Blocks of rich colour
To create blocks of intense colour, hold the pencil in an almost vertical position and press down hard on the paper.
Shading
To colour an area evenly, hold the pencil at a very shallow angle, and only press down lightly on the paper. The structure of the paper will be visible, while individual strokes will not.
From light to dark
Light colours are transparent, while dark colours provide coverage. Superimposing layers of colour increases the brilliance and vividness of the colours.
Running and dissolving with water
Paint over a coloured surface on the paper with a damp brush. The more often the surface is painted over, the more the strokes will dissolve.
Hatching and cross-hatching
Drawing many lines alongside each other will create an area of colour, which can be intensified by repeatedly overlaying lines at different angles.
Dissolving the colour with a spray bottle
Spraying the coloured surface with water from a spray bottle will make the colours especially intense and cause them to merge into interesting transitions, based on the structure of the paper.
Drawing on wet paper
The artists’ watercolour pencils release a great deal of pigment when used on dampened paper. The pencil tips become very soft, and glide smoothly across the paper.
Glazing technique
Areas that have been painted over completely with water will dry into the paper, and can, depending on the paper, subsequently be painted over again. Painting with glazes gives a picture layer-for-layer depth.
Fixing
Albrecht Dürer artists’ watercolour pencils adhere firmly to the paper and do not require fixing. “UV sprays” will also only enhance their permanence in rare cases.