REVIEW: Watercolor Pencils

PENCIL AND PAINT IN ONE.

These Stabilo Aquacolor pencils have become a recent obsession. I’ve been using this set of pencils for my #Seavolution series and here are some things I learned about this handy tool:

THE GOOD STUFF

1. The barrel and the lead have the same exact color which makes color identification easy.

2. The hexagonal shape enables good grip.

3. You can use the pencils in both wet and dry applications.

4. These water-soluble pencils are rich in pigment. The colors are so vivid!

5. It can be blended easily, like a real watercolor!

6. It comes in sets of 12, 18, 24, and 36 giving you more color options.

THE NOT SO GOOD STUFF

1. It comes in sets. So if you use up one color, you can’t get it individually.

2. Sharpening wastes lead, as opposed to watercolor paints that you can really maximize every drop of paint.

3. There are no lightfast ratings!

HOW TO USE AQUACOLOR:

Here’s some short video tutorial on how you can use your water-soluble pencils:

DRY METHOD

These pencils are still pencils after all, so you can use them without water. Using them as regular pencils add that texture, especially when illustrating details.

PENCIL TO PAPER METHOD

To cover shapes faster and more efficiently, I pencil in the pigment and use a damp brush to spread or blend it. I normally color block in the pigments I need then I blend it. This gives me an over-all idea on how I want the base layer to look like.

PENCIL TO WATER METHOD

In this method, you dip the pencil tip into the water container and then apply directly on paper. You’ll get a very rich application of the pigment but you won’t be able to control it as much. I don’t normally use this method because I want to be able to carefully plot the amount of pigment on the artwork.

BRUSH TO PENCIL METHOD

Imagine your pencil lead as the watercolor paint. You just brush off the tip of the lead to get the paint. This helps you cut down on wastage and gives you more control on the amount of pigment you want to use. I do this when I only need to put additional layers.

THINGS TO NOTE:

1. When using these pencils as watercolor, you should use a watercolor paper. Regular bond paper will buckle with water application. The texture of the paper also affects the overall look of your artwork.

2. When you want to blend colors, it is easier to use the PENCIL TO PAPER METHOD. Pencil in all the colors you want to blend on paper, then use a wet brush to spread the colors lightly.

3. If you apply a heavy pencil mark, the color on paper will be saturated/dark. If you pencil in lightly, then you can expect a lower saturation level or not much pigment. The amount of water you use also will affect the saturation of the pigment. More water = Less saturation.

4. Always start with light pencil marks. It is easier to edit or add layers when you want more details.

Overall, I like these pencils because of convenience and ease of use. The vivid colors definitely amplify the artwork! It’s definitely fun to use. Sharing some snippets and sample artworks here:

SEAVOLUTION Series I’m doing to promote marine conservation

A fun day of creating artworks with my interns! I made the sea turtle.

WHERE TO BUY (PHILIPPINES):

1. Stabilo Flagship store Php 1,250.00 (24 USD) for the set of 36 pencils

2. National Bookstore

3. Artbar

Happy painting!

xx

Anina

P.S. Thank you to my interns Gillian and Dennise for helping me with this article (photos and videos)