<p>The color set you have used is actually not suitable to produce such fine art on paper like the bird. Rather you would better understand if you take a look on the leaves (greenish bulgings),  the color has not been equally distributed. This happens when the pencil is pushed forward and backward with pressure and the nip of the pencil breaks in small portions. This happens with everyone, at least when they have just started their art. </p>

<p>Now going back to your point. If you want to have darker arts with your current set of pencils here's a trick you can apply. Take two drops of water in a pallete or container. Take your pencil and use it as a brush. Just plunge it for 2 seconds on that drop and apply on paper. The first 2-3 shades will be darker. </p>

<p>Or for better results: try using darker shares of colors and merge it as it seems fit. Like with dark green you might apply brown or black there. </p>

<p>Or change your color pencil set. (<strong>not preferred if you are a novice</strong>). Many pro people grab Staedtler/Maped/Copic. Although the first two color brands are available on medium range. The third one is definitely heavy on pocket. So if you can compromise with accuracy, you surely will get precise results with your current set of colors. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-07T02:52:06.133Z
It's not really the grade of the pencils (though that certainly doesn't hurt): it's that the hummingbird was colored with *watercolor pencils*. As in, it's really a watercolor painting, but the color came from pencil-shaped objects instead of tubes or pans. It's a different order of operations than straight-up painting, but the ingredients are the same: pigment, binder, water, paper. Regular colored pencils use binders that aren't water-soluble, so they will always look like, well, pencils.
Martha
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-07T05:41:08.507Z
@Martha oh, so the example I posted is wrong! Can you post an example of pencil color drawing? I am not able to distinguish between water pencil colors and pencil color drawings.
Aquarius_Girl
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-07T07:14:59.907Z
Search in Google water color pencil, buy one and try to apply it, you will get the difference
Demietra95
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-07T07:17:49.507Z
@Martha  yes water color pencils are quite different and shades come in just as toned and tight as in watercolor but as OP wanted the type of pencils same, I preferred any of them.
Demietra95
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-06T11:50:40.437Z
2016-06-06T12:42:02.583Z
2016-06-06T12:42:02.583Z
Demietra95
<p>In the drawing of the hummingbird you posted, darker colored pencils are being used. Children's sets usually have bright, basic colors.</p>

<p>However, you may have some luck getting darker colors by layering what you have. Read up on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory" rel="noreferrer">color theory</a> and combine colors to give the illusion of overall darker hues. The section on tints &amp; shades from the wiki article is particularly helpful, and includes reasoning as to why you should avoid darkening colors with black or lightening them with white:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>It is common among some painters to darken a paint color by adding
  black paint—producing colors called shades—or lighten a color by
  adding white—producing colors called tints. However it is not always
  the best way for representational painting, as an unfortunate result
  is for colors to also shift in hue. [...] Lightening a
  color by adding white can cause a shift towards blue when mixed with
  reds and oranges. Another practice when darkening a color is to use
  its opposite, or complementary, color (e.g. purplish-red added to
  yellowish-green) in order to neutralize it without a shift in hue, and
  darken it if the additive color is darker than the parent color. </p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-01T15:56:42.900Z
2016-06-02T15:20:22.687Z
2016-06-02T15:20:22.687Z
jackwise
<p>I use these <a href="http://www.firstcry.com/faber-castell/faber-castell-24-tri-colour-pencils/253734/product-detail?ref=GoogleShopping_10_stationery&amp;gclid=CPnbisaehs0CFREWaAodHS4CmA" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Faber Castell colors for school children</a>: </p>

<p>This is what I have tried:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/mh2vcl.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mh2vcl.jpg" alt="enter link description here"></a></p>

<p>Despite after repeatedly coloring the same areas with these pencil colors, I could not get better results.</p>

<p>Though I can't afford artist grade pencils of Faber castell, I still wish to get the dark colors as shown in the following drawing:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/FVFUJm.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/FVFUJm.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a><br>
<sub>Art by <a href="http://www.dan-stirling.com/prints/hummingbird/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Dan Stirling</a></sub></p>

