Interactive Table of Contents (Click on topic to go to page. Main sections = black, Technique / Resource pages = navy, Art pages = cyan, Sponsor pages = green) Watercolor Crayon Techniques For Stampers . . . 3 Marilyn Sweeney’s Artwork . . . 23 StampScrapArtTour’s Page . . . 45 What Are Watercolor Crayons? . . . 4 Marilyn Sweeney’s Artwork . . . 24 Experiment With Watercolor Crayons . . . 46 About Art Accents’ Page . . . 6 Absolutely Everything’s Page . . . 25 Hanni Vanziel’s Artwork . . . 47 Choosing Surfaces . . . 7 Color on a Palette . . . 26 Learn More From VSN . . . 48 Hanni Vanziel’s Artwork . . . 8 Nancie Waterman’s Artwork . . . 27 Other VSN eArticles . . . 48 General Tips . . . 9 Nancie Waterman’s Artwork . . . 31 VSN Print Pdf Issues . . . 49 & Watercolor Crayon Techniques . . . 10 Shona Erlenborn’s Artwork . . . 32 To Get More eArticles . . . 50 Color & Blend Dry . . . 10 Touch and Paint . . . 33 Please Spread the Word . . . 51 Nancie Waterman’s Artwork . . . 13 Wanda Hentges’ Artwork . . . 34 Sponsor an eArticle . . . 51 Rubber Hedgehog’s Page . . . 14 Marilyn Sweeney’s Artwork . . . 35 Find VSN Online . . . 51 Use With Regular Wax Crayons . . . 15 Coloring Wet . . . 36 Odds Ends . . . 52 & Color Dry & Then Blend Wet . . . 16 Nancie Waterman’s Artwork . . . 37 Art Drawing Submission . . . 52 & Nancie Waterman’s Artwork . . . 17 Repeat Impression’s Page . . . 38 Printing this eArticle . . . 52 Hanni Vanziel’s Artwork . . . 18 Color On A Stamp . . . 39 VSN’s Readers’ Gallery Access . . . 52 Nancie Waterman’s Artwork . . . 20 Wanda Hentges’ Artwork . . . 42 eArticle Copyright Statement . . . 52 Shona Erlenborn’s Artwork . . . 21 Hanni Vanziel’s Artwork . . . 43 Heat Embossed Resists . . . 22 Using the Shavings . . . 44 Page 2 VSN eArticle ( ) ©Copyright Nancie Waterman 2013 All Rights Reserved Go to Contents www.vampstampnews.com Watercolor Crayon Techniques For Stampers In the world of rubber stamps, watercolor crayons don’t get a lot of love. There is something about a crayon, with its association with the scribbled art of our childhoods, that can keep us from giving watercolor art crayons the respect they deserve. But these handy little sticks of pigment can be used in many different ways in stamping. The results can be bright and beautiful! Page 3 VSN eArticle ( ) ©Copyright Nancie Waterman 2013 All Rights Reserved Go to Contents www.vampstampnews.com What Are Watercolor Crayons? Watercolor crayons and regular wax crayons are both made of pigment, wax binder and other ingredients formed into a bluntly pointed stick. And both are usually wrapped with a paper label. But, while regular wax crayons resist water, watercolor crayons dissolve in water. They can be used dry like regular wax crayons or wet like watercolor paint. Why Not Just Use Watercolor Paint? Watercolor artists typically use traditional watercolor paints. The crayon format is an addi- tional option. They are very portable and can be less messy than using watercolor in tube or pan form. It also lets you work dry in a drawing-like way and then use water to blend, something you can’t really do with tube or pan watercolors. It is a different approach and a different medium in use. Crayon or Pastel? Watercolor crayons are sometimes called “water soluble crayons”, “watercolor pastels” or “water soluble pastels”. “Pastels” may be a more marketable word when selling to artists in some parts of the world, but these are not the same as hard pastel or soft pastel mediums. Page 4 VSN eArticle ( ) ©Copyright Nancie Waterman 2013 All Rights Reserved Go to Contents www.vampstampnews.com Grades & Brands: With all art supplies, you For the samples in this eArticle, I used a set of should purchase the best quality that you can twelve Lyra Aquacolor water soluble crayons as afford, artist quality if possible. Scholastic grade well as another eleven individual open stock colors watercolor crayons for kids tend to cost about from the Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Artists’ Cray- fifty cents to a dollar each and are usually sold ons line, purchased from Dick Blick Art Materials. in sets. Brands include: Faber-Castell Watercolor Similar Mediums: Similar water-soluble art Crayons, Prang Payons and Sargent Art Water mediums include watercolor pencils as well as Color Crayons. Faber-Castell’s Gel-Sticks and Gelatos. Derwent’s Water soluble crayons for artists are more highly Inktense Blocks are instead water soluble sticks of pigmented and lightfast. They typically cost ink. Gel-Sticks, Gelatos and Inktense Pencils or between around $1.50 to $3 each. Most of these Blocks are permanent when dry, while watercolor art crayons are sold in sets but some can also be crayons and watercolor pencils can be reactivated purchased individually, which is nice if you are with water even after having dried. These other looking for specific colors or need to replace one water-soluble products can be used in some of the color but don’t need the replace the whole set. techniques covered in this eArticle. Brands include: Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Artists’ Learn More: For more on Gel-Sticks and Gela- Crayons (aka watersoluble wax pastels), Derwent tos, see “Gelatos, Gel-Sticks & Stamps” eArticle. For Artbar, Holbein Watersoluble Crayons, Lyra colored pencils, see “Colored Pencils” eArticle. Aquacolor and Staedtler Karat Aquarell. Next: A page from one of our Sponsors. Page 5 VSN eArticle ( ) ©Copyright Nancie Waterman 2013 All Rights Reserved Go to Contents www.vampstampnews.com About Art Accents’ Page Choosing Surfaces Some watercolor crayon brands work well on surfaces prepped with acrylic gesso when dry Paper: When you will be using water with water- blending, while others do not. (I liked