Watercolour vs Graphite: Do They Mix or Work Well Together?

[@not_myosotis813]

I think it might work nicely for contrast, if you painted a crowd or energetic area and wanted a single person or thing to stick out in watercolour while the rest is graphite.

[@higherground711]

I've seen that done a few times. It's an interesting effect.

[@heltych]

Yes, I've also seen pictures done like this and this makes just really vivid color accents

[@ArtsiRosi]

I was about to comment this exact thing.

[@recoveringsoul755]

Like that scene in the Matrix where everyone looks the same and then there's a woman in a red dress. I had a dream once as a kid where it was all black and white, but one object was in color. I have no idea what that means.

[@SmasherBunny]

@@recoveringsoul755 Have you seen _Schindler's List_?

[@kathrynt98011]

I have the Daniel Smith graphite watercolor paint, I use it in evening landscapes a lot for doing distant mountains and things like that. Because it’s opaque and has a little shimmer, you can thin it and shape it wet in wet and really get the look of mountains through evening haze.

[@oddObjekt]

I've had good results painting tones in graphite and then layering watercolor over top after the graphite is dry. It's a bit more subdued but I find it easier to control the modeling of a subject.

[@randookie4209]

Does the graphite bleed into the watercolor?

[@oddObjekt]

@@randookie4209 The most that I've found is that the brush, particularly if you're working with a flat brush, will pull up just a bit of the graphite but not really enough to mix with the color. You just have to clean your brush before reloading. You can also apply a layer of spray fixative over the graphite before going in with color but I don't do that too often because it alters the feel of the painting surface.

[@orchdork775]

@@oddObjekt In my experience, painting watercolor over pencil drawings just muddies the colors.

[@oddObjekt]

@@orchdork775 yeah, that definitely something to keep in mind- you have to clean your brush often. An alternative is also digital coloring over pencils- that retains the texture of the graphite but is often more vibrant than watercolor would be.

[@courtneyshannon2621]

I use watercolors and tinted graphites together all the time. It works best when you want certain elements to pop. For example: I used them together on a piece I did in a rose garden. The roses were in bright watercolors whereas the rose plants leaves were in dark green tinted graphite. I really like the textures the graphite made on the hair in your piece - it’s a nice contrast to the brightness of the people’s skin and clothing.

[@lizziedae91]

The graphite granulation looks like it might make a nice asphalt city street surface more realistic

[@DavZell]

ArtGraf does more even washes if you mix it with water in the lid before applying it to the paper. That is pretty much what you did with the Derwent, too. I see a lot of ArtGraf videos where the reviewer uses it straight from the pan and then says they can't control value well or it is streaky. Just mixing the graphite with varying amounts of water in the lid (or a palette/etc) solves those issues. I think they are less issues than a matter of familiarity.

[@taylorkh818]

I think it depends on what affect you're going for.. With my art I sometimes want a very stark contrast that you can get with watercolor and graphite together in one piece. It's different from the constrast you get with complimentary colors side by side or value differences.. It can create a contrast in the overall feeling of a piece (dead vs lively as you put it) and it can be used to convey some emotions that would be hard to achieve just using watercolor simply because it it such a bright and luminous medium. And I personally really love the granulation of graphite. I think these two mediums can work together, but they need to be used purposefully and strategically to avoid the piece looking awful and like it's made up of a bunch of mistakes.

[@ykaypang603]

I think graphite might work for night sketches as background, so as to bring out the vibrancy of lightings during e.g. X'mas, Deepavali, CNY, etc

[@catherinelevison3310]

I have been painting with colored graphite. It comes in lots of colors. I have also been watercoloring with dye vs. pigmented watercolors. I still like watercolors too but variety is nice.

[@SoulKeever]

Honestly, it doesn't look too bad on-camera. The graphite looks kinda cool; the crackle texture's unusual. I considered getting some graphite watercolor a while back, but ultimately decided against it because it'd probably never get used. Cause I'm too lazy to bother with value studies anymore, of course. Sigh.

[@kr2112]

This really helped me. Thank you!

[@guillaumep7660]

The ultramarine and sienna are already complimentary to each other on the color wheel. Grey is a tone not a color and deadens the overall image. Pretty sure that's basic color theory. Great video.

[@vampazilla2622]

I loved this demonstration. Thanks. Love your simplistic style towards composition. Your videos are always fun, educational and inspirational.

[@pattyleib]

I'm so glad I saw this. I had Artgraf in my shopping cart but you saved me. I agree with you!

