Colored Pencil Painting Bible: Techniques for Achieving Luminous Color and Ultrarealistic Effects

Making art has been one o the greatest passions of my lifetime. I have had a formal art education (BA - Fine Arts) and, like most artists, hobbyists or professional, I have learned and developed most of my technique through practice and a lot of trial and error. A lot of practice. A lot pf trial. And a lot of error! As happens to many people, life got in the way over the years, and my focus on making art has gone through many shifts. But recent changes have brought me back to what used to be my medium of choice, colored pencil drawing. As with any discipline, I was feeling a bit rusty around the edges, and the aspects of this particular medium (and of drawing in general) where I was not proficient were even more painfully obvious to me, now that I was "restarting"...

While browsing online, I discovered this book and read some really positive reviews. I was intrigued to read that the author favored Prismacolor pencils (one of the two brands I prefer - the other is Lyra) and I was very impressed by the ultra realism of the cover and the drawings I saw in the previews. I also liked the fact that it said Colored Pencil PAINTING, because I have always thought the style and technique I favor - a heavy, opaque coloring, rather than a soft sketchy style - was more akin to painting than the drawing/sketching that most people think of when they think of colored pencils. I knew that when I was last heavily involved in this medium, a good 25 or so years ago, this style or approach, and the colored pencil medium in general was still considered a relatively new medium (in the general scheme of artist's media through the ages) and that people had been experimenting and pushing the techinique envelope, and new products had been developing as well. So when I saw that there were several used copies of this book available, I thought I would give it a chance, surely there would be something between the covers for me.

What a huge, happy surprise awaited me when the package arrived! Not only does this book cover the ultrarealistic effects and luminous colors that are the author's forte, it also gives a good overview of principles of design, composition, color theory, fundamentals of light, shading and shadows, and other topics that are applicable to just about all visual art media, not just colored pencil. It even contains a different approach tto color theory than what I had been taught all those many years ago, and that quickly deepened my understanding of layering and blending colors in a way that years of trial and error (and yes, more error) hadn't accomplished.

The focus of the book, as promised by the title, is on colored pencil drawing (painting), specifically with "dry" wax or oil based pencils (not watercolor pencils) So naturally a lot of pages are devoted to materials, media, supplies and tools. It covers the difference and similarities between wax and oil based pencils and specific brands thereof - including hardness, blendability, color range, and the "feel" of the pencil on the page plus an appendix with charts of all the major manufacturers' colored pencils and their ratings for lightfastness. It also explains the pros and cons of different types and weights of paper, even mentioning some by brand. Erasers and erasing technique, blending//burnishing and the use of solvents are covered. Just about anything you need to know about stocking and setting up your studio to enable you to use this medium to its maximum potential can be found in this book. No matter what your level of experience and expertise, you are bound to find something in the tools and techniques section of this book to make you say "wow! I did not know that!"

And finally, we get to one of the main objectives of this book - creating textures and surfaces. Step by step, section by section it covers the techniques and "tricks" for rendering various surface and background textures: greenery, flowers, fruits and vegetables, water, ice, fire, wood, metal, pearls, cut crystal, various fabrics, all covered step by step. This is followed by an introduction to practicing with simple still lifes, one of the most accessible subjects and an excellent study in texture, color, light and composition. The book ends with a series of exercises in technique -- single object studies from start to finish, each featuring a different type of surface texture.

This book is an essential in the library of anyone who is interested in making art with colored pencils. It doesn't specifically cover some of the more common subjects -- landscapes, portraits, etc, but gives you the building blocks for the solid foundation you will need even when taking on such subjects. I am sure that I will return to it over and over for reference, and look forward to deepening and expanding my understanding of the medium, and to honing my technique. With this book, and more practice (and I am sure more trial and lots of error) I hope to tackle some of those "weak points" that have perplexed me since I first put pencil to paper, which will greatly improve my enjoyment of the medium that I love.

If you need a good book that touches on every aspect of colored pencil drawing, this is it. It covers information about the supplies you need to get started creating some serious art pieces. It also has invaluable information for the beginner about color, hue, values, design, composition, textures and patterns. It's like a good art class right there in your hand. I recommend this book to serious beginners as a great place to start making some awesome artwork.

