Easy way to blend coloured pencils! Drawing tree frogs using an Icarus board

Coloured Pencils are such a versatile medium, I usually use them on their own and layer and blend, but when I'm using hot press paper I find the burnishing stage can be a bit much for my joints as I have to press very hard and I'm more naturally light handed. So finding something that can help that has really made me fall a little bit in love with Fabriano Artistico - a paper I don't get on with as much as others.

The Icarus board is a large metal board that heats up - it has a number of settings from warm to really quite hot, and allows you to work your wax based pencils on top of it to create some really stunning effects - plus makes it easier to burnish.

Some of my students who have joint issues including arthritis have found the heat really beneficial - heat is always lovely for sore joints, but the added benefit of making things easier to blend means they can use light pressure.

The board is expensive, but so worth the investment, there are alternatives (although I'd always recommend the board due to its size and heat settings) reptile pads and seedling heat pads can also be very useful when used in conjunction with a thermostat. I even used a hairdryer before I got the icarus board!

This time lapse is taken from my latest coloured pencil tutorial - and in this one I'm using an Icarus heat board - link here ▶️ https://icarusart.net/

Materials use:
Icarus Painting Board
Fabriano Artistico Hot Press Paper
Luminance Coloured Pencils

Photo Credit: Juanita Knowles

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