Swatching Inktense pencils + a look in my Sketchbook

[@nina1528]

These are lovely swatches Melanie. Appreciate you doing the wet and dry swatches. I’m tempted with the red, tangerine, also apple,leaf and fern greens. Gorgeous for hot summer garden flowers.

[@kelligrotle407]

❤❤❤ thank you so Much, Melanie!!!!!!!! This is Very helpful to me! Going out to draw and paint now! I live in the Pacific NW- In the USA, Washington State- lots of beaches and woods and animals/marine life to sketch here! 🤗💕 🐋

[@JessicaCEP]

The bark color was in an art box and was what I would call a gateway art supply…and now I have a whole set of these! So pretty!

[@MelanieChadwick]

Yes!! That colour is great, they are pretty addictive to use too!

[@jessicastrideart]

What a very happy accident forgetting to take your watercolours with you that day! Your Inktense paintings are gorgeous, I love them! I’ve had a set for years but rarely use them. You’ve inspired me to get them out again.x

[@MelanieChadwick]

Yes! Definitely! Would not have maybe progressed in the same way if I hadn't. Oh that's great, it seems everyone has a tin of them hiding somewhere.

[@franswey2]

A wonderful video demonstrating inktense pencils. So many don’t wet all of the color and when they go over it again, activating what wasn’t, they say it isn’t permanent. I love Inktense Pencils and blocks. I’m a Pen & Ink artist and always wanted to add color to some of my black & white works. I found watercolor too dull or flat as it couldn’t complete with ink. Inktense is awesome and beautiful. When you were swatching the field green, I was thinking it was a perfect color for the sea. So glad you agreed! 😁 Thank you for sharing. Fran

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thanks so much Fran appreciate your comment! Yes! agree completely they are so colourful and add so much life.

[@NatashaNewtonArt]

You've totally inspired me to try these, Mel! I'll get a couple of colours and have a go. :) I was amazed at the intensity of the colours when you added water to them! Such a lovely video, and I'm in awe of your sketchbooks.

[@MelanieChadwick]

Yay! Look forward to seeing which colours you will try out and thanks so much Natasha x

[@sigrunella1]

You've inspired me to use these more when outdoor sketching. They are so convenient for that. I also have some Derwent graphitint that give more subtle muted tones. They all work beautifully together. Your sketchbooks are always such an inspiration and I regularly watch your videos when I feel stuck or uninspired.

[@MelanieChadwick]

Glad you like them- they are really versatile and so handy for using on sketchbook travels. Thanks so much for your kind comments about my videos too.

[@suzannemarshall7458]

I just bought some intense yesterday and this is very helpful for getting going with them. thank you.

[@MelanieChadwick]

You are so welcome! Glad to hear.

[@madelynsmith8281]

Love those pencils. I have never tried them. I will have to go check them out.

[@MelanieChadwick]

You should! They are my favourite pencils for sketching

[@JennyGranberry]

I've had watercolor pencils and felt frustrated with them at first, but you've inspired me to give them another chance!

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thanks Jenny! Glad to hear, definitely give them another chance, these inktense pencils are particularly enjoyable to use.

[@deborahmeyers7839]

This was soooooo satisfying to watch thanks Mel ♥️

[@MelanieChadwick]

Glad you liked it! Thanks Deborah.

[@sandihester]

FABULOUS video Mel!!!! Really helpful as well since I just inherited a large set of these. You are a master at using them and this really rally inspired me!

[@MelanieChadwick]

Yay! Thank you! and WOW you have inherited a vast collection- you'll soon master them too I think- I'm still learning though!

[@MedaHalmaciu]

Love your sketchbooks. I have those pencils as well. I shouldn't try and work with them more.

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thank you so much! Definitely give them a try, they are wonderful to use.

[@KoolKookyKreatures]

Great video! I love my Inktense pencils! I also have the travel palette and a tin of Inktense blocks which can be used dry or wet. The colour pay off is fabulous. Like you I use mine in a mixed media way usually with my coloured pencils and Neocolor 1 pastels.

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thanks for sharing about the Inktense blocks too, am thinking of trying those out! If they're as good as the pencils may be worth checking them out.

[@wenwake7584]

Beautiful sketches! This was great and has inspired me to use the pencils dry for intense mark making. The contrast between wet and dry is gorgeous. Helen Campbell has a great watercolour media channel and I picked up a great tip from her... she keeps a swatch card of scribbled dry inktense when travelling light and picks up small amounts of the pigments, and even mixes pigments on the swatch paper, to apply small details. This was a game-changer for me because I was applying too much pigment to my urban sketches and simply wetting. It's kind of like a dot card thing, yet super portable! Hope I made sense. Great information and will be binge watching your videos. Subbed! 👍💚

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thanks for sharing

[@notbroken4342]

I recently bought the Inktense blocks and I love them. I use them along with gouache paint. I bit one this evening and that's not something I recommend. I really enjoyed the peek into your sketchbook and the swatches. Thanks!

