How to Draw with Colored Pencils – Easy Step by Step Tutorials

Mastering Pencil Grip and Control

This grip resembles how you hold a pencil or pen while writing, with only the tip of the pencil touching the paper. It's ideal for drawing contour lines and intricate details, offering precise control. To enhance control, rest your hand on a separate piece of paper or a tissue to prevent smudging.

In the overhand grip, you use the side of the pencil lead and hold the pencil almost parallel to the paper. This grip is suitable for coloring larger areas quickly, but avoid applying heavy pressure. It's useful for creating specific textures and for situations where vivid colors are not required. For the best results, use this grip when standing and move your arm from the shoulder.

Similar to the tripod grip used for writing but with a slightly higher grip on the pencil. This grip allows for longer lines in a single stroke, making it excellent for drawing extended features.

The underhand pencil grip, similar to the extended tripod grip, but involves turning your hand with the palm facing up. This grip is especially effective for drawing hair due to its relaxed nature.

Pivot for Movement: To move the hand holding the pencil effectively, use one of three pivot points: drawing from the wrist, drawing from the elbow, and drawing from the shoulder. Practicing all three methods helps train the relevant muscles and improve your drawing skills. Experiment with drawing various shapes and lines to develop your technique in just a few days of practice.

Understanding Pencil Lines

1. Start by using any colored pencil, drawing lines towards the highlight of the curl. Apply strong pressure at the darkest area and release it towards the end of the lines.
2. Repeat this on the opposite side, pressing firmly and gradually releasing the pressure as you approach the previously drawn area. Leave some space in between for larger and shinier curls or less for tiny curls.
3. Add shadowed hair using a darker shade, pressing hard at the beginning and releasing pressure as you move towards the highlight.
4. Finish by re-emphasizing the highlight with a white pencil and draw towards the darker areas. Add random hairs with a white pencil or any other bright-colored pencil for a shiny, curly lock of hair.

Crosshatching is a method used to create various textures, such as fabric patterns. It involves applying parallel pencil strokes closely together in one direction and then adding lines at a 90-degree angle to the previous set.

This technique is suitable for objects like hats. I recommend practicing these strokes on a separate piece of paper first.

Stippling involves creating shadows and highlights by using dots. Artists often use this technique to create intricate artwork. To create shadows, dots are placed closer together, and for highlights, they are spaced further apart.

Stippling is particularly useful when you want to achieve a textured look and work gradually without making mistakes.

Scribbling entails drawing lines freely and randomly to cover an area. Scribbling typically refers to the early, uncontrolled, and random marks made by young children as they develop their fine motor skills.

Scribbles can be simple, chaotic, and lack a deliberate structure. This technique is excellent for creating various textures and allows for a relaxed and spontaneous approach to drawing.

The circulism technique involves creating textures by applying overlapping circles, as illustrated in the left image.

This example serves to provide a better understanding of how to draw the lines. In practical application, we must make the circles much closer to each other and repetitively layer them until we achieve a consistent texture.

Now, let's repeatedly draw circles on top of one another. The final result, as depicted in the right image, demonstrates how this technique allows us to fully cover the paper. When applied with firm pressure, it can create a perfectly even texture.

Circulism is especially valuable for rendering human skin and similar textures. The proffessional artists frequently use this method and highly recommend it as a means of applying lines to achieve a uniform texture with no visible strokes. The smoother and tighter the circles, the more seamless the coverage.

Color Theory

Understanding color theory is crucial when working with colored pencils, especially when you need to mix colors to achieve the right shades. There are countless hues required for your artwork, so knowing how to create new colors with a limited set of colored pencils is very important.

Three essential terms play a significant role in color mixing for your drawings: hue, saturation, and value.

Hue refers to the name of a color, such as red, green, purple, and so on.

There are three primary colors: yellow, red, and blue, which cannot be created by mixing other colors. Every other color results from combining these three primary colors with each other, along with additional colors, black, white, and various shades of gray.

Then, there are the secondary colors. Combining yellow and red results in orange. Red and blue make purple, while blue and yellow make green.

Mixing a primary color with a secondary color creates tertiary colors. Yellow and orange make yellow-orange, orange and red make red-orange, red and purple make red-purple, purple and blue make blue-purple, blue and green make blue-green, and green and yellow make yellow-green.

