How to get BLURRY BACKGROUNDS with Colored Pencil.

Learn how to create "out of focus" backgrounds with colored pencils. This will help your subject stand out and will create better compositions.
#coloredpenciltips #coloredpencil #blurrybackground #outoffocusbackground
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✅ART SUPPLIES USED IN THIS VIDEO
Are you planning on purchasing some art supplies? If so, please consider supporting me by using my affiliate links below. I never recommend a product I haven’t used and am not 100% behind, and I get a little commission from your purchase (at no additional cost to you).
👉PAN PASTELS
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👉SOFFT TOOLS
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👉Caran D'ache Luminance Colored Pencils
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👉DERWENT LIGHTFAST PENCILS
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👉Derwent Lightfast PAPER
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👉DERWENT SUPER POINT SHARPENER
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👉GAMSOL Odorless Mineral Spirits
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[@vaulz_]

truly underrated artist! the way you explain things is absolutely astonishing.

[@LanaGloschatArt]

awww thanks so much! I really appreciate you !

[@jeaniestebbins8324]

Your tutorials are so awesome!

[@rockygazelle3684]

Thank you for this helpful video! I like how you explained mixed-media options for artwork. Thanks for the information about creating a good background that doesn’t detract from the main focal area.

[@LanaGloschatArt]

You are so welcome! Am happy to hear it was helpful!!

[@jt4621]

I for one would love to learn how to properly stretch watercolour paper. Your videos are so filled with such great content. I really enjoy learning about art technical concepts. Thank you !

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know you are interested in this! And thank you for your kind words!

[@neshiah4747]

Soak your paper in a bowl/bath for a few hours. Then gum tape it to a board. Let it dry and then you’re ready to go 🙏🏼🇬🇧

[@CMArtWorld]

Wow this is such a beautiful creation!! ❤️Pleasing to watch and appreciate your work on it,to give us the very best, and your efforts have paid off❤. I am so much lucky to come across the channel of a well talented person like you. With all of your best efforts your channel would grow really well ! You may succeed in everything you do! sending my best wishes for you and your channel. God bless! Stay connected forever my dear friend 🥰 Best wishes from #cmartworld ❤❤❤

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thanks so much for your kind words and support! 🥰

[@prayalways-]

watercolor ❤ my favorite underpainting for cp

[@LanaGloschatArt]

🙌🏻

[@TravisBrady-wn8fr]

Yep. I get focused on the subject, then go blank on the background. That's me 😂

[@donandphylliscera9598]

Great video once again. You explain things better than any other instructor I have known. And what a beautiful floral painting!

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thank you so much! What a great compliment! Do you make art? What kind of work do you make and what skills are you learning/developing right now?

[@donandphylliscera9598]

@@LanaGloschatArt Art is more or less a hobby for me - although I have sold several pieces. Basically, I am a colored pencil artist. I have been painting with colored pencils since about 1992. I have tried other media but nothing comes more naturally than a colored pencil! I am trying to learn how to use pastels from you so I can make some interesting backgrounds. I struggle with drawing, so nothing comes naturally and everything is a challenge! Your videos are very informative, and I am hoping to jump in and create some cool backgrounds. Thank you for all you do for artists!

[@LanaGloschatArt]

@@donandphylliscera9598 It sounds like you are incredibly dedicated to making art and improving. Thats awesome. If you are interested I may have a few resources that would be helpful in your journey. 1. I have a free critique group where you can submit artwork for feedback. The link for that group is:facebook.com/groups/259583855930221 2. I have an online course that teaches the basics of drawing, value, and color mixing with colored pencils on sanded paper. There is a ton of info in this course and you can check out the 30 min free preview to see if it is a good fit: courses.lanagloschatart.com/courses/introduction-to-classical-colored-pencil-painting Feel free to reach out with questions any time. Thanks so much for watching my videos!

[@romajohnston3793]

WOW!!! That's just beautiful! I absolutely love your color contrasts, they're just mesmerizing!

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thanks so much Roma!!

[@whiskerske3218]

Wow! I love your picture! I wish I could get personal one on one teaching with you! You gave us all so many wonderful tips and I have always struggled with my blurry backgrounds. Can’t wait to apply what I just learned from your video. Thank you for taking the time to share your talent with us.

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thanks so much. I do offer private one-on-one lessons. (Via zoom) Send me an email [e-mail] and I’ll reply with all the details!

[@romajohnston3793]

Can't wait for the next video!

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thanks! 4/14! :)

[@betsyoglesartist]

Beautiful work! Thank you so much for your tips and tricks. Very helpful!

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thank you and you are so welcome! Glad you found my channel!

[@raccooninUK]

thank you for your video and your art work is so beautiful! love.

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thanks so much!