Neocolor color crayons, consider watercolor paper, as it II crayons on this surface by not Lyra Aquacolor.) handles water better than cardstock. Smooth They typically don’t blend well with water on watercolor papers typically work best when you gesso. Experiment with the crayons you have to need to stamp and use water. For this eArticle, I see how they behave on a gesso surface. used Canson cold press watercolor paper (80#). You could even use watercolor crayons on fabrics. If you are dry blending or blending with a water- In their Technical Product Guide, Caran d’Ache based blender pen, you can alternatively use suggests coloring their Neocolor II Artists’ Cray- cardstock. For samples in this eArticle using ons (aka water soluble wax pastels) on wet fabric, cardstock, I used Strathmore Premium Cover covering them with a piece of clean paper or (Ultimate White 80#) and Neenah Classic Crest fabric, and then ironing to heat-set the color. (Polar White 80#) cardstocks. Learn More: LuAnn Kessi has an interesting Other Surfaces: Watercolor crayons can leave April 10, 2011 post on her blog where she compares marks on all kinds of things, so experiment with Neocolor II Crayons and Inktense Watercolor using them on porous surfaces beyond paper, like Pencils when used on fabric to make quilts. wood or papier-mache boxes or chipboard shapes. They will wash off slick non-porous surfaces Next: Artwork using watercolor crayons on fabric. (which can be used as palettes.) Page 7 VSN eArticle ( ) ©Copyright Nancie Waterman 2013 All Rights Reserved Go to Contents www.vampstampnews.com Hanni Vanziel’s Artwork Supplies: Stamp (Text, Fern - Hero Arts, Leaves, Cross- hatch - Magenta, Baby’s Breath - *unknown, Star burst - Comotion, Grass - Penny Black, Butterfly, Flowers, Circles - Stampin’ Up, Rose Leaves - Rubber Stampede, Front Alphabets - Hero Arts & *Unknown, Text - Stamptown ladies, Word - Inkadinkado), Muslin, Watercolor crayons, Water in spray bottle, Stamp ink (Tsukineko: VersaFine black, Clearsnap: ColorBox Chalk inks), Cardstock, Awl, Ruler, Embroidery floss, Double-sided tape. “Scribble choice of colors on muslin. Spray with water and dry over night. Iron all the wrinkles out of the fabric (using parch- ment paper between iron and colored fabric.)” “Randomly stamp text, fern, leaves, crosshatch, baby’s breath, star burst, grass, butterfly, flowers, circles, and rose leaves to make a collage back ground.” “Use double-sided tape to attach front and back side to a 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” piece of heavy cardstock. Use an awl and ruler to create holes in these three layers, evenly spaced on the outer edge of the card. Sew sides together with embroidery floss.” “Attach some pretty postage stamps. Use different fonts and sizes of alphabets stamps to stamp text and words.” Back Finished Size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" (Postcard) Go to Contents General Tips Here are a few tips to keep in mind: • If you find the color on your surface is too dark, try applying water with a brush or waterbrush. • If you don’t want stamped lines to move and you plan to use watercolor crayons and water, stamp • If you are blending with water or a blender pen and images with waterproof ink. Briefly heat with a heat the surface is too wet, blot excess water/color by lightly tool to be sure it is fully dry. touching it with a paper towel. • When you see “blender pen” mentioned in this • If you want to stamp on top of watercolor crayon, eArticle, it refers to water-based blender pens like the you usually want the watercolor layer to be dry first to Dove Blender or Tombow’s Dual Tip blender pen. It avoid stamp ink feathering on a wet surface. Very wet does not mean alcohol ink blender pens or Xylene- surfaces can be left to dry overnight. In some cases you based blenders. can speed drying with a heat tool. • When working with a waterbrush or blender pen • If you are working with highly pigmented watercolor to blend watercolor crayons, clean the brush or pen pencils, you will be able to layer color. Light colors can between colors if you don’t want colors to mix on the cover dark colors or vice versa. brush. Clean a waterbrush by squeezing the barrel • Experiment with using watercolor crayons with and brushing it on scrap paper until the water is clear. other water-based art mediums like watercolor pencils, To clean a water-based blender pen, scribble it on watercolor paints, Gel-Sticks and Gelatos. scrap paper until the fluid is clear. Page 9 VSN eArticle ( ) ©Copyright Nancie Waterman 2013 All Rights Reserved Go to Contents www.vampstampnews.com Watercolor Crayon Techniques Color & Blend Dry By their name, it is obvious that watercolor crayons are designed to be used with water, but you can certainly use them dry. When colored dry on paper, the color is opaque, thick and creamy. The look is actually fairly similar to better quality regular wax crayons. Smudging Color: Softer watercolor crayons can be moved a Color watercolor crayon on watercolor paper. little bit on some surfaces by rubbing with a finger or a dry sponge. Add more color and repeat to build color. Experiment on different papers, as color moves better on some papers than others. This can vary by brand and how much color you layer on. I found that Caran d’Ache Neoco- lor II Artists’ Crayons smudged/blended with a dry finger just a little better on watercolor paper than on cardstock. Lyra Aquacolor moved better on cardstock. Neocolor II also moves nicely on surfaces prepped with acrylic gesso, while Lyra did not do as well. Test the brand you use! Smudge crayon color with finger. Page 10 VSN eArticle ( ) ©Copyright Nancie Waterman 2013 All Rights Reserved Go to Contents www.vampstampnews.com