Saturation, sometimes called chroma, refers to the colorfulness or intensity of colors, indicating how rich and vivid a color appears. High saturation signifies that the color is very vibrant, while lower saturation indicates that the color lacks pigments and may appear washed out. It's important to note that adding gray to a color effectively neutralizes it.

Value indicates the darkness or brightness of a color and can also be referred to as brightness or lightness. Colors can look significantly different with varying values, and this is particularly crucial when working with colored pencils to achieve a smooth gradient, a fundamental aspect of realistic drawing.

Any hue can be darkened by adding black, a technique known as shading, or lightened by adding white, known as tinting. Our instructor often creates colors for drawings by starting with a base hue, such as mid-toned green, and then adds shadows and highlights. This approach allows for adjustment of the value of the colored pencil, without necessarily adding black to decrease its value. For instance, you can darken the color by layering dark green over the mid-tone or lighten it by applying light green.

Color Mixing

Even when you have the largest set of colored pencils, you can't always find a perfect match for the color you need. So, you have to mix the colored pencils to layer them over each other.

The most crucial aspect of mixing colors is the order in which you apply them. The first layer will dominate and influence the final color, as well as your ability to build up additional layers. For instance, if you want to blend very different colors, such as Lime Peel with Orange, you will achieve entirely different results depending on the order of application. In the image below, the swatches are displayed. On the left side, Orange was initially applied, followed by a layer of Lime Peel. On the right side, Lime Peel was used as the first layer, with Orange applied as the second layer.

In a second example, when Dark Brown is applied as the initial layer, it becomes nearly impossible to erase it, even with the use of an X-Acto knife, because the dark brown pencil completely saturates the paper fibers. In the following image, two swatches are displayed. The swatch on the left side consists solely of dark brown, and an attempt was made to erase it with an X-Acto knife. However, for the swatch on the right side, Cream was applied as the first layer, and Dark Brown was drawn over it.

Notice the significant difference between the two swatches, with Dark Brown appearing much lighter when applied as a second layer over a very light pencil like Cream. Therefore, it is crucial to consider the order in which colored pencils are applied. As shown, Dark Brown could be easily removed entirely with an X-Acto knife, making Cream clearly visible once again. Even using a nail can achieve this. This feature is particularly beneficial for beginners working with colored pencils, as it allows for correction and prevents overly dark colors. Applying the Cream color first ensures it saturates and fills the paper fibers, and the choice of the initial pencil will always influence subsequent layers.

Sometimes, we need to mix colors differently, such as when creating a smooth gradient (which we'll discuss in more detail later) between two distinct colors. In the following image, you can observe the seamless gradient between red and orange.

On the left side, Crimson Red is used, applying heavy pressure that gradually decreases as the drawing progresses towards the right side. On the right side, the artist begins with Orange, also using firm pressure and working towards the red, overlapping the red-colored pencil. Subsequently, Crimson Red is picked up again to fill in areas with a distinct edge until the transition between the red and the orange becomes imperceptible. Achieving this seamless gradient is essential for realistic drawings and requires practice.

Sometimes, colors may appear overly vibrant, and a less saturated shade is needed. In such cases, color intensity can be subdued by layering with gray colored pencils. When a gray pencil is introduced, the initial color becomes less vivid, a process known as color neutralization, as previously mentioned. In the following example, Red Crimson swatches are displayed. The right side features pure Red Crimson, while on the left swatch, Warm gray 30% is layered over it. Observe how the right swatch appears less vibrant compared to the left swatch.

To alter the value of a color, it must be made either darker or lighter. Our art instructor frequently begins by applying the primary color first, then adding shadows and highlights to create dimension and avoid a flat appearance.

For this example, three swatches were created using Crimson Red. The middle swatch, which remains unaltered, serves as the base color. On the left side, Tuscan Red is applied to darken the Crimson Red. Tuscan Red resembles a dark red. You might wonder why we didn't use Tuscan Red alone for the swatch on the left side. This is because it would reveal the distinction between the two colors. The same principle applies to the swatch on the right side; Pink, for instance, could be used. However, a white colored pencil was employed to lighten it and create a higher value of Crimson Red.

