After all, alcohol apparently makes a great blender for colored pencils. In the video, SuperRaeDizzle noticed that the longer she soaked the pencils, the more pigmented they became. The soaked colored pencils were definitely more pigmented and far smoother.

Best Colored Pencils

• Prismacolor Premier Soft Core Pencils (set of 72)
• Blick Studio Artists’ Colored Pencils (set of 48)
• Staedtler Ergosoft Colored Pencils (set of 24)
• ARTEZA Professional Wax-Based Core Pencils (set of 48)
• Fantasia Colored Pencils (set of 48)
• Cretacolor Mega Colored Pencils (set of 24)
• Derwent Colorsoft Pencils (set of 24)

Blending With the Help of Solvents Watch for any warping or damage. Colorless solvent markers can be used to soften and blend colored pencil and can create a watercolor-like effect. With watercolor pencils you can get the best of both worlds, using water to blend and overlaying it with burnished color.

Baby oil does an excellent job of blending the colored pencil applications with no streaking or color loss. Since baby oil is applied with a brush, larger areas are easily blended in a short amount of time.

The best way to get smooth color with colored pencils is by careful layering. It doesn’t matter what you’re drawing, or what pencils or paper you use. Draw each layer so carefully that the color needs little or no blending. For the smoothest color, use light pressure through several layers.

Rubbing alcohol is a great solvent for colored pencils. It breaks down the wax binder in most colored pencils and allows the pigments to blend more like paint. It’s also wonderful for restoring the paper’s tooth. When compared to other available solvents, it’s much less toxic and much more accessible.

Dry Blending Paper towel and bathroom tissue. Both are great for blending colored pencil and producing an eggshell smooth surface. They’re also easy to use. Simply fold a piece into quarters or smaller and rub them over the area you want to blend.

These colored pencils can be used with a brush and water to create brilliant watercolor effects.

A colored pencil drawing can easily have twenty to forty layers of color applied. Because of the translucent qualities of this media the colored papers can be used.

Dip a clean brush into the second paint color — the second-darkest shade — and paint the second fade panel of the wall. If blending the colors for a natural fade, blend the fresh paint into the first section slightly to mix the two shades, moving the brush into the unpainted areas as you work.

How to Correct Mistakes or Rework a Finished Colored Pencil Drawing

1. Carefully remove color with an edged eraser.
2. Add new color with matching strokes and pressure.
3. Work with the existing drawing whenever possible.
4. Add fixative to restore tooth when necessary.
5. Rework all areas of the drawing, for a unified look.

Colored pencils are mostly wax/oil that holds the pigment, so rubber won’t pick up their marks easily like graphite–you’ll probably find that an eraser just smudges colored pencil.

Prismacolor Premier® Col-Erase Colored Pencils feature vivid, easily-erasable pigments and an eraser that allows for easy correction. Perfect for illustrating, animating and designing, the medium point delivers intense, rich color laydown.

• Best for Overall: Prismacolor Scholar Latex Free Eraser.
• Best Budget: Sakura Sumo Grip Eraser.
• Best for Colored Pencils: Tombow MONO Colored Pencil Eraser.
• Best for Charcoal: Faber Castell Kneaded Eraser.
• Best for Canvas: Pentel Ain Regular Size Eraser.
• Best for Drawing: Tombow MONO Eraser.