HOW TO USE SOLVENT | Easy Way to Blend Colored Pencils

In this video I show you how to use solvent for blending colored pencils. I show you an easy technique using a solvent to blend seamlessly.

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[Amiehowardart]

Hi guys 👋 I hope you enjoyed today’s video and can use these tips if you’re wanting to blend with a solvent in you coloured pencil artwork 🙌

[jessicasobel]

Love the don't demonstrate! Very helpful video

[AlexisCassandraArt]

Thanks for the tips! I actually stopped using solvent a while ago because of the headache I would get.. Zest it pencil blend is not as available in my country so thank you for providing the link for it!

[karalongart]

Great job girl! Keep doing what you do :)

[suesolley]

Another helpful tutorial with useful tips that I will try and remember! Thanks Amie

[beatricebisiaux]

I received my bottle of solvent this very morning and it seems your tutorial was intended for me ! Thanks a lot ! By the way, I had a question : what type of paint brush do you use ? One for oil ? acrylic ? watercolour ? Does the solvent impair the paint brush at some point ? Thanks

[orcusdei]

Thank you very much, this really helped me!

[Marykk]

I love your videos. Thanks for posting!

[bobgearing]

Thanks Amie for this video-I appreciate your going into detail on how to add additional layers and what to avoid with actually applying the solvent. I found it very helpful, while I've done quite a bit of colored pencil work, I'm fairly new to using solvents. I do have a question that I'm hoping you, or someone can help me out with using solvent and using Textured Fixative on the same CP piece. Apologies in advance for the length, but I want to list all the steps I took and materials I used.

So... I'm currently working on an Eastern Bluebird CP piece (FC Polychromos on 12"x16" Canson MiTientes Pastel, cream tint) and ran into a strange problem- after laying down several layers of white and a few layers of sky blue, I decided to spray the piece with Brush & Pencil's Textured Fixative, knowing I had many more layers to add and wanting to preserve the tooth. (I also was looking forward to using Brush & Pencil's other products- the Titanium White & Colorless Blending powder for finishing highlights)

After letting it dry overnight, I added subsequent layers of blues, as well as other colors- I put down at least 3-4 layers- more in some areas, less in others. I then applied my solvent with a brush (a Taklon short chisel shader, also a small Philbert). The solvent I used was Odorless Mineral Spirits (Klean Strip brand- not my favorite). I was, overall, happy with the results, although I did use a little too much pressure, lifting some pigment which required re-blending of a few areas. I also knew that I lost some of the detail marks I had wanted to preserve, but thought that I would be able to add those later, as the solvent would open the tooth again.

After letting it sit again overnight, I started to add some more layers- but this is where things got weird- instead of the paper allowing me to add additional layers, my pencil marks just kind of "powdered" on the surface of the paper, with very little pigment going on the paper! I tried to add a little more pressure, but the result was the same, and if anything, it appeared that I was actually scratching off layers of pigment!

Have you ever encountered this? Did I do something wrong? Most importantly, do you have any suggestions on how to correct this issue? This was the first time I've ever used both Textured Fixative and OMS to blend on the same piece- I certainly didn't expect this to happen though. Most disappointing is that this piece is/was intended as a birthday gift for my sister- now I'm afraid I'll have to start all over again.

I've tried to search online about this issue, but haven't had any luck finding reports of using OMS/Solvents and Textured/Workable Fixative on the same colored pencil piece, so I'm really hoping that someone can give me some much-needed feedback. Obviously, I don't want to repeat this on any future CP work I do, but can't seem to figure out what happened or what I did wrong. Again, my sincere apologies for the length of this comment and thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide!

[GodzillaGoesGaga]

I'm curious if anyone has tried heat to melt the wax. A hot air gun, like a surface mount soldering rework machine, and maybe some small metal tool to blend the melted wax/pigment ?

[bill]

After brushing your work with the solvent do you clean your brush so that you don't lay down any unwanted pigment, also can you wash the pigment off with water? Great tutorial as always.

[tabithapost]

Thank you for making another useful tutorial! I use the Green for Oil Thinner from Sennelier to blend my coloured pencils, which is almost scentless and non-toxic. It does a good job blending my colours. Unfortunately I've never seen a tutorial about this solvent and using it on coloured pencils, so I don't know whether it is as good as Zest-it or any other known solvent. I'm curious about your opinion about it.

[DaniaDraws]

🌞Today's new subscriber:Me.😊Thank you very much Amie Howard .💛 This video is exactly what I needed.I used to look at pencil art and feel so amazed and I wondered how is it possible to make such effects like bright things, smooth blended colors & very nice layers.Normal color pencils don't make good layers at all.I discovered that solvent is used.I will use your tips in my next drawing.

[bluubandette]

If theres a spot of solvent on the back of the paper, is that bad? Or you have to wait until your paper is completely dry??

[louiseadams]

First visit fantastic a new follower thank u💜💜

[krisannecajano]

Could i use turpentine with colored pencils? As an alternative 🤓

[sharfarazzaman]

Where can I buy solvent?or can I use water