Let's see this theory in practice in a real drawing of the gecko. In the image below, you can see four stages of the coloring process: coloring the whole area evenly with Apple Green, shadowing the darker parts with Dark Green, creating the highlights with a white colored pencil, and adding details. See whole tutorial.

Now, let's explore one approach to mixing colors for human skin, a crucial skill for those interested in drawing portraits. Many individuals are eager to learn which color pencils to use for skin, how to blend colors, create a smooth skin texture, and which tools to use for blending colored pencils.

The answer, however, is quite intricate due to the diversity of skin tones. A single portrait requires a wide range of values and often involves different hues within the same portrait because various facial features demand distinct colors. Trying to create skin tones by mixing primary, secondary, and tertiary colors can be a challenging task. To render lifelike skin, you would typically need to introduce light gray (or a combination of a significant amount of white and a smaller amount of black) into orange or yellow. Fortunately, artist-grade colored pencils, such as Prismacolor Premier, offer a variety of colors like beige, peach, and pink that can be blended to accurately depict human skin.

It's important to note that mastering this skill is not simple. To make it more approachable, here are five skin tone swatches with Seashell Pink as the base layer, each overlaid with a different colored pencil. Pink Rose is applied over the first swatch, Rosy Beige over the second, Clay Rose over the third, Beige Sienna over the fourth, and Sienna Brown over the fifth. These variations demonstrate the range of colors achievable for skin, underscoring the importance of practicing these combinations. Switching the order of application would yield different skin tones.

In the next demonstration, focusing on darker skin tones, Beige Sienna is applied as the initial layer to create three swatches. As a second layer, Dark Brown is applied to the first swatch, Chocolate to the second, and Dark Umber to the third, all using Prismacolor Premier colored pencils.

How to Draw an Eye - Free Colored Pencil Drawing Tutorial

10 easy steps to Draw realistic eyes even for beginners

This easy step-by-step tutorial with pictures and videos will show you how to draw an eye with colored pencils from scratch. You will learn how to sketch the eye proportionally, draw the main lines, which colored pencils to use and how to blend colored pencils smoothly to achieve a natural, lifelike eye drawing.

Art materials you’ll need:

1. Colored pencils
• Black and white
• Cool Gray 20%, 30%, 50%
• Indanthrene Blue
• Non-Photo Blue
• Clay Rose
• Seashell Pink
• Dark Brown
• Espresso
2. High-quality thick paper, preferably Bristol (avoid thin printer paper, as it is not good for blending colored pencils)
3. Graphite pencil for sketching
4. Drawing compass and ruler
5. Opaque white marker (optional)

Grab your art tools and let’s get started!

Step 1: Sketching the Eye with a Graphite Pencil

Before using colored pencils, it’s important to create a clean, proportional sketch with a graphite pencil that can be erased. Colored pencils are difficult to correct, so all main lines must be accurate at this stage.

If you struggle with drawing the sketch or just want to skip straight to coloring, you can download the pencil sketch used in this tutorial below and start from the same base drawing.

Download the pencil sketch (PDF)

In this video, instructor Jasmina Susak demonstrates how to draw a realistic eye sketch completely from scratch. She uses a drawing compass and a ruler, explains exact measurements, and shows how to place all main lines proportionally so you can follow along step by step.

Step 2: Coloring the Darkest Parts - Pupil and Iris Boundary

Color the pupil with a black colored pencil pressing hard to achieve a deep, solid black. Choose the darkest shade of your eye color for the iris boundary and apply it as a thin ring around the iris.

In this tutorial, our instructor draws a blue eye, so she uses Indanthrene Blue for the iris boundary and for the shadow cast by the upper eyelid over the iris. Leave space for highlights by drawing around them now, or add them later using white opaque media.

Step 3: Coloring the Iris

Add radiating strokes from the pupil outward to create iris texture. Our instructor uses Non-Photo Blue by Prismacolor Premier for this step, but you can use any eye color of your choice. Vary the pressure on your pencil to create different values with the same color, or layer lighter and brighter hues. Blend these strokes into the darker outer edge so there is no visible border and the colors flow seamlessly into each other. Break up hard edges by drawing short strokes inward and outward. This creates natural variation and prevents the iris from looking flat.

