When Colours Meet

“White may look colourless, but it’s just as important as any other crayon, and you might find yourself using it up faster than the rest.”

For this overdue post, I chose a yellow rose as my subject. I wanted to show you an example of crayon drawing where colour blending is involved, and also share the parts I consider “mistakes.” They’re nothing to stress about, but the more I look at them, the more obvious they seem. So, let’s dive in!

The first step I took was a light pencil sketch using an HB pencil. It’s important to keep your pencil strokes light, because if you press too hard and later decide to erase, it will leave indentations on the paper. When you apply crayon over those marks, they often show up as faint white lines and those can be tricky to hide.

Next, using yellow orange, red orange, orange, and brown, I started applying colour lightly to mark the darker areas. Some might say you should start with lighter colours. Personally, I prefer beginning with darker ones because it’s easier to blend them with light colours later, due to the waxy consistency of crayons. I’ve experimented with blending from light to dark in the past, but honestly, I get better results going dark to light, the transitions look much smoother this way. That’s just my opinion, though! Feel free to share your own experience in the comments below.

Blocking in darker tones with yellow orange, red orange, orange, and brown.

Once the darker areas were in place, I began applying the lighter colours: yellow and white, using a technique called burnishing, which means applying colour heavily with firm pressure. Here’s an interesting part: I used to think white was pointless because it’s “colourless.” But then I did a little experiment. I layered white over a light application of red-violet, and the result was a lovely pink. In a second test, I applied red violet from firm to light pressure, then layered white starting from the lighter end. The result was a smooth, less “freckled” transition from red-violet to white. My perception of white changed ever since and in this rose, I used it to blend and soften other colours beautifully.

The last part was the background. Using a layering technique, I lightly applied green, yellow green, brown, yellow, orange, and black on top of one another. This part is where I wasn’t fully satisfied. While the layering itself worked and suggests something, the final look just didn’t make much sense to me. But hey — like I said earlier, I really shouldn’t worry too much. It’s a good reminder that in my next project, I need to think through the background before I start applying colours.

Blending lighter tones with yellow and white using burnishing, followed by adding layered background colours to complete the drawing.

Now, the annoying mistake I mentioned at the beginning: one step I forgot to do after completing my pencil sketch was to lightly erase the lines with a kneaded eraser to lift some of the graphite. The reason this matters is that once you apply crayon over those lines, they become permanent and often even more visible. I kicked myself a little when I realised this, and I tried to mask those pencil lines with brown to make them less noticeable. I’m not a drawing expert, but I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll definitely remember to use the kneaded eraser next time before colouring.

That’s all I can share with you for now. Let me know what you think in the comments below, and I’ll see you in my next post.