

I think if I can begin to use them alongside my polychromos I could get some good work but I've yet to try and see if the wax and oil will mix well. I get the feeling that I might be using them in the wrong way because some people seem to love them. If you have any tips I'm all ears! Show me your ways. If my opinion changes over time I will be sure to let you know. At least I can say I have tried them now and for the price that I got them for, who can say no. All I have left to try is prismacolour, derwent inktense and drawing pencils. Let's be real though, Caran D'Ache Luminance are the ultimate dream.

Hazel, xoxo

Faber-Castell Polychromo Pencils - My Goldilocks pencils

Dare I say it but I think I may have found my ideal coloured pencil. I previously posted about being on the look out for pencils that where not too pricey but yet where of a good quality. And to be honest I think that it near impossible to find. You have to invest some money if you want quality. I was so close to buying Prismacolor because of its price but after reading more reviews about the constant breakage of the lead I knew it just wasn't the pencil for me.

And so this was when I stumbled upon Faber-Castell Polychromo pencils. Unlike most pencils they are oil based meaning they are great at blending but also can be layered up without the patchy and waxy consistency of pencils like coloursoft or prismacolour. The lead can be sharpened to quite a fine point which is great for detailed work and the pencil itself isn't too soft but yet you don't have to lean extra hard to get strong colour like you would for most coloured Derwent pencils.

I think Faber-Castell Polychromos may be the goldilocks pencils I was on the search for. I ended up getting a set of 36 to get a wide array of colours. Also what is great about these pencils is you can go online and buy colours separately to add to your collection unlike other brands. The tin I have doesn't contain any solid skin tones but if I want I can order them online. For now I'm just going to play about with their blending capabilities to see if I can get similar colours but it's great to have the option. Plus I think mixing colours creates more dimension instead of flat, solid skin tones.

All in all I'm a happy bunny. I will say they weren't the cheapest of the bunch which is why I opted for a medium size set otherwise I would have got the whole collection. They cost around £40 for 36 but I can justify cost since they are so good. If your anything like me when it comes to coloured pencils I would recommend buying them. Obviously everyone's preferences are different. I personally just don't like having to lean really hard to get the colour pay off I want but also want the option of layering up the colours. With these pencils it's quite easy to do.

I hear good things about other brands so maybe in the future I will try them out but for now I'm happy!

Hazel, xoxo

Shopping about for Coloured Pencils - Derwent Coloursoft Impressions

Recently I have been on the search for my ideal coloured pencils. Currently I'm using an old WHSmith brand and a bunch of random pencils I have gotten over the years so I thought it was about time I invested in some good quality pencils.

My first thought was to buy Prismacolour since most people online agree that they have great colour pay off while not being as expensive as other brands. Unfortunately the only place they are available is on Amazon and if I was to buy them as a complete set they would put me back around £60-£70. So as you can imagine I have been looking up more reviews to see if they are actually worth the money. Even though they are great for colouring many people have said that they can break quite easily and to be honest I don't want to buy a brand I haven't tested myself.

My next option was to buy some Derwent pencils. I currently use the graphic pencils and I'm very happy with them. Derwent do many ranges but I narrowed it down to the Artist pencils and the Coloursoft ones. I came across a small tin of coloursoft skintone pencils on Cass Art's website so went ahead and bought them to test out before I took the plunge and bought a bigger set.

My initial impression of them was how waxy they seemed which makes them good for blending, as long as you don't keep layering up the colours. I did enjoy how easy it was to apply colour to the paper and the pigment was pretty good. However the texture of the colour wasn't always ideal and I was only able to get the colours I wanted if I mixed them with my WHSmith pencils. So currently I have decided not buy a big set of the coloursoft pencils for now.

The colour pay off is good and the blending is okay as long as you don't keep layering up the colours. It can turn quite waxy and patchy in parts. Also works well with other pencils.

So I have looked into the Artist Pencils but unfortunately the majority of people who have used them say that you have to lean quite hard with them to achieve vibrant colours. However the pencils will last a long time unlike Prismacolour's easily broken led and the colours are buildable.  

So I'm back to square one. Ideally the pencils I'm looking for have good colour pay off without leaning too hard and I can layer up the colours without fear of it looking strange like the Coloursoft eventually does. If only Derwent did a range inbetween the Coloursoft and Artist pencils where they are both blendable but not too soft - a Goldilocks range. But it seems that the only other ranges they do are Inktense and pastel pencils which are not what I'm currently looking for.  

My WHSmith pencils are okay for now. And really if I was able to find a bigger set of them I would be tempted to buy them. But chances are they don't make them like they used to. If anyone has suggestions let me know. I'm still looking.

Hazel, xoxo