Trouble with Watercolor Pencils

[glovekelly]

I just bought the SU Watercolor Pencils. I was so excited about them until I tried them out. I have the aquapainters as well. When I used them they didn't blend. You could still see the lines from where I colored. What am I doing wrong. I am using generic cardstock could that be the problem. I am very disappointed. Let me know. thanks.

[row4d]

Be sure to use a very light touch when coloring with the watercolor pencils, otherwise you will see the pencil strokes. If the bolder look is what you want, you need to use regular colored pencils (Prismacolors are the best, but lower quality ones work, too) blended with 100% odorless mineral spirits (Gamsol and Mona Lisa are two popular brands) and a paper blending stump.

[tiki.nz]

I use a paint brush that way you can sort of scrub the brush on the pencil and that gets rid of lines and you still get deeper color. Also add more color by doing direct from pencil (brush to pencil) to get different shades. Hope this helps. I have one in watermill spring mini gallery if you want to see how deep colors can be.
Kat

[stampin8mom]

After you stamp your image, before you color, spray a light coat of Krylon Matte Spray (available at WalMart with the spray paints, or at craft stores usually with the acrylic paints - not very expensive and lasts forever).

The spray will dry almost instantly. This keeps ink from running and will help the colors blend beautifully. I started using watercolor pencils 10 years ago and using the spray was stressed in all the instructions that I read. I have watercolored without spraying and it is much more difficult to get the colors to spread and blend.

Plus, the spraying keeps the paper from absorbing too much water - helps keep the c/s from buckling and "pilling" (I don't know what other word to use - sometimes when I scrub with the brush or blender pen too hard the paper starts to break down).

Hope this helps.
Kathy

[speale]

I also scribble with the watercolor pencil on a scrap paper and then pick up color with the blender pen/aqua painter. I have a bad habit of scrubbing the paper and making it pill. This helps and you can test the color before adding to your project.