Step 4: Shading the Whites of the Eye (Sclera)

The sclera is never pure white. Shade it like a sphere using Cool Grays, starting darker near the tear duct and under the upper eyelid where shadows fall. Gradually transition to lighter values to show the roundness of the eyeball and soften the edge between the iris and sclera.

Step 5: Coloring the Skin Around the Eye

Many colored pencils can be used to color skin, depending on the skin tone you want to achieve. For this tutorial, which is intended for absolute beginners, our instructor uses only one base color for fair skin, Seashell Pink by Prismacolor Premier. If you want to draw more complex eyes and full portraits, join our membership and challenge yourself with advanced colored pencil tutorials.

Apply the base skin tone evenly using firm pressure to fill the paper tooth. Use circular motions or very short strokes to avoid visible pencil lines. Watch the video below to see the circulism technique in action. Build highlights on protruding areas and shadows in recessed areas, such as the eyelid fold and under the brow ridge, by burnishing with a white colored pencil.

Step 6: Drawing the Shadowed Parts of the Skin

If the skin around the eye still looks flat, it means it lacks shadows. Create them by going over the base color with Dark Brown. Press harder when drawing the eyelid crease, then gradually lessen the pressure as you move away from it to create a smooth transition from dark to lighter skin tones. Do the same on the lower part of the upper eyelid, where the eyelashes are located.

Step 7: Drawing Upper Eyelashes

Draw eyelashes using quick, confident strokes and a well-sharpened black or Dark Brown pencil. Upper lashes are longer and denser toward the outer corner, while lower lashes are shorter and more subtle. Adjust sclera shading if needed, as lashes cast shadows that affect surrounding values.

Step 8: Drawing Lower Eyelashes

Draw eyelashes using quick, confident strokes and a well-sharpened black or Dark Brown pencil. Upper lashes are longer and denser toward the outer corner, while lower lashes are shorter and more subtle. Adjust sclera shading if needed, as lashes cast shadows that affect surrounding values.

Step 9: Creating Highlights

Finish by adding highlights using an opaque white gel pen or a white marker. Place them on the iris, tear duct, lower eyelid, and moist skin areas to bring the eye to life. Small highlight dots and soft blending give the drawing a realistic, photo-like appearance.

Step 10: Drawing Eyebrows

If the skin looks finished, it’s time to draw the eyelashes over it, following the natural direction of their growth. Use quick, confident strokes and lift the pencil at the end of each stroke to make the tips thinner. For the eyebrows, you can use any suitable colored pencil. In this tutorial, our instructor uses Espresso by Prismacolor Premier, but any light or dark brown, or even black colored pencil, can be used.

If you followed this tutorial and finished your eye drawing, please contact us and share your result. We’d love to see it.

Become a member to watch the same eye tutorial for dark skin. Curious which colored pencils our instructor used and want access to more than 600 hours of narrated drawing videos? Join us now.

How to Draw Cherries Using Colored Pencil

Easy Step by Step Drawing Tutorial for Beginners

In this lesson, you will learn how to draw cherries. It’s perfect for beginners who want to improve their coloring and blending techniques.

Art tools used:

1. Colored pencils, all by Prismacolor Premier:
• Raspberry (or any other dark red color)
• Crimson Red
• Tuscan Red
• White
• Peach Beige
• Goldenrod
• Dark Umber
• Apple Green
• Pale Sage
• Olive Green
• Chartreuse
• Warm Gray 10%
• Warm Gray 20%
• Warm Gray 30%
• Warm Gray 50%
• Warm Gray 70%
2. High-quality paper
3. Graphite pencil for main lines

The reference photo:

Step 1: Drawing the Sketch Lines

To draw the main lines proportionally, we use the grid method. The image below shows both the reference photo and the pencil sketch with a grid overlay, making it easy to see how sketch lines are transferred from each square of the reference photo to the corresponding squares on the drawing paper. This also shows which main construction lines our instructor Jasmina Susak considers important to mark before moving on to coloring and details.

You can place a grid over your own photos for free using our Free Online Grid Maker for Drawing.

If you find it difficult to draw the main lines or just want to color, you can download the pencil sketch used in this tutorial below and start from the same sketch.