[@higherground711]

This was interesting to watch. I didn't know about water soluble graphite until I started watching your videos. It does work nicely for contrast at times like Mithrarin Elysian was talking about. But that's the only example I know of and have seen done a few times. Mixing the two didn't look very nice. But I suppose it depends what kind of effect one is going for.

[@teohyc]

+James Barton I like the graphite look, but only when used on its own. Artist Paul Madonna has many artworks done in monotone, not graphite but Sepia, and they look great.

[@higherground711]

I had look. The man has a lot of talent.

[@thebestisyettocomegodisawe1081]

I agree with you about graphite making the watercolor look dead. I used to use the same Derwent graphite pencils when drawing and filled in with watercolor. I never liked the results because it dulled the color too much. I have since figured it out and I lightly sketch with it and then paint over it with the paint. I am using Lukas 1862 Watercolor now and it really makes a difference. It also helps to use a higher grade of paper. Mostly, I use watercolor together with ink. 😁

[@pollardk.1116]

Thank you again for sharing your ideas!

[@tattinggirl4341]

I love these types of videos, you are so thorough & I appreciate it. These & your limited palette videos are my favorite ! I refer to them often.

[@teohyc]

Thanks :-)

[@thebestisyettocomegodisawe1081]

Derwent has Graphitint pencils that are colored graphite, they are fun to use also, but are very muted.

[@anwarmorse]

It does. Keep painting. Only go up to a 2b max

[@lilymanson4896]

Great video! I have a tin of ArtGraf, too. I love mixing it with my watercolors! I think it adds an interesting texture, and I enjoy doing paintings with the black ink, ArtGraf for grey tones, then using bright watercolors to make one or two things really pop!

[@SynkkaSydan5]

Hi Teoh! I use watersoluble graphite since a few years and definetly love it! I think you should try a different approach: of course one tone of graphite looks like flat compared to watercolours, but you can buy different tones of graphite to get something more dynamic. Derwent has 4b - 6b the one you used in this video- and 8b as graphitone, and derwent releases also hb - 2b - 4b watersoluble graphite pencils, which you can use with graphitone as well!). I also use Lyra watersoluble graphite sticks, they provide 9B which is really dark. You can use all of them melting in the water, or drawing normally and then washing out with water and brush. You can get thousands of results and I love it. Of course watersoluble graphite doesn't mix well with watercolours, but you have two possibilities: you paint in watercolours, let it dry, and then go on in with watersoluble graphite, or paint in watercolour graphite, let it dry, and go over it with light watercolours. I personally would choose the first option. Let me know if you're interested in testing it :)

[@teohyc]

I like to use watersoluble graphite too but only on it's own. If I need gray, I just mix it from watercolour.

[@carolgreenlee1100]

Daniel Smith has seven new grays this spring....Jane's gray and fresco gray are awwsone

[@teohyc]

I saw them. Not sure if I'm going to get them though

[@suzalasuzala1135]

I never considered putting these together, even rhough i have them all...thanx for saving me the trouble of trying

[@YenDraws]

I do use graphites with watercolour mainly for the hair colours as Im lazy to mix 2 watercolour to achieve the grey or black lol. The graphites will eventually shown some glittering on the paper.

[@CastleMc]

Well Derwent must disagree since they created a whole palette of GRAPHITINT pencils and paints

[@natford8271]

I was waiting for you to compare with watercolour greys like Payne’s, Jane’s or Davy’s or even dilute washes of the various blacks and neutral tint..

[@sylph141414]

I actually have a tube of Daniel Smith's Graphite Gray, which I didn't realize until last year, when I started looking at pigment info more closely, that the PBk10 in it is actual graphite. I haven't tried it on textured paper, but it actually doesn't seem to granulate a lot. It's really opaque and only has a very very slight bit of that graphite shimmer. Now I want to experiment with it some more :)

[@teohyc]

+StrangeTrees If it has that graphite shimmer, it probably is graphite 😁

[@azzuparis]

Hi Teoh, great video. I like the graphite look side by side to watercolor. True that wc is more vibrant and varied but graphite has an interesting look to it. I once colored a sketch with graphite and once dry, I added watercolor on top. The colors where muted but it looked nice. Thank you for the comparison 😊

[@teohyc]

Thanks :-)

[@Aquarellina]

the graphite doesn't work because it's pure gray but would very much work if someone was aiming for a lot of texture and a monochrome image that wasn't meant to tell the story with colour. It would probably look quite good with silver ink or black ink as well and some red maybe but not mixed with red. As for the skin tone and hair, of course that the blue gray works better because it's complimentary to the warm orange skin tone you used. Even if someone's hair is gray it's always going to have a warm or cold tone depending on the surroundings and light. So yeah, monochrome or something abstract would be cool with graphite.

