How to Blend Colored Pencils With Gamsol (Mineral Spirits)

Want to learn more about using Gamsol in your coloring and colored pencil work? Look no further.

** What is Gamsol?

Gamsol is a clear 100% odorless mineral spirits - a lot of the time people aren't quite sure how they work, but it is a phenomenal tool if you work with colored pencils.

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** Gamsol Prep & Notes

Gamsols main purpose is to break down colored pencils and help them blend better.
This tool IS a solvent, which means you want to keep it closed when you're not using it so it doesn't evaporate.

We recommend storing a small amount of your minerals in a small glass jar, like a baby food jar, with a cotton ball in the bottom. Pour some Gamsol in until it's completely soaked the cotton but isn't layering the bottom of the container. This will help prevent spills and is easy to control the amount you're using.

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** How do you use Gamsol?

Gamsol is used to move the color on your page.

Layer your colored pencils in like you normally would. When you get to a point where you want a smoother look THAT is when you want to break out your Gamsol.

There are a couple of ways to use Gamsol to smooth and blend your colored pencil layers.

The first way is to use a brush.
A flat tip brush is great for large spaces and a small round brush is good for detail work.
Dip your brush into the wet cotton ball so it coats the tip of your brush.
Take your paintbrush and start to brush in the direction your colored pencil lines are moving.

The second way is to use a blending stump.
Dip your blending stump into the wet cotton ball to pick up some Gamsol. You should be able to tell where it is wet.
Don't forget to close your mineral spirits so they don't evaporate!
Use a circular motion to blend your colored pencils with the blending stump.

Note: some people don't like using a blending stump because it soaks up so much Gamsol, BUT it blends similar in feel to a colored pencil. So if you're more comfortable using a pencil than a paint brush. Try the blending stump.

Blending stumps need to be designated to a single color family OR you can file down the tip to remove a previously soaked color so it isn't transferred to your next project.

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