Download the pencil sketch (PDF)

Step 2: Drawing the Darkest Areas

Start by drawing the darkest parts of the cherries using Raspberry or another deep red pencil. Apply firm pressure to fully fill the tooth of the paper.

Add darker values to the areas that receive the least light, such as the spaces between the cherries. For these deepest shadows, use Dark Umber (PC 947) or Black Raspberry (PC 1095).Always refer to the reference photo and analyze it carefully to understand where these dark values appear in this step.

To find out which colors to use for each part and to clearly see the values in your colored reference photos, use our Free Online Color Value Finder on this site with free, unlimited uploads.

Step 3: Applying the Vivid Red Color

Next, use Crimson Red (PC 924). Avoid the darkest shadow areas and the highlights, and apply color to the midtone areas in between. As in the previous step, press hard to fully cover the fiber of the paper. Continue layering until all tiny white specks of the paper disappear. This technique is called burnishing, which is why high-quality colored pencils are essential for realistic drawings. Cheaper colored pencils often produce pale results, even with heavy pressure, and can damage the paper surface by tearing or roughening it. When done correctly, burnishing with professional-grade colored pencils creates a rich, smooth, glazed look, similar to what you see in paintings—often even more vibrant and colorful.

In the image below, you can see the areas drawn with Crimson Red (PC 924). If you don’t have this pencil, you can also use Permanent Red or Scarlet Lake.

Step 4: Creating Highlights and Reflected Light on Cherries

Now create the highlights and the reflected light coming from the white table or plate. Use Raspberry or Tuscan Red, and apply it very lightly. In this step, you’re basically coloring the remaining areas of the cherries with this dark red. Use a gentle touch - don’t worry about blending yet. We’ll blend in the next step by burnishing with a white colored pencil over this layer. For now, it’s totally fine if a few paper flecks still show through.

Leave untouched the areas meant for the peduncles (stems) and the small area where the peduncle is pulled out - just draw around them. Keep your pencil well sharpened and carefully define the cherry edges. For best control, hold the pencil farther from the tip and barely touch the paper. It’s better to keep it light, because it’s always easier to add more shading than to erase it. Also notice from the reference photo: in the center of every highlight there’s an even brighter spot. So reduce pressure there. For example, look at the round highlight on the cherry closest to us - see how the center stays lighter with only a subtle tone.

Step 5: Blending with a White Colored Pencil

Now blend the previously lightly shaded areas using a white colored pencil. Use small circular motions while blending. As soon as you apply White, you’ll notice the colors become softer and more natural, which you can also see in the image below. The rough strokes from the previous step will gradually dissolve under the waxy layer of the white pencil, creating a smooth, silky texture. Apply stronger pressure over the brightest highlights marked earlier so these areas stand out more than the surrounding tones. This gives the cherries their shiny, realistic look.

When blending next to red areas, slightly overlap them and clean the pencil tip frequently to avoid spreading red pigment into the highlights. If a highlight appears too bright, you can intentionally pick up a small amount of red with the white pencil and gently soften it. If a highlight isn’t bright enough because too much red was applied, lightly erase that area with an electric eraser and blend again with White.

Step 6: Drawing the Cherry Stems

Start by drawing the small area on the cherry where the stem (peduncle) was pulled out, using Peach Beige (PC 1085). Draw the top of the two stems and fill the entire merged area using Goldenrod (PC 1034). Add the tiny surface details over it with Dark Umber (PC 947). Draw the stems using Apple Green (PC 912) as the base color. Go over it with Olive Green (PC 911), pressing harder in the shadowed areas.

Add highlights to the stems with Chartreuse (PC 989) and softly blend them with Pale Sage (PC 1089). You can use other green pencils, such as Kelly Green, but the key is to apply darker values in the areas that receive less light - especially where the two stems face each other.

Step 7: Drawing the Leaf

Start the leaf by applying Apple Green (PC 912) as the first layer. Color the lower area of the leaf using Pale Sage (PC 1089) as the base color, as shown in image (1) on the left. Blend the larger area painted with Apple Green using Olive Green (PC 911). For the folded or wrapped part of the leaf, lightly apply Chartreuse (PC 989), as shown in image (2) on the right.

Try to let Pale Sage remain dominant, since Chartreuse is a very vivid color. If the greens appear too intense, you can easily neutralize them using Warm Gray, Cool Gray, or French Gray. For example, applying Cool Gray 10% over the lower area of the leaf will soften the color and make it less vivid.