[@Martin_Gregory]

I'd love to hear more about how to chose background pastelmat colour ... I've seen your video where you chose to make a red wash behind green fruit, and I can see how it worked, but I'm not sure how to think this way for my own drawings. Especially for animals... I seem to always face the dilemma of "should the pastelmat base colour be the colour of the background itself, or a useful colour of the subject - which will mean covering the background of the image with media". And if it's going to be a useful colour for the subject, how to chose that: "red" for a "green fruit picture" was pretty out there :)

[@LanaGloschatArt]

It’s a big question… without an easy answer. Honestly a lot of my specific color choices come from color theory training and years of trying different things and noticing what worked. If you have art galleries/museums near you, studying art can be a great way to figure out what color combos you like. I’ll make a video about this one day… ha ha

[@clearwater7000]

Thank you!💓🌞

[@LanaGloschatArt]

You are so welcome

[@manonbentley]

Hello Lana. Great video. I really don't like drawing backgrounds because I am not very good at it (or not patient enough ). Could you have used the pan pastel as your base layer and then add the coloured pencils on top? Skip the Water colour layer. Thank you

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thanks so much Manon! Yes this background was time consuming :) You could totally jump straight to pastel and then go over the top with colored pencil. But I often enjoy working on paper that isn't white with these two mediums. That is why I started with watercolor. It added some color to the paper quickly

[@TheKateWay]

Great video Lana! I love how you are always changing your media! I discover so many cool tips in every video you upload 😊

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Kaitlin, thank you so much! Do you make art? I would love to invite you to join my facebook critique group if you are interested! You can post your work over there for feedback. Here is a link: facebook.com/groups/259583855930221

[@TheKateWay]

@@LanaGloschatArt I do! I’ve been working with colored pencil, mainly luminance and smooth cotton paper for years. You’ve really sparked an interest in me to use colored pencil differently and incorporate other mediums! I’m really interested in panpastel and Pastelmat lately. I want to try that and I also have lux archival paper and materials you have mentioned in previous videos and I’m SO excited to start experimenting!

[@TheKateWay]

@@LanaGloschatArt joined your Facebook group! 😊

[@LanaGloschatArt]

@@TheKateWay that is so great! Please update me on your progress with these new media and reach out if you ever have any questions!

[@beverlydevriesburrows3097]

Good tips

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thanks!

[@brigita_]

How do you choose what colour paper to use for a project? Recently, I wanted to use pan pastels to paint a sunflower. I chose a white paper and pretty quickly the petals looked too transparent in comparison to the dark middle of the flower. I abandoned the project, but I’m still wondering how can I approach this project later. Thank you for your videos! I love how quick, clear and informative they are!

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Hey! I am actually working on planning a video that addresses this, so stay tuned... but when it comes to panpastel, I usually go for a mid value color (not white and not too dark) this allows me to work with light and dark values on it. Sometimes I go with a color that is close to the subject, but I actually really like to pick colors that are complementary and will make the colors of the subject really stand out.

[@maggiedormer1208]

Video suddenly stops at 12.57 and buffers. 🤷‍♀️. Anyway, great video and what a beautiful subject. Don’t suppose there’s a real-time tutorial available?

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Hey! Thank you so much for letting me know! I checked the video and got a clean playback on my devices… any chance it was a goofy thing on your end? Thanks so much for your kind words. I have a video on the flower details coming out next week, but no real-time tutorial. I do have an online course wit a free trial available. It focuses on building up a “colored pencil painting” using techniques adopted/adapted from classical oil painting Masters: courses.lanagloschatart.com/courses/introduction-to-classical-colored-pencil-painting

[@suzannesenser607]

Yes, Pease teach us how to stretch watercolor paper!

[@LanaGloschatArt]

You got it! I'll put it on the list!

[@dimitrioskalfakis]

good work and good advice. 10Q.

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thanks for watching!!

[@mariliarodrigues7137]

Another awesome video, Lana, thank you so much for sharing! Your piece turned out really beautiful and it was so much fun to warch the whole process in the backgroumd. I wonder if you used fixative on top of the pan pastels before using colored pencils

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Hey Marilia, thank you! For this piece I did not apply fixative at any point. I did keep the PanPastels pretty light though. On sanded paper I typically apply a fixative. You can learn a little more about that in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXLcnXmXrad5oqM

[@mariliarodrigues7137]

@@LanaGloschatArt Thank you so much!

[@melissa-bj1px]

I would like to learn how to stretch the paper as well please.

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thanks for letting me know!