<p>What can I do to get the desired results?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-01T19:30:45.503Z
What paper are you using in your picture? That could affect what you are doing. Blending could have been done as well to remove some of the whitespace.
Matt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-02T00:49:46.307Z
@Matt I don't  know. The paper does not have label.
Aquarius_Girl
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-08T08:56:58.353Z
TIA - Paper matters, too. With colored pencils, you need paper with a bit of "tooth", enough roughness to hold the pigment, But if you want a smoother drawing, try paper with less tooth. Be sure to experiment with different kinds of paper just as you will with different types of colored pencils. Here's a beginner primer: http://drawsketch.about.com/od/drawingpaper/
Inspector 8
<colored-pencils>
How to get dark colors on paper through pencil colors?
Aquarius_Girl
# How to get dark colors on paper through pencil colors?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-01)

I use these [Faber Castell colors for school children](http://www.firstcry.com/faber-castell/faber-castell-24-tri-colour-pencils/253734/product-detail?ref=GoogleShopping_10_stationery&gclid=CPnbisaehs0CFREWaAodHS4CmA):

This is what I have tried:

[![enter link description here](https://i.sstatic.net/mh2vcl.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/mh2vcl.jpg)

Despite after repeatedly coloring the same areas with these pencil colors, I could not get better results.

Though I can't afford artist grade pencils of Faber castell, I still wish to get the dark colors as shown in the following drawing:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/FVFUJm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/FVFUJm.jpg)  
Art by [Dan Stirling](http://www.dan-stirling.com/prints/hummingbird/)

What can I do to get the desired results?

**Tags:** colored-pencils

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: What paper are you using in your picture? That could affect what you are doing. Blending could have been done as well to remove some of the whitespace.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 I don't  know. The paper does not have label.  
> **username_2**: TIA - Paper matters, too. With colored pencils, you need paper with a bit of "tooth", enough roughness to hold the pigment, But if you want a smoother drawing, try paper with less tooth. Be sure to experiment with different kinds of paper just as you will with different types of colored pencils. Here's a beginner primer: http://drawsketch.about.com/od/drawingpaper/  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2016-06-01. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

In the drawing of the hummingbird you posted, darker colored pencils are being used. Children's sets usually have bright, basic colors.

However, you may have some luck getting darker colors by layering what you have. Read up on [color theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory) and combine colors to give the illusion of overall darker hues. The section on tints & shades from the wiki article is particularly helpful, and includes reasoning as to why you should avoid darkening colors with black or lightening them with white:

> It is common among some painters to darken a paint color by adding
> black paint—producing colors called shades—or lighten a color by
> adding white—producing colors called tints. However it is not always
> the best way for representational painting, as an unfortunate result
> is for colors to also shift in hue. [...] Lightening a
> color by adding white can cause a shift towards blue when mixed with
> reds and oranges. Another practice when darkening a color is to use
> its opposite, or complementary, color (e.g. purplish-red added to
> yellowish-green) in order to neutralize it without a shift in hue, and
> darken it if the additive color is darker than the parent color.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-06-06. Score: 5

The color set you have used is actually not suitable to produce such fine art on paper like the bird. Rather you would better understand if you take a look on the leaves (greenish bulgings), the color has not been equally distributed. This happens when the pencil is pushed forward and backward with pressure and the nip of the pencil breaks in small portions. This happens with everyone, at least when they have just started their art.

Now going back to your point. If you want to have darker arts with your current set of pencils here's a trick you can apply. Take two drops of water in a pallete or container. Take your pencil and use it as a brush. Just plunge it for 2 seconds on that drop and apply on paper. The first 2-3 shades will be darker.

Or for better results: try using darker shares of colors and merge it as it seems fit. Like with dark green you might apply brown or black there.

Or change your color pencil set. (**not preferred if you are a novice**). Many pro people grab Staedtler/Maped/Copic. Although the first two color brands are available on medium range. The third one is definitely heavy on pocket. So if you can compromise with accuracy, you surely will get precise results with your current set of colors.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: It's not really the grade of the pencils (though that certainly doesn't hurt): it's that the hummingbird was colored with *watercolor pencils*. As in, it's really a watercolor painting, but the color came from pencil-shaped objects instead of tubes or pans. It's a different order of operations than straight-up painting, but the ingredients are the same: pigment, binder, water, paper. Regular colored pencils use binders that aren't water-soluble, so they will always look like, well, pencils.  
> **username_0**: @username_4 oh, so the example I posted is wrong! Can you post an example of pencil color drawing? I am not able to distinguish between water pencil colors and pencil color drawings.  
> **username_3**: Search in Google water color pencil, buy one and try to apply it, you will get the difference  
> **username_3**: @username_4  yes water color pencils are quite different and shades come in just as toned and tight as in watercolor but as OP wanted the type of pencils same, I preferred any of them.  

---