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thanks for sharing, I had wondered about the Inktense blocks. Oh no!! I can imagine that really isn't what you want!! Hope the taste has gone now!

[@gabriellaritaart]

Amazing drawings! You also just inspired me to get Inktense pencils.

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thank you so much 😀 And hope you enjoy using your inktense pencils!

[@exmoorbeastie]

I use Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils, partly because they are lightfast. But these Inktense are way more saturated and in a sketchbook I guess lightfastness isn't an issue. I do love your wedding ring, is the symbolism Celtic? Very nice swatching. I am going to give them a go!

[@MelanieChadwick]

They are really saturated particularly when wet! Thanks my ring is made from Welsh gold, mined from North Wales, Clogau. I think my design is called Tree of life.

[@monkeymintaka]

This was so chill to watch. It made me want to get out my watercolour pencils again, I have the remains of a set from when I was in middle school. But the Dee went inktense ones look nice. I have the inktense watercolour pan set...I wonder if they are similar colours 🤔

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thanks April, great, that's what I was hoping for. Hmm yes, perhaps they are similar, definitely give them a try and see how they compare. The inktense pencils definitely step up the watercolour pencil game.

[@carlyamandaart]

This is great Mel, I’ve got a couple of these pencils, but I’ve always been a bit nervous of their intense pigment. They are beautiful colours so I’ll have to play around with them in my sketchbook x

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thanks Carly! They are definitely intense and not shy! What pencils do you like to use in your pieces? I'm sure you have a lot of knowledge on coloured pencils ✏

[@carlyamandaart]

@@MelanieChadwick I tend to use pastel pencils now, I haven’t produced any coloured pencil work for about a year. Faber Castell Polychromos were the coloured pencils I used to use the most, as they are nice and hard, so you can get a sharper point for detailed work. Caran Dache Luminance I used as well, but they’re softer so nicer for blending xx

[@karincivit2231]

I'm so happy with this tutorial. I habe these beautiful pensils but I didn't know how to use them!!

[@MelanieChadwick]

I'm so glad to hear! THanks

[@DebsArtsyLife]

I am loving watching this video! Love your work so much, and your beautiful, soothing voice ! I have all but one of these Inktense colors and you've inspired me to pull them out and play. I may have too many colors, can overwhelm. Will you please tell me what waterbrush you are using exactly? I like the slimness of the brush itself. I imagine you could get a nice fine line with it. I also like the length of the bristles. Thank you so much for sharing this ❤

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thank you so much Deborah, great, yes I know what you mean- too many colours can overwhelm. Last year I did a postcard each day in black ink and that solved the too many choices problem. But now I want to use all the colours again! The water brush is a harder one to tell you where I got it from as it was part of an old travel watercolour set, I'm not sure if it's still available, this is the closest I've seen: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076YWS81W/?ref=idea_lv_dp_ov_d

[@thuntz29]

Lovely sketches! I’ve been thinking of getting the line and wash kit with the inktense pans… your sketchbook looks really good, what kind is it? :)

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thankyou, that kit is a good one, I have it also. It's a moleskine amzn.to/3qxuUm4

[@vivvv2630]

Love this video and your work! I’m not sure if you have affiliate links in the US? I would be happy to use them if you provide.

[@MelanieChadwick]

Thanks so much Vivenne, I haven't yet, but will look into it!

[@christinebarone2151]

Can you tell me if you prefer ink tense pencils or carandache Luminance pencils. Thank you. I’m in the market for pencils and i am not sure which to buy.

[@MelanieChadwick]

It really depends on your usage of them. They serve different purposes for me. Inktense I use wet as a base for some of my sketches, and then once dry will work on top. Luminance I use after applying wet media during the final stages of a sketch. If you can buy them open stock I would recommend that and then you can test them. Inktense pencils do take a while to get used to, and you may find it a struggle at first to work out how you're going to use them, as they have highly saturated colours when wet. Luminance are creamy and I do enjoy them using them, but I rarely use them just on their own.

[@tinestudios]

Wondering what your moleskin sketchbook is? would appreciate any links to the one you use

[@MelanieChadwick]

Sorry for my late reply here is a link to one of the Moleskine sketchbooks I use: amzn.to/45yo2aC

[@CobraDove1111]

Too bad they're not archival or fade proof so I can't do art with them and sell it or have the art last the test of time