With their bright, clean colours and ability to make a range of marks, Caran d’Ache Supracolor Soft Aquarelle Pencils have much to offer the artist as Mary Herbert discovers.
What are aquarelle coloured pencils?
Water-soluble, or aquarelle, pencils appear identical to ordinary wax or oil-based coloured drawing pencils and can be used in exactly the same way.
The difference is in the structure of the binder that holds the pigment together. The binder used in water-soluble pencils is formulated to break down when water is present, allowing the pigment to be worked in many different ways.
About Supracolour
Caran d’Ache, pioneers of the watersoluble coloured pencil, first launched Supracolor in 1988, following up the huge success of Prismalo water-soluble pencils.
With their thinner leads, Supracolor immediately became popular and the range now extends to 120 individual colours, including metallic colour.
Top features:
- Great for working outside
- Effortless to work with
- Easy to sharpen
- Perfect for a wide range of mark making
- Bright, clean colours both wet and dry
- 120 colours available
- Can be used on a wide range of grounds
Where to buy
Supracolour Soft Aquarelle Pencils can be purchased from Jackson's Art Supplies by clicking here and from art shops and other online retailers.
Supracolour can be purchased individually and as sets of 12, 18, 30, 40, 80 an 120.
Working en plein air with Supracolour
Owenkilly River, Caran d’Ache Supracolor Soft Aquarelle Pencils on HP watercolour paper, (23x17cm)
As an outdoor sketching medium, the ability to combine line and wash makes Supracolor pencils ideal for recording colour, tone and texture quickly and effortlessly.
Explore ways of using the pencils
Having such soft leads, the pencils are effortless to work with, gliding smoothly across the paper, sensitive to varying pressure.
- I mixed colours by overlaying thin applications of different pencils, and created sharper, more opaque marks using firmer pressure.
- The soft wood of the pencils’ barrels is easy to sharpen with a knife, and carefully shaving the coloured core of each pencil with a scalpel makes a pin-sharp tip for really fine work.
- Broader marks are made easier by lightly sanding the pencil at an angle on very fine sandpaper or a nail file, to create a flat drawing edge.
- Shavings or sandings of colour can be dissolved in water in a palette or dish to create coloured washes to be applied directly to paper with a brush.
The colours are bright and clean and applying water to release the aquarelle property of the medium does not dull them.
The extensive range of 120 colours means there are many variants of tint and shade from which to select a palette specific to any chosen subject matter.
The pigments used are the same as the Caran d’Ache Pablo conventional coloured pencil range.
A handy guide sheet included in the tin suggests the many ways with which the colour can be combined with water, only hinting at the great versatility of this medium.
Using on different grounds
Palomino, Caran d’Ache Supracolor Soft Aquarelle Pencils on sanded paper, (16x16cm)
Using alternative drawing grounds reveals different properties of Supracolour pencils.
On sanded paper, the wetted colour takes on a pleasant granular characteristic, whilst dry colour picks up the fine texture of the surface.
Intense marks
Firstly I used the Supracolor pencils dry for pure, traditional drawing on ordinary cartridge paper.
I found that working in layers from light to dark produced the most satisfactory blends, which could be further softened by burnishing with a light colour, or gently darkened with black.
Using the pencil at an angle produced broad, soft marks, whilst the sharpened tip was capable of very fine detail, lending itself well to precise accurate drawing, hatching, and blocking in of colour.
Due to the softness of the lead, the pencil glided easily over the surface of the paper, making fast, expressive work a real pleasure.
Drawing on dark grounds
Rose, Caran d’Ache Supracolor Soft Aquarelle Pencils on black drawing paper, (15x17cm)
The glow and opacity of Supracolor pencils really come into their own when used on a dark ground.
I made selected areas more transparent by brushing them with water, and used dry colour to pick out the highlights and more intense hues.
Techniques for working with Supracolour
A very pleasing and effective way to work with Supracolor is to fill neighbouring areas of a picture with different colours and then brush water on to manipulate them.
In order to paint an area of colour without streaks, use the side of the pencil lead to broadly cover the paper with a thin layer prior to applying water.
If a more textural effect is desired, defined lines drawn before wet-brushing will show through the wash.
As well as brush painting and spraying, water can be put on and lifted with a sponge or cloth to create textural effects.
When water is applied, the colours dry rapidly, allowing further working over with dry pencil without too much waiting time.
Once dry, most of the colours exhibit no colour shift after wetting.
Using the pencils on damp or even sopping wet paper produces soft-edged but intense marks, great for expressive, colourful line drawings.
Supracolor can be used just like traditional watercolour pans by scribbling on spare paper and lifted with a wet brush to paint onto a picture.
Exploring Supracolor pencils on different surfaces throws up even more possibilities: canvas, black ground, sanded paper, handmade paper and even natural surfaces like stone and wood all lend themselves to different effects.
Final thoughts
Many peoples’ experience of drawing with coloured pencils is limited to using cheap, hard, children’s colouring sets which are dull and tend to shred the paper to ribbons. Let me assure you, Supracolour pencils are very different to this, and if you are an artist who hasn’t used coloured pencils since school, I encourage you to give them a try and restore your faith in this flexible medium.
Possibly the most convenient and multipurpose of colour media, watersoluble coloured pencils belong in every artist’s kit Supracolor’s ease of use, consistency and colour range should earn them a place in yours.
Video from Caran d'Ache Youtube channel
Caran d’Ache Supracolor Soft Aquarelle Pencils are available from all good art shops and mail-order retailers.
Click here for more details.
Mary Herbert studied art and photography and is a member of the Society of Equestrian Artists.
For more information, see www.portra.co.uk.
