Colored Pencils – Before and After
Jennifer commented yesterday that she was doing some research on how to color her Aussie Animals images. That reminded me that I hadn’t uploaded a colored version of the sugar glider yet. What a perfect opportunity to revisit a new-to-me technique, blending Prismacolor pencils with baby oil instead of Gamsol odorless mineral spirits.
There has been a lot of talk about baby oil on the stamping forums, since it is a non-toxic alternative. Here are the Before and After scans.
Left: Main colors blocked in with colored pencils.
Right: After building layers and blending with baby oil.
This sugar glider digi-stamp was inkjet printed on 110 lb Georgia Pacific cardstock (sold by the ream at Sam’s Club). The first step is to block in the main colors with Prismacolor pencils, starting with the lightest colors first. Since the light source is from the upper left, areas in the lower right of each shape get the deepest shading. The brown and tan hues add warmth and depth to the cooler grays.
When the first layer of color has been applied to the entire image, it’s time to start blending with baby oil. The keyword here is: sparingly. Some Splitcoaststampers forum posts suggested adding a few drops of the oil on small squares of felt. I’m storing the felt squares in a baby food jar. To use them, I stack a couple of squares in the jar’s inverted lid. Only the tips of the blending stumps are moistened against the lightly saturated felt.
After the first layer is completely blended, more color is applied in the darker areas to build the depth. This second layer is blended into the first with stumps and baby oil. Keep adding more layers and blending until the entire image is consistently smooth and rounded. The final step is to go back and add strokes for the furry tail. Individual hairs are drawn first with a darker gray and then with white. Both of those pencils need to be quite sharp to keep the crispness of these details. These hairs are not blended with oil.
The first time I tried blending with baby oil a few months ago, I was dipping the stump directly into the oil and picking up too much. It left an oily residue. I gave up on the baby oil almost immediately, but now, with the felt, I’m willing to give it a second chance.
Have you seen photos of sugar gliders on Google Images? I wouldn’t want one for a pet, but they are just the cutest little things.
I’ll be back later today to announce the first blog candy winner 
. Good luck to all.
April 22nd, 2009 | 
Comments are closed Category: Aussie Animals, Coloring Digi-Stamps | Tags: Aussie Animals, colored pencils
Great job! What a cute image. Thank you for sharing. Your tutorials are very concise and easy to understand.
Hey Judi, this is great! I’ve seen the talk about baby oil but haven’t seen it actually used. I’ve just gotten into using Gamsol and I might give this a try! You did an excellent coloring job!
Thanks, Lesly — I’m a How-To author at heart. It’s much easier for me to be concise than to be chitchatty. But I’m working on it.
Hi, Tonya — I was curious about the baby oil, too, after reading the forums. Now I’m wondering whether it’s a good idea to switch the same stumps back and forth between the Gamsol and baby oil, or whether it would be better to have two separate sets. Always more questions to investigate…
oh i use baby oil all the time now ;0)
I love it.
I think that looks great!
I’ve never thought of using baby oil.. great blog! I’ve visit again!!
((Lyn))
Your tutorials are always awesome!! Thanks!!
thanks for this! another product I’ve heard that is good to try is ‘Goo-Gone’. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve read that people are getting great results with it also.
I have got to get over my fear of having that oily feeling on my cs and just jump in and try this! maybe I’ll be a bit braver after reading your post!
and I did see lots of pix yesterday of sugar gliders while I was doing my ‘research’ (gosh, doesn’t that sound soooo official?! wink!) so cute, but I agree, not sure I could have one as a pet…… my dogs and cats might think they were appetizers! ack!
Hi, Jennifer — I have tried blending with Goo Gone, and it does work. However, that product has petroleum distillates, is an eye irritant, and is combustible. The main advantage of the baby oil is that it’s non-toxic.
great and appreciated info! TFS!..i picked up a little travel size baby oil last week to try this technique…maybe this weekend!
Thanks Judi for this tutorial and tips on how to use the prismas with baby oil. I can’t wait to get my set of pencils and color to no end! I did do some research on the aussie animals online to see how to color them and by far, you have done a superb job on the drawings! They are so cute!
BTW, what type of spray fixative are you using for the images? I tried to use embossing powder tonight and the powder does not grip to the ink that well so you have loose powder. Do you only use the fixative for certain coloring methods or do you use it every time?
Thanks again for the tips…very very helpful!
Alma =)
Hi, Michelle — I’ve got the 3 oz size baby oil, too. I looked all over the baby department at WalMart for it and finally found it in the drug section with all the travel sized products.
Hi, Alma — For my inkjet, the colored pencils and baby oil work fine without a fixative. Just make sure the ink is thoroughly dry before you start. You can speed up the drying time with a hairdryer.
I only need the fixative spray for watercoloring my inkjet printouts. Some people are able to heat set theirs without a problem, but that didn’t work for mine.
The brand is Blair Matte Spray Fix. The back of the label says, “Prevents colors from bleeding one into the other on tempera and water color…. Clear, permanent, smudge proof protection.” It was in the art supplies section of Hobby Lobby. The fumes are strong, so I only spray it outdoors… while holding my breath.
Re embossing inkjet printouts, I haven’t had time to try that yet. I’ve read that you can spray the cardstock with a fixative BEFORE printing, which helps keep the ink wet long enough to grab the embossing powder. Also, instead of using the Best print quality setting, just use the normal or draft mode. That will print faster and the ink will be wetter when it emerges from the printer.
When I eventually get around to testing all of this, I’m going to try printing on half sheets, feeding the 8.5″ side. That way, the page will run through the printer faster. I’d really like to solve the embossing issues, since that would be a totally neat option.
THANK YOU for posting the before and afters!! I’m bookmarking this to refer to! Animals have always scared me to color but I’m getting more and more ready to try!
Hi Judi: I did try heat embossing a group of images yesterday after printing. But the ink was already pretty much dry after it came off of the printer. So I used a versamark marker (thin end) to outline the image and emboss with black embossing powder. But the lines were still too thick. I will try with clear embossing powder and see how that comes out too. Will let you know the results in a later post.
Thanks for the info on the spray fixative. I have been using a heat gun to make sure the ink is completely dry before coloring in the image. I have been using the watercoloring method without a problem wiht the ink smearing too much (smears so little you can’t even tell). I can’t wait to play with my new prismas once they arrive.
Alma — That’s lucky that you can watercolor your printouts. A lot of people are not having any problems… which has me wondering whether I should try it again with mine.
I’ll watch for your report back on the embossing.
Wonderful explantion, I will try it later on today
Thanks so much.
Thanks Judy for the explanation using baby oil. The tip about using felt is great as I would have went right for the oil.. duh.. I love how you blended and the little tut about how to blend. These have been questions in my mind for a bit now as I’m a newbie to all of this..Like Cassie I kind of stayed away from animals too.. I can’t wait for the report back on embossing.. wooo hoooo
Hi, Jessie — I’m glad you gave it a try, and I hope you had good results.
Hi, RobynAnn — That was exactly my first thought, too, to dip the stump directly into the baby oil. It ended up much too saturated that way. Thanks for your comments.