Buying quality art materials cost a lot of money, a single graphite pencil can cost $3 to $5 depending on the brand. Same goes to artists' board paper, it can also cost up to $10 or $15 varying from its type and brand as well. Artist-grade colored pencils like Prismacolor Premier, Faber Castell Polychromos or Derwent Inktense can cost up to freakin' hundred dollars!
If you are still practicing and developing your skills in drawing, it would be unwise to spend on really expensive materials, right? As a beginner, we prefer to use cheaper products as long as the quality would also be comparable to those high-end materials that experts use.
Best choice for practicing colored portraits is Faber Castell Classic Colored Pencil (FCCCP). Most artists recommend these pencils to beginners because it has varying shade of colors, hard lead, durable and easy-grip feature, good for details and it's very cheap, costing only $3 to $15 dollars depending on number of pencils for each set.
I've been using these pencils for a long period before and I can say that the result is satisfying for its price.
However, this pencils have limitations. In terms blending, if you will only rely on the pencil itself you may not achieve the desired texture of the portrait plus the pigments will become visible as you add more layers on top of each but there are different techniques we can use to make our portrait smooth and to blend the colors well:
Use very small amount of baby oil in cotton or cotton buds and apply carefully to the drawing. We can repeat it multiple time.
Use artist paint thinner (e.g. gamsol mineral spirit) to dissolve color pigment. Apply using soft paint brush.
Draw in small, circular motion to avoid pigmentation.
Don't put too much pressure.
Don't rush your drawing, take your time thinking what shade to use.
Start with lightest to darkest shade because FCCCP will not blend really well with other shade, remember it's easy to darken than to lighten colors.
Lastly, observe and analyse the shading and highlight of the reference photo. Understand where the light is coming from.
Don't be afraid to try and try. There are a lot of tutorials online that you can watch or read. Just be patient and practice. Also, enjoy what you really love doing and don't let people bring you down.
[Sponsors]
amazing drawings!