Creating Textures in Colored Pencil || Gary Greene

As a quick and easy to access guide, this volume, originally published in 1996, is hard to beat. It pretty much says what it does in the title, and each subject is dealt with in a single page. This inevitably means that coverage is sparse and you’re left on your own to develop techniques further, but conciseness has its virtue and you get everything quickly and straightforwardly.

The range of subjects varies from the inevitable rusty metal and weather-beaten timber to water, flowers and human faces. There really isn’t much more you could wish for. I do take issue with the cover’s claim of “50+ step-by-step demonstrations”, as a single image and 5 or 6 numbered steps does not, in my humble opinion, make for a full-on demonstration. However the information is all there and you may find that you far prefer the lack of fuss to pages and pages of only slightly different steps.

	Creating Textures in Colored Pencil Book with Gary Greene

The Ultimate Guide to Colored Pencil || Gary Greene

Whenever I come across a book that calls itself the ultimate anything, I give it my particular attention. My antennae are up because it’s a bold claim and, almost invariably, they can’t live up to it. So, it give me great pleasure to say that this is one of those rare volumes that totally fails to disappoint.

There’s a nice progression here, from a concise yet comprehensive introduction to the many types of pencil available as well as other tools such as paper, sharpeners, solvents and erasers. The next section is devoted to the use of reference photographs which, although not strictly necessary, is really rather well-handled and alone worth having the book for.

The practical sections progress from basic techniques to demonstrations covering layering, burnishing and underpainting as well as the use of water-soluble pencils. Subject matter is pleasantly varied (in this type of book, you often find you have to insert a caveat that it’s a bit limited) and there are plenty of step by step demonstrations. Oh, and the book even comes with a 55 minute DVD showing all the stages of painting a rose.

All-in-all, this is amazingly good value and an excellent introduction to coloured pencils as a serious drawing medium.

	The Ultimate Guide to Colored Pencil Book with Gary Greene