Mastering the art of coloring backgrounds with colored pencils transforms a simple sketch into a vibrant world, providing depth, atmosphere, and a polished finish. While it may seem straightforward, achieving a smooth, even wash of color requires specific techniques and an understanding of how different strokes impact the final result. This guide moves beyond basic coloring to explore the methods that yield professional-looking backdrops, whether you are illustrating a expansive sky, a solid wall, or a subtle gradient.
The Foundation: Paper and Pencil Selection
The journey to a perfect background starts long before the first stroke touches the surface. The tooth, or texture, of your paper dictates how the pigment lays down, making it a critical choice for large areas. Smooth paper allows for effortless blending and a satin finish, ideal for graphic designs and clean illustrations. Conversely, medium-tooth paper grabs the wax, creating a rich, matte texture that is excellent for painterly landscapes but requires more effort to achieve a uniform look. Your pencil selection is equally important; wax-based artist pencils deliver intense, vibrant color and superior coverage, while watercolor pencils offer the flexibility of layering with water for a painted effect. Investing in high-quality tools reduces wax buildup and ensures consistent pigment density across the entire surface.
Technique 1: The Layering and Burnishing Method
For maximum opacity and a glass-like finish, the layering and burnishing technique is unmatched. This method builds color in stages, ensuring rich depth without streaking. You begin by applying a base layer of color using a side-to-side motion, covering the entire area with gentle pressure. Subsequent layers are added in the same direction, gradually intensifying the hue. The final and most crucial step is burnishing: taking a colorless blender pencil or a pencil of a similar hue and rubbing it firmly over the layers. This melts the wax and pigment, filling the paper's tooth completely and creating a seamless, vibrant background that looks almost painted.
Core Application Strategies
How you apply the pencil directly determines the look and feel of the background. A haphazard approach often leads to patchy results, so adopting a systematic strategy is key. Think of the surface as a grid and work in systematic rows or sections to ensure no spot is missed. The pressure you apply is a powerful tool; light pressure creates a whisper of color perfect for atmospheric backgrounds, while heavy pressure delivers a dense, solid tone. Unlike drawing lines, coloring large areas is about motion—use your whole arm rather than just your wrist to maintain a consistent rhythm and pressure, which is essential for avoiding the choppy, segmented look that ruins a smooth gradient.
Technique 2: The Cross-Hatching Gradient
When subtle shifts in tone are desired, such as a dawn sky or a shadowed floor, cross-hatching provides elegant control. Instead of trying to blend a single color, you layer two or three closely related shades. Start with the lightest color as your base, then apply the next shade in a perpendicular direction, creating a woven texture. The final layer, placed at a different angle, unifies the colors and deepens the richness. This technique excels in backgrounds where depth is needed without a hard line, adding complexity and dimension through the strategic overlap of color paths.
Avoiding the Streaking Trap
One of the most common frustrations when coloring backgrounds is the appearance of streaking or a "toothy" appearance where the paper texture remains visible. This usually happens when the pigment is not sufficiently layered or the pencil glides over dried layers without bonding. To combat this, you must ensure complete coverage by resisting the urge to stop too early. Additionally, using a slightly heavier pressure on your final passes helps lock the color into the paper fibers. If streaks persist, a solvent—mineral spirits for wax pencils or water for watercolor pencils—can be applied sparingly with a brush to even out the texture, though this will dull the sheen of wax-based media.
Blending and Solvent Techniques
Blending is the secret to transforming individual strokes into a cohesive wash. For wax-based pencils, colorless blending stumps or tortillons work well for small areas, but for expansive backgrounds, a colorless blender pencil is more efficient, smoothing the pigment without adding new color. The most dramatic blending effect comes from solvents. A few drops of odorless mineral spirits applied with a stiff bristle brush can turn layered pencil into a smooth, acrylic-like wash. This technique requires practice, as it moves quickly, but it is unparalleled for creating soft, smoky backgrounds like mist, smoke, or atmospheric perspective.
Creating Depth with Gradients
A flat color is often less effective than a gradient, which guides the viewer's eye and adds realism to a composition. To create a background that fades from a deep horizon to a light sky, you must manage your pigment load carefully. Start with the darkest area at the horizon line, applying multiple layers of heavy pressure. As you move upward toward the sky, gradually reduce the pressure and switch to a lighter shade. Overlap the two colors in the transition zone and blend them thoroughly. This manipulation of value—lightness and darkness—is what sells the illusion of distance and space, making a simple background feel vast and immersive.
