The Ultimate Guide to Wax-Based Colored Pencils Techniques for Rich, Painterly Art,When artists step into the vast world of professional coloring media, they are immediately forced to make a massive decision: should they choose oil-based or wax-based colored pencils? While oil-based options are beloved for their hard leads and precision, wax-based colored pencils remain the absolute gold standard for achieving rich saturation, effortless blending, and smooth, buttery gradients.
If you are looking to create vibrant, smooth, and painterly drawings that look almost like oil paintings, mastering wax-based colored pencils is the fastest way to get there. Let’s dive deep into what makes these pencils unique, the pros and cons of using them, and the essential techniques you need to unlock their full potential.
What are Wax Based Colored Pencils?
Every colored pencil consists of pigment held together by a specific binding agent. In wax-based colored pencils, that binder is largely made of wax. This gives the core a much softer, creamier consistency than its oil-based counterparts.
When you apply a wax pencil to paper, it glides on smoothly, depositing a dense layer of rich, highly saturated color without requiring heavy physical pressure.
- Popular Wax-Based Brands: Prismacolor Premier (the industry favorite for soft-core blending), Caran d’Ache Luminance (the peak of luxury lightfast wax cores), and Derwent Coloursoft.
The Pros and Cons of Wax Based Cores.
Before you invest in a large set, it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of working with a softer, wax-heavy medium.
The Advantages.
- Superior Blendability: You can easily “smoosh” and mix different wax colors directly on the paper to create beautiful new shades and flawless, photorealistic gradients.
- Rich Color Laydown: Because the binder is soft, the pigment transfers to the paper incredibly fast, allowing you to fill in large areas of your drawing in a fraction of the time.
- Effortless Erasability: Generally speaking, light layers of wax-based colored pencils are much easier to lift or erase than oil-based pigments.
The Challenges .
- Core Fragility: Soft cores are much more prone to snapping or shattering inside the wooden casing if they are dropped or sharpened too aggressively.
- The Infamous “Wax Bloom”: This is the most common complaint among wax pencil artists. If you apply several heavy layers of wax on a drawing, a harmless but cloudy white film can rise to the surface over time, dulling the colors. Fortunately, this can be wiped away gently with a soft cloth and prevented entirely by using a standard fixative spray.
Essential Techniques for Wax Based Pencils.
To truly make your artwork shine, skip the standard scribbling and apply these three highly effective professional techniques.
- Master the Heavy Burnish
Because wax pencils fill up the tooth (the tiny ridges) of your paper incredibly fast, they are the absolute best choice for burnishing. Burnishing is the practice of pushing down heavily on your final layer using a white pencil, a cream pencil, or a specialized colorless blender. This crushes the paper fibers and melts the waxy layers together, eliminating all visible pencil strokes and giving your work a brilliant, glossy, painted finish.
- Protect Your Tooth with Light Layering
Just because wax pencils can put down heavy color quickly doesn’t mean you should press down hard right away! To get the most realistic depth, apply several extremely light, circular layers first. If you push down too hard initially, you will flatten the tooth of the paper, making it impossible to add any more colors or shading on top.
- Solvent Blending for Fast Coverage
Want to eliminate the tediousness of drawing smooth backgrounds? Apply your wax pencils lightly across the paper, then take a paint brush dipped in a tiny amount of odorless mineral spirits or rubbing alcohol. Gently brush it over the pencil work. The solvent will instantly melt the wax binder, spreading the pigment smoothly across the paper just like a wash of watercolor paint!
Conclusion.
Wax-based colored pencils are a truly magical medium for any artist looking to bring rich, buttery colors and seamless blends into their artwork. While they do require a gentle hand during sharpening and a watchful eye for wax bloom, the dynamic, painterly results they yield are simply unmatched by any other drawing tool. Grab a high-quality set, practice slow layering, and watch your drawings burst into life!