Using Watercolor Pencils On Ceramics

I love water brushes as they are perfect to have for when you are on the go and inspiration strikes you.

Using watercolor pencils on ceramics.

Typically water is applied with a brush but sponges and other tools can be used as well. Apply pencil to the outside edges of a shape then fill in with a wet paint brush. Apply water to an area then color in with a pencil. Just create your desired colors on the page first and mix in water to get your paint.

Much more so than paint sets. Apply pencil lightly over very large areas and use the wet paint brush to fill it in. Use watercolor pencils as portable paints. This results in darker colors.

Marks made with graphite pencils on ceramic surfaces will burn out in the firing which can be very convenient as the firing erases the guidelines or grids used for painting or drawing on patterns and designs in ceramic pigments. On the test tile above you can see the difference one coat of clear glaze makes to the watercolor surface. Ceramic stains and underglazes mixed with water painted on unfired white glazed bisque is pretty similar to watercolor painting on paper. Watercolor pencils are similar to colored pencils but use water soluble binders to hold their components together rather than non water soluble wax or oil.

Pencil sets are compact and easy to carry. Okay this isn t really a technique but one really nice benefit of watercolor pencils is that you can use them as on the go paints. The main difference is that the glazed bisque surface absorbs the color and water mixture more quickly. But once you get used to that you can create beautiful watercolor like surfaces.

Using this type of underglaze can achieve painterly effects. When using watercolor pencils you will need for sure some brushes. Once the material has been activated it behaves like watercolor. Guidelines also can be painted on with vermilion watercolor paint which also burns away.

Watercolor underglazes work best on bisque fired pieces since a great deal of water is needed to apply them. Watercolor pencils are designed to be used with water which can be applied with a soft brush after making marks with the pencil. This process is called activation. Once the pottery piece is fired in a kiln it will look like it was painted using watercolor paints.

The image above shows arteza s water brush pens. As you apply the water mimic the shape and direction of the pencil strokes. The colors blend seamlessly providing more dimension in pieces. This will feel the most like watercolor painting except that instead of dipping your brush into watercolor paint you re using water to spread pigment already on the paper.