[@monicahoeffelmurphy3823]

Great video. Really clear results and explanations. Thanks so much

[@ColleenM61]

Thanks Teoh, theis answered the questions I had about all of this. I have had the graphitone in my wishlist for a while wondering if I would like it. I love the buildings you did with it, but you're right, it's only nice when that is all you are using.

[@OneTrueWord1988]

Does the graphite rinse cleanly from watercolor brushes? Do you think it is harmful to brushes? Thanks for your answer!!

[@teohyc]

The graphite will wash off

[@Donna_G]

I have some General's Pure graphite powder. It's labeled as being artist quality. I don't remember why I bought it; but, I think I wanted to use it to make transfer paper. I also have some water-soluble graphite pencils from Daler-Rowney. I used the similarly to how I use watercolor pencils. I would fill in the area I wanted to make grey, then go over it with a wet brush. I have not tried using the powdered graphite with water. I imagine I would get similar results as you did in this video.

[@SherlynTalactac]

Thanks for this! I've been intertested in the artgraf and have wondered whether it would work with my watercolor.

[@elsagrace3893]

Nice experiment. I would not use graphite with watercolor. Thanks for the demo.

[@Neurodiperfluouspolarific]

Thankyou for this video. 😊 Over the decades, I've noticed these mediums never seemed to mesh particularly naturally. 🤔 🤷🏾

[@michelef3339]

Thanks you Chie for such useful and practical videos.

[@missymoo6975]

I was told not to use my good brushes with watercolour graphite because it would damage them. Have you found this to be true? Cheers and thanks 🙏

[@teohyc]

I don’t think so. Graphite can be washed off very easily, Graphite is actually used as a lubricant for certain purposes.

[@gabriellaritaart]

Derwent had a lot of amazing Graphite products in their Graphitint line: pencils, blocks and a pan set. I love painting with them

[@ThePattiw]

I always thought that the water soluble graphite was to make washes for your pencil drawings - say for example if you were figure drawing from a model and wanted to soften some of the shadow shapes, or get a quick wash down.

[@teohyc]

+ThePattiw You can use it for that purpose too

[@isabellecade277]

Since you made me know Graphitone pencils, I use them alone, never in a mixture with watercolor, and prefer shades of gray, monochrome drawings. I think it’s better ?...

[@teohyc]

+Isabelle CADE It's better used alone

[@MiadeFleur]

You already answer my question, THANKS!

[@SharonNolfi]

Very interesting demo. I'm wondering if the pencil lines on a sketch can dull the watercolor applied over them, or if dullness only occurs when liquified graphite is used. What is your experience? I think you do occasionally sketch with pencil rather than pen.

[@teohyc]

It looks nicer when you use pencil first and colour over with watercolour. If you have watercolour, and use pencil over it, it's going to have the same effect as shown in the video. The graphite will look out of place.

[@greyareaRK1]

I have a Sketch and Wash pencil. I use it primarily to add creases and darken corners, or tone to a quick technical sketch. It does not perform well as a pencil, nor does it work well with water. I assumed I wasn't using it correctly, but maybe it just sucks?

[@teohyc]

Some watersoluble pencils aren't that good in the sense that they don't dissolve as well. I'm not sure which ones are good though. You may want to check out those Derwent watersoluble sketching pencils.

[@jmat45sr6]

Interesting. I really like the results I get with Sketch and Wash pencil combined with watercolors...

[@joannemoore2556]

I wish I’d waited for your review before buying some water soluble graphite! I think you’re right about it sucking the life out of your sketch! Still I’m sure I’ll find a use for it maybe for monochrome work with ink...

[@lizhooton1552]

Thanks for the interesting video Teoh! Would the water soluble graphite be useful for value studies only then?

[@teohyc]

+Liz Hooton It's very good and quick for value studies. I've a video about that that I'm publishing soon.

[@mikepolo2887]

Hmm I would rather tint graphite with a bit of color and not to put them side by side or solely in shadows.

[@Via_Von]

Thank you for this - very interesting! Would the graphite work in a grisaille method as an underpainting with watercolour glazes stop it?

[@teohyc]

It works but I personally don't like the look.

[@KitarraChaosWeaver]

Fascinating. It does seem like you have used a lot of the graphite though, so what do you use it for?

