Using Watercolor Pencils On Ceramics

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.

Using watercolor pencils on ceramics.

Once the pottery piece is fired in a kiln it will look like it was painted using watercolor paints. Just create your desired colors on the page first and mix in water to get your paint. When using watercolor pencils you will need for sure some brushes. Watercolor pencils are designed to be used with water which can be applied with a soft brush after making marks with the pencil.

Guidelines also can be painted on with vermilion watercolor paint which also burns away. Much more so than paint sets. The colors blend seamlessly providing more dimension in pieces. This allows the colors to spread like watercolor paint when painted over with water but it also makes them more difficult to blend without the use of water.

This results in darker colors. But once you get used to that you can create beautiful watercolor like surfaces. Apply water to an area then color in with a pencil. The main difference is that the glazed bisque surface absorbs the color and water mixture more quickly.

Watercolor underglazes work best on bisque fired pieces since a great deal of water is needed to apply them. Using this type of underglaze can achieve painterly effects. This process is called activation. I love water brushes as they are perfect to have for when you are on the go and inspiration strikes you.

The image above shows arteza s water brush pens. 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. Ceramic stains and underglazes mixed with water painted on unfired white glazed bisque is pretty similar to watercolor painting on paper. Pencil sets are compact and easy to carry.

Apply pencil lightly over very large areas and use the wet paint brush to fill it in. 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. Apply pencil to the outside edges of a shape then fill in with a wet paint brush. Once the material has been activated it behaves like watercolor.

On the test tile above you can see the difference one coat of clear glaze makes to the watercolor surface. Use watercolor pencils as portable paints. For example although you cannot apply actual watercolor paints onto ceramic clay pottery you can apply ceramic glazes onto the unfinished pottery work to look like it was painted with watercolor paint. As you apply the water mimic the shape and direction of the pencil strokes.