A beautiful encounter with oil pencils

Using oil pencils to make sketches

After making numerous sketches in pencils, I needed to try some other medium.  As I was still discovering myself, trying my hands at different mediums was the best approach. I was introduced to the oil pencils. These oil pencils, if used appropriately could give the look of finished oil paintings. This thought itself raised my curiosity to use them.

I made several sketches in oil pencils. I was not really satisfied with any of them. Sometimes the values would go darker; sometimes I would make them too light. I realized that the kind of pressure which is required with the simple graphite pencils might not work well with oil pencils. One has to understand and practice each medium to know that medium.  Very few things can be done with assumptions.

I had a challenge of sketching a glass bottle with the aid of oil pencils. The glass bottle had a plant inside it. The backdrop was a drapery. I took this challenge very seriously.  Even before starting, I knew that there will be lots of values involved.

I took a deep breath and started my sketch with proper measurement. I cannot emphasise on measurement enough. It’s like the foundation of a building. I kept the rules of composition in mind and finished the basic drawing. I started shading with oil pencils. It was quite fun to capture the design of glass bottle and the intricate roots of the plant. Giving the soft texture to the leaves and the drapery added to the challenge.

After long hours of careful detailing, the sketch started looking realistic. I received several praises for this sketch. This further enhanced my confidence to finish my sketch with aplomb.

Lessons that I learned by experimenting with oil pencils:

1. In order to know a medium, one has to practice that medium. The techniques that work with one might not be the same with other.
2. In order to capture the texture of different substances like glass, leaves, etc. one has to observe the gradation in values very carefully. It is also a comparative kind of study. The pressure that one needs to apply while making a glass is different from that applied when making a leaf.
3. Patience is the key. A good sketch in any medium requires careful planning, measurement and composition. One should take enough time to make sure that every little detail of the objects is captured.
4. It’s also important to know where to stop. If unsure whether to work more on the sketch or not, take a break for some time. After few minutes or time period, look at the sketch with fresh eyes. You might just find a detail that you missed earlier. You might also find that you don’t need to continue on a part that you earlier thought needed finishing.