Crayola Crayons

Got a new box of Crayola crayons to test and play around. Despite their popularity, I have not used them much lately myself since I prefer the softer and more pigmented Caran D'Ache Neocolor crayons. Still we always have a few sets available in most of our classrooms as a quick and easy coloring tool option.

While obviusly all were new, they were not arranged as shown on the picture on the back of the box.

Had to pour all six cardboard sleeves on my desk and sort them into their color families.

Also set aside the gel crayons and metallic versions.

Prefer to start a new box of coloring tools with every color neatly arranged accordin to their hue and tone.

Quick color sketch drawn on Deleter comic book paper. They work ok even on its smooth surface. Takes regular pressure and repeated passes to deposit enough colored wax over the paper surface. I consciously have to control my drawing pressure to avoid breaking the crayon since they are rather fragile.

Caran D'Ache Neocolor I wax pastels - Excellent coloring-choice for budding artists

Just reviewed these fine wax pastel crayons in my main art supplies blog.  They are an ideal choice for kids artists since it takes very little pressure to release the crayon's pigment on paper, cardboard, ceramic surfaces, and even plywood. Since Caran D'Ache Neocolor I crayons are wax based, they can also be used as resist with watercolors. My brother built these standing boards with 2' X 4' plywood boards.  I drew the designs, and my soon to be 5-years old nephew Mateo help me by coloring half of the target board. These two boards were drawn and colored in a few hours last night in the middle of a living room. 

The board on the left will be used a target practice for his ninja-theme birthday party, and the one of the right will serve as a fair-style photo board once the eye section is cut out to allow kids' faces to peek through the red ninja mask.  

Painting Ceramic Bowls in the After School Program - Part 2

Today we had several middle school students start their bowl painting project.
The first step was to apply a base coat of acrylic paint. Dabbing worked better than rubbing or wiping the paint with the sponge and we were told that should prolong the useful life of the sponges.Then each student will paint their own design on the prepped surface in the following art session.
While the students started work on their bowls, I used some Caran D'Ache Neocolor I wax pastels to color the dragon pattern on the sample bowl.
Even opened this metallic set I had in storage forever to apply some decorations on the terracotta side of the bowl.
Pretty happy with the finished sample. The Neocolor I crayons wax-based pigment readily adhered to the base coated surface of the bowl. If your kids have grown bored with the performance of average crayons, it might be time to introduce them to the Neocolor wax crayon sets. Their strength and high pigment load make them a great choice for coloring on paper and even ceramics as shown above.The following day, a few students took their 30 minutes art period to continue work on their bowls.Using a Sharpie to draw her coloring outline on the pre-painted bowl.Painting some decorative patterns.Finished applying golden crayon to the flame design and front paw.

A few more Mermaid coloring templates

Sample of mermaid fairy mini template colored with watercolors and highlighted with Caran D'Ache Neocolor I metallic crayons. For this coloring sample outlines were painted with watercolors, allowed to dry, and highlighted with metallic crayons in a bold manner reminiscent of the over drawings used on the Endangered Species portfolio (Warhol, 1983).
Another mermaid coloring template drawn with a Sakura Pigma Sensei 0.4 mm pigment liner pen.
No need to always color within the lines. Artists have the options of staying within the confines of the pre-drawn outlines or breaking free and apply color boldly in swatches to create excitement and catch the audience's attention. While it would not be practical nor safe to provide "diamond dust" (broken glass used by Warhol to add visual punch and interest to some of his series of prints) to students, similar results could be accomplished by using metallic crayons and sparkly glitter gel pens to add some finishing touches to marker colored templates.
Repeating pattern reflects Warhol's theme of multiples in much of his silk-screen print series.
Templates can be printed and colored with different color combinations to determine the best contrast and attractive designs by following the principles of color theory. Use a color wheel as reference to quickly pick sets of complementary colors for maximum impact.

A few more coloring templates

Continuing to enjoy doodling with the Uni-ball Signo bit 0.7 gel pen, created a few more coloring templates that might appeal more to girl tweens. After dragons (which seem to be universally popular with most kids of both genders) and princesses drawings, the following three subjects seem to be the more popular requests from girls during public sketching sessions.Pegasus/Unicorn set.
Mermaid set.
Faerie set.
Marker colored sample was done with Copic Sketch markers and Faber Castell Big Pitt Artist brush pens. Finishing highlights were applied with a Sakura metallic gel pen and Caran D'Ache Neocolor I metallic crayons though their sparkling effect was not picked up by the scanner.

Doodling with Caran D'Ache Neocolor I wax crayons

A fun doodling combo: Caran D'Ache Neocolor I wax crayons on tracing paper. First three were done on one side of the page, and last two samples were outlined on one side with pencil and colored on the back.
Chieftain inspired by some Mochica symbols from Sipan. Pencil outline colored with crayon.
Loose doodling after spotting a frog by the kitchen door. Should've referred to a photo reference though. I relied on older memorized symbols for "frog" with crazy coloring for this one. Pure crayon.
Monster sketched with pencil on one side of the sheet of tracing paper, and colored with crayons on the back.

On this composited mirror image the left side has the graphite on top, and the right side has the layer of crayon on top.

Another New Crayola crayons set review: Adding some neon visual punch to any crayons collection

Picked a new set of coloring tools when I spotted them on sale at Target: Crayola Twistables extreme colors ultra-bright twistable crayons . These crayons are quite strong and crumble very little under pressure producing very bright fluorescent colored patches. This set of 8 is quite a convenient way of adding visual punch and excitement to any collection of coloring crayons. The entire color palette is displayed in the picture below along with a few coloring samples that combine also some True to Life twistable crayons and Caran D'Ache Neocolor I crayons. "Lemon Glacier" in particular pops out just like a fluorescent yellow highlighter, and it was used on the energy sword, fairy wing, and dragon breath.
Had to go with a digital photograph since the bright fluorescent colors were not picked up by my scanner. Recommended fun kit that would also be ideal for decorating greeting cards and enhancing signs.