Materials: Commercial Illustration With Colored Pencils

Discover the materials you need to get started in commercial illustration with colored pencils

Commercial illustration uses drawing, art and design techniques to attractively convey brand or corporate identity. So you need to know the materials that will ensure your work has the right quality.

Carmen García Huerta (@carmen_garcia_huerta) is a professional illustrator. She’s passionate about colored pencils and graphite. Her clients include Lancôme, major Spanish newspaper: El País and the Madrid City Council. Her career gives her a professional interest in illustration for business, publishing and portraits. Her work is featured in major books on illustration, including TASCHEN’s 100 Illustrators.

Carmen García Huerta shares the materials she uses on a daily basis, and explains how she uses them to achieve unique commercial illustrations in the following video and accompanying guide:

Essential materials for commercial illustration with colored pencils

1. Paper

One of the key materials you need to think about is paper, because it's the base for your illustration. Carmen García Huerta recommends two different types. Shoeller paper is especially designed for color and lead pencils. This very fine paper creates a very polished finish. “Shoeller paper produces a perfectly blended line, so you can barely see the individual strokes” says the illustrator. Arches watercolor paper also produces excellent results. It’s a bit more textured, which is great for holding the pigments.

2. Lead pencils and sharpeners

Lead pencils are the essential drawing tool. It’s important to have them in a range of hardnesses, from 2H to 3B. Carmen García usually uses 2B, although she also likes HB pencils, which produce a medium finish, or F for a very polished, silky line. She recommends buying a sharpener with a range of hole sizes, so you can use it for both lead and colored pencils. Carmen uses a Faber Castell model.

3. Eraser

Erasers are another drawing basic. They allow you to correct any mistakes. Cut one into little pieces with a cutter to produce fine slices that can rub out tiny details.

4. Colored pencils

The stars of the show: colored pencils bring your commercial illustrations to life. Illustrator Carmen García Huerta uses Caran D’Ache pencils because they come in an enormous variety of shades, have plenty of pigment, and a tough, unctuous lead (thanks to their high wax content). She loves their top range: Luminance, for areas of light. Faber Castell’s Polychromos range is another interesting option.

5. Flat brush

A flat brush cleans away any leftover rubber and stray pigment without damaging your illustration.

6. Scanner, mobile phone and computer

Once you’ve completed your illustration, it’s time to move onto a computer to make the final touches in Photoshop and carry out any changes to the format required for your final delivery. You’ll need a scanner or mobile phone with scanning apps.

Enjoy this guide? Learn more about using colored pencils to create unique illustrations from the brief to your final art in Carmen García Huerta’s online course: Commercial Illustration With Colored Pencils.

You may be interested in:

- How to Use Color to Shape Your Compositions
- Illustration with Pastel and Coloured Pencils, a course by Elena Pancorbo.
- Domestika Creatives: Jordi Labanda

English version by @studiogaunt