Step 8: Drawing the Cast Shadow

As the final step, add the cast shadow under the cherries using Warm Gray 30% (PC 1052). Apply this value right next to the cherries. Remember that cast shadows often contain subtle reflected red tones from the cherries themselves.

Step 9: Finishing Touches and Final Shadow Refinement

The cast shadow is always darkest closest to the object casting it. Gradually reduce pressure as you move away from the cherries so the shadow softly fades and disappears into the background. So, deepen the darkest part of the cast shadow directly beneath the cherries using Warm Gray 70% (PC 1056). Blend the transition between Warm Gray 30% (PC 1052) and Warm Gray 70% (PC 1056) using Warm Gray 50% (PC 1054) to create a smooth value shift.

Soften the outer edges of the shadow with Warm Gray 20% (PC 1051), then finish by gently fading the shadow into the paper using Warm Gray 10% (PC 1050).

If you have only one or two gray pencils, you can still create smooth gradations by controlling pencil pressure. Pressure shading is a powerful technique—one gray pencil can produce three or four different values simply by pressing lightly or firmly.

How to Blend with Colored Pencils - Free Drawing Tutorial

Practicing Smooth Gradient

Let's practice creating a smooth gradient in a simple way by coloring a plant. This exercise will help you improve your skills.

To begin, create the main outlines randomly, as demonstrated in the next image. There's no need to draw any specific type of plant; you can use your imagination, so the shape is not a critical factor. Start by sketching it using Dark Green Prismacolor Premier.

Let's create highlights where the leaves bend somewhere in the middle of their length. We can use Grass Green for this purpose. Start by drawing lines from one end towards the mid-area of the leaf. Gradually lift the pencil's tip off the paper as you finish each stroke, applying light pressure at the end of the stroke. This way, each line will gradually disappear into the white color of the paper, and together they will create a smooth gradient between the green and white. Finish drawing the line wherever you want the highlight of the leaf to be. So, press very hard at the beginning of each stroke and release the pressure as you finish, applying quick, confident strokes.

Now, let's create highlights from the other side of the leaf. Begin at the top of the leaf, applying firm pressure, and gradually reduce the pressure as you slightly lift the pencil off the paper. You can refer to the next image to observe the desired effect. As you can see, it already appears bent and even has a shine, but our work isn't complete yet.

Apply the same technique to each leaf on the entire plant. Begin on both ends, pressing firmly and gradually reducing the pressure as you approach the middle of the leaf. Throughout this process, continue to use Grass Green, or if you prefer, you can opt for other green pencils like Spring Green or Parrot Green, which work well for coloring plants. By following these steps, you'll notice how the plant acquires a three-dimensional shape and no longer appears flat.

In this step, we will color the highlights to ensure they don't remain white. To achieve this, you can use Gray Green Light. Apply it over the lighter parts (the ends of the strokes) of the Grass Green. Press firmly to blend these colors together. The objective here is to make the edge between the Grass Green and the Gray Green Light vanish, so keep blending until the edges become invisible. If some of the highlights are a bit brighter, it means that they are more illuminated than the others, so it's not a problem. However, we can always darken them or lighten them as we need. If you go over it with a white pencil and press very hard, you will be able to lighten up the area. If you can still see the edge between the highlight and the Grass Green, simply pick up the Grass Green again and darken the areas to make the edge between the two colors invisible.

Now, let's create shaded areas or modify the value of Grass Green at both the top and "roots" of the leaves by darkening them with a Dark Green colored pencil. This will add a rounder shape and depth to the leaves in the image. Additionally, it's essential to create cast shadows over the underlying leaves, so press firmly with the Dark Green pencil. The shaded regions should gradually blend into the Grass Green color. To achieve this, apply the same technique: start with strong pressure when drawing lines at the two ends and reduce the pressure as you draw strokes toward the highlight. Repeat this process for each leaf.

In the image below, you can observe the result on the right, comparing it to the graphic on the left created with a single color without varying the pressure. This demonstrates the power of a smooth gradient – our drawing on the right appears three-dimensional with shape, in contrast to the flat, two-dimensional image on the left.