Sunday, March 7, 2010

Tutorial : Blending colored pencils with baby oil

Hello all! I have been experimenting with a new techique for using colored pencils. I was doing research about how to blend them and found lots of info on using Gamsol or Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS). The one thing that bothered me was that it has toxic fumes - even if you can't smell it as stongly as other thinners like turpintine. So, I was on a hunt to find something non-toxic as possible. I found a few links that said they had used baby oil - hummm... smells good... used on baby's bum... can't be too toxic, right?

I knew that I had some baby oil somewhere so I dug it out and gave it a try... IT IS SO EASY AND WORKS GREAT!! I had also seen recommendations for Goo-Gone (which I had in the garage) so I tried it too just to compare. In my opinion there is no comparison - the baby oil just works better and easier. I am just using regular old Crayola pencils ($5.99 for 50 at Target)- I think they work just fine and you can't beat the price! :)

So, on to the tutorial...

Here are the supplies you will need....



A stamp
Dye-based or permanent/archival ink
Colored pencils
Baby oil
Blending stubs or q-tips

I like q-tips for larger areas but the blending stumps are the best for the small areas. I have tried ones made in China and Taiwan and don't personally see any difference. (I read a couple of place that the ones from Taiwan work better - go figure!)

Step #1 - Stamp your image.



Step #2 - Color your image. I like to laydown a heavy layer just inside the line, then lightly color the center of the area. Some people only color just inside the line and blend toward the center but I thought it left the center without enough color. You can play around until you get it to look right for you.



Step #3 - Baby oil. I recommend you put a small amount of the oil onto a cotton pad or make-up sponge like in the supply photo above. You just need a little bit and if you dip it directly into the oil your blender will be saturated. You can also blot the tip on a dry paper towel if you feel you picked up too much.

Step #4 - Blend. Rub the tip of the blender across the area with the most pencil first to breakdown the wax. Then, using small circles, blend the color toward the center. Continue blending from the areas of high color toward the center until you like the effect.



My advice - play around before you use it for a project! As long as you are not using too much oil you shouldn't see any oil on your finished product. Good luck and happy coloring! :)

27 comments:

Marlene said...

Interesting! Thanks for posting your technique.

whyweight said...

Ahhh..very clever. A good tip to know. I have watercolor pencils, but this would be a good project for my son, and then I don't have to watch him chew away at my expensive watercolor pencils! Thanks!

Shelley
http://heartstring-designs.blogspot.com/

Sue said...

I will have to try this. Thank you for sharing

Rachel said...

I know this is an old post, but I just came across it in a Google search. It's so cool that the baby oil works and that I don't have to buy Gamsol to try this out! I'll have to try this out as we always have that stuff in the house! TFS!

ngocupham said...

I am just wondering if it works for crayon. I know that color pencil is basically crayon, but I think color pencils do have a slight different texture than the crayon.

mamawcindy said...

I'm so excited that I found your post! Thanks so much for Sharing! :0)

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Kiwi said...

Thanks for the tutorial,I'm keen to try it out as we can't buy Gamsul here in NZ and I'd heard baby oil works but didn't know how!

Kiwi said...

How do I pin this to Pinterest,as I'm sure many crafting friends would love it!

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Anonymous said...

This is just what I was looking for, I kept finding more expensive and artists type of information, I just wanted to try to color in some stamps not become and artist, Thank you for your time and information.

Sherry said...

is there a special type of paper you prefer?

Norma Guerra said...

Awesome! Thanks for the info.. Now I'm ready to try. :D

Norma Guerra said...

Awesome! Thanks for the info.. Now I'm ready to try. :D

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Anonymous said...

I also use baby oil to clean my brushes when oil painting. Home brand baby oil is cheaper than turps and doesnt stink the place out. Makes oil painting so much more pleasant!

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