I am working my way through this book. I started with the adult coloring books and quickly decided there was more than just staying inside the lines, so I picked this book up after reading the reviews. As a beginner to Colored Pencils and as someone who has bought numerous art instruction books in other mediums, I can say this one is actually the best I've ever seen! Easy to follow, understand and to get reasonable results on the first try. Of course, like anything else, it takes practice, practice, practice. I've only done a couple of the exercises in the back and can already see improvement. Well thought out for the beginner -buy it and explore a whole new world!

OK. This is a good book, just not as good as I had hoped. The author/artist's technique info is good and useful. This makes the book worth getting. However, and I am trying to say this without sounding like a moron, she is somewhat excessively wordy for my taste. The author writes nicely and presents things well. However, there is a good portion of the book taken up by basic art fundamentals that can be found in many other books (If you are a complete novice, you'll find it helpful). And a lot of what she put in it seemed like filler. In addition, the instruction/learning factor would have benefited from more photos in the book, especially of work in progress demonstrating the techniques being discussed. It just seemed I had to read a heck of a lot before I found something useful and then read a whole lot more before the next useful tidbit. I also found myself wanting to see what she was referencing in her descriptions of technique, but alas, it was not pictured. In summary: Great artist, great art work and useful information in the book once you sift through it.

Colored pencil painting has evolved tremendously over the years, and has become very appealing even to artists who have traditionally used oils, watercolors and acrylics. The last time I used colored pencils for anything more than sketching was more than 40 years ago, and I was not really aware of their potential. I thought it would be a good thing to explore again, as a change, so I started looking for a really good book on colored pencil technique, and eventually decided to buy this one. " Colored Pencil Painting Bible" promises to tell you everything you need to know about technique, even if you are new to the medium.
After reading through it I would say that it seems to fulfill its promise. You will learn how to layer color, blend, create backgrounds, gradations of color and textures, and how to erase. There are exercises, made simple enough for the novice, that you can follow step by step—-Ms. Nickelson provides templates for the drawings and tells you exactly what colors to use to get the same effects shown in her examples. Doing is learning. The purpose of the exercises is to get you started. After reading the book I tried a couple of her “tricks” with graphite pencil, and they worked beautifully.
But what if you do not want, finally, to create hyper-realistic images, still life paintings of fruit, flowers, glass, lace? All the books I could find on the subject of colored pencil have as their goal the production of hyper-realist images—-whether it’s still life or portraiture. In Ms. Nickelson’s book, the finished colored pencil paintings are almost identical to the photo references. Of course, this is partly because both are reproductions. The colored pencil paintings are highly accomplished, polished, complex examples of mimetic realism. Ms. Nickelson does talk about concept and planning, but this book is mainly about rendering: color, texture, light—-and that’s OK, because once you understand how to layeri and blend, there are many stylistic possibilities for this versatile medium.
The author generously shares her knowledge of techniques and materials, so that even if you do not choose to paint from photographic references, or in a hyper-realist style, this book would be a good one to own.

ANother claim to biblehood with no meat. No proper howtos in this book. Better find some YT videos to learn how to draw.

Should not be called the "painting bible". Too many words and not enough content overall. Did not have a good step by step process. A better book would have a good step by step process like the book Creating Radiant Flowers with Colored Pencils. Highly recommend that one. But it was a great seller. Came to my house on time and in a new condition.

[[VIDEOID:85b8cda5ac40b7c7c2f7398d959fee2]] Step by step to get amazing textures. Since materials, techniques and incredible pictures of colored pencils works, it could seem a little advanced, however start with basic strokes.

Its just lessons on still life. I at least would like a few things about skin tones and fur considering it's called the colored pencil "bible". It does have quite a few techniques and tricks I didn't think of/know about but if your like me and you want to draw things that are alive this book is not for you. There's just no variety.

I bought this book because it is a best seller in colored pencil category. However, I was somewhat disappointed. For such a large book, there are very few author's works and then they are all still life with fruits or some flowers. It is nice to have a lot of written information but picture is worth a thousand words. And who has time or desire to make multiple copies of color chips on acetate to overlay each other? Overall, I liked the author's artwork but it is not realistic enough to call it ultrarealistic. The book is just boring to me. In my opinion, there are better books on colored pencil that provide more inspiration and better step by step visual instructions. I found books by Lee Hammond, Ann Kullberg, Gary Greene, Janie Gildow, Pat Averill and Bernard Poulin more helpful and exciting than this best seller.