[@teohyc]

+Kitarra Chaosweaver I used them for black and white sketches, tonal studies when I first learned to draw and paint.

[@michelef3339]

Have you tried the Derwent colored graphite sticks, soft colors with subtle metallic sheen? That might make an interesting follow up to this demo. They might work better alone however than in combination with watercolor.

[@teohyc]

+Michele F I've not used those before. Saw them at the art shop but was never tempted to buy them

[@serradag9440]

I will do pencil drawing and i want a paper with tooth i dont want it to be all smooth so can i use a acrylic sketchbook to do pencildrawings? Pls answer i need help

[@teohyc]

Not sure what's your question. Just get a coldpress textured watercolour sketchbook.

[@serradag9440]

@@teohyc okay thanks, i got a watercolor sketchbook

[@liezelhaupt7172]

This is really a great video. I wondered about this, but now I have clarity. It seems as if the graphite kind of repels the watercolour? I agree that it is better to not combine the two. Also, great remarks from other artists! Thanks Teoh. :-D

[@teohyc]

+Liezel Haupt They do mix, but graphite makes the mixture dull.

[@joycesnodgrass7068]

Interesting. Thank you!

[@MeowMeowKapow]

I thought the mix of graphite in watercolor was really interesting looking, but I don’t really like the plain graphite look at all.

[@zaygezunt]

I'm curious, why not mix black and white to make grey?

[@brigette3004]

zaygezunt Black and white in watercolor make an opaque and flat color. It is not nice looking.

[@zaygezunt]

Brigette Gulliver Thanks, that explains it 😊

[@Michael-nu6fb]

Yes as Brigette mentioned, rather avoid using white watercolor. Water down your black if you want a grey (a flat boring grey) your paper is the white. But, your best grays are mixed from primaries like Teoh mentioned, use Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna for an interesting grey. Or use Paynes Grey.

[@zaygezunt]

Mikey Mike Thanks, I hadn't thought of the paper as being my white. Useful advice 👍

[@brannonmcclure6970]

Hey. It's you, let me listen. Thanks...and great work.

[@RainbowNatalia]

*Amazing work!*

[@sorsofia]

intersting and infomative, thanks Teoh.

[@teohyc]

Welcome :-)

[@gypsysnickerdoodle4354]

How does it compare to Chinese ink?

[@teohyc]

Chinese is darker, black. Some are patchy looking when dry. But definitely very different from graphite because graphite has that unmistakable graphite look.

[@lucydawn_]

I've been wanting to create an art studio for a very long time, but I'm not really familiar with the products that i would need, could you maybe go over what basic tools and materials would be from which brands and such, this is only if you have time or if you don't mind doing a video on it (i manly like to paint with acrylic and water color, haven't painted with oil yet, but sadly i have only painted on poster board, because of moneywise issues and rarely have paint do to also no time to paint, but i am getting more time to some changes in my life, and like to mold clay a lot) thank you, and if you do already have a video already made could you let me know if you do thank you again

[@teohyc]

+Lucy Dawn Every artist had different needs. Just don't buy too many stuff at first. Start with the tools that you definitely need first, then get other stuff. One does not really need a lot of tools, just the ones you need to complete the art. Not sure if I can make such a video because there are too many variables

[@lucydawn_]

I understand, and that's okay, thank you! :)

[@lucydawn_]

This really helps, thank you a lot! :)

[@lucydawn_]

Thank you again! this is really nice of you to tell me this, thank you so much!!!!! X) *excited to get the stuff

[@serenityjewel]

This was such a weird way to use graphite with watercolor. It reminds me of watercolor artists who try acrylic painting for the first time - or acrylic artists who try watercolor painting for the first time - without knowing what they're doing and then blame the paint for their results. I mix graphite with watercolor and get a result similar to Derwent graphitint paint.

[@nancytimmer9026]

I used graphite and watercolour binder to make a graphite "watercolour". It behaves a lot different to my actual watercolours, but it's really fun. Can you tell me more about how to mix them up a bit? I'm definitely up for experimentation.

[@tashedwards99]

Great video!

[@teohyc]

+Tasha99 thank you 😁

[@abstractland1748]

Whats then difference if you can just use gray in watercolor

[@teohyc]

+ABSTRACT LAND The look is slightly different. I believe Daniel Smith has a graphite gray in their watercolour line. If so, it should work better with other colours. But not when actual graphite is mixed with watercolour.

[@abstractland1748]

OK thank you

[@natlisan]

I actually use them