[@NinaQueena]

Can I ask you something? I wanted to paint this WONDERFUL FLOWERS but I am not able to find a picture with this kind of flowers! Could you maybe tell me what kind of flowers they are? (-or maybe where you have found YOUR photo template for this wonderful drawing?) Best regards and I am a big Fan of your chanel!@ ❤

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thanks for watching! This is my own photo I took at a botanical garden. I think they are some kind of rose but I am honestly not sure. I always recommend to artists to take tons of their own photographs

[@purpleskys6193]

Thank you for sharing I'm in love with this painting And I still struggle with backgrounds and I don't want t buy more material should I take the watercolor pencils or pan pastel or odorless minerals ?? Which one better for beginner trying to achieve good result ? And thank you again 🌸

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thanks so much. I have made some prints of this piece… I don't have them in a shop yet, but let me know if you want one. I have 8x10s in an 11x14 mat and also a smaller size :) If I were starting out I would just play with the panpastels for an out of focus background. You do not need all these materials.. I just had them and wanted to experiment. Sorry for the super late response. I took an extended KZbin break, but Im back and just posted a new video today if you are interested: Become a MASTER of Color Theory with This COMPLETE 4 Step Process kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y17QY6uKf6uoeq8 :) Happy New Year!!

[@prayalways-]

i am surprised that i could apply oms over watercolor or panpastel as well 😮

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Oh yeah it was fun to see it all work together! These were some new combos for me as well!

[@cheryllynnernest9345]

Like the original best.

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Which original…? The photo?

[@ankitaagrrawal1009]

i would to see how to stretch water colour paper

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Thanks for the suggestion... I'll try to work it in soon. :)

[@paulaguy5612]

This is great! How would you do a bokeh background?

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Are you talking about the circles out of focus? I don't do these types of backgrounds often, but it is similar to the process that I used in this video. You will just want to focus on materials that will help you achieve soft edges and you will want to do a lot of careful blending!

[@robincharles7057]

Question ~ 11:00 about the different sheens. I'm a newbie to this but have used acrylic paints in the past with different sheens and at the end varnishing kind of evened things out. Is there something similar to do with colored pencil drawings? I have heard a few people mention fixatives for preserving colored pencil drawings but I'm not sure how similar that is to varnishing and whether it effects the sheen. If I'm using more waxy colored pencils is a fixative very important?

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Honestly I don’t use fixatives unless I’m am going to present my work without glass… I think that fixative isn’t needed with colored pencil and there’s a big risk for ruining colors and texture with fixatives. Hope this helps

[@robincharles7057]

@@LanaGloschatArt Ah OK ty :)

[@rhondagardnercoloredpencil4596]

Hi Lana. I have just discovered your videos and am really enjoying them. I have been doing CP art for a few years but continue to struggle with composition. I am finishing up a piece that has a lot of detail. Its a squash blossom surrounded by leaves. I have been unhappy with the distraction of the leaves away from the blossoms, which are what I want the focal point to be. After watching this video, I realized everything has an equal amount of detail. I have used watercolor as the underpaining and CP for detail. I am thinking of either going over the background with Pan Pastels or using OMS to reduce the detail. What do you think? Any suggestions?

[@LanaGloschatArt]

Hi Rhonda! I am so glad that the videos have been helpful and that you have been able to use them to improve your work! If your background already has colored pencil on it, the panpastel wont stick very well. In my experience colored pencil always needs to be the last medium because of its waxy surface. This surface repels most other media. You could glaze the background with a darker/cooler color or possibly soften with solvent...? Would you be interested in joining my free critique group? You can submit your work for feedback. Here is a link to join if you are interested. facebook.com/groups/259583855930221

[@rhondagardnercoloredpencil4596]

@@LanaGloschatArt Yes! Thank you. I am very interested. I ended up doing a 'test' page with both Pan Pastel and OMS. It's pretty much worked as you described it. I didn't like either so I went over the background with a CP glaze and tried to eliminate hard lines. It really helped. I'll join your critique group.

[@suzanneensslen9736]

What is a clear glaze mentioned at the very end of the tutorial?? A cololess blender or burnisher? My blur backgrounds are dull, practicing alot but all are dull.

[@LanaGloschatArt]

I think I was talking about applying colored pencil transparently over a large area. To do this you need to apply light-medium pressure over the whole area. It will tone everything a bit and unifynit

[@suzanneensslen9736]

@@LanaGloschatArt THANK YOU. Im amazed artist's, such as yourself, attend to every message! ..plus, have time to produce paintings and do tutorials!! Accolades!

[@pennycramer6468]

What type of paper are you using to mix watercolor and colored pencil?

[@LanaGloschatArt]

A hot press watercolor paper is ideal for this technique. My favorite is 👉Derwent Lightfast PAPER Amazon: amzn.to/3sd8eIJ Blick: tinyurl.com/4dy8cnxy Also, sorry for the super late response. I took an extended KZbin break, but Im back and just posted a new video today if you are interested: Become a MASTER of Color Theory with This COMPLETE 4 Step Process kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y17QY6uKf6uoeq8 :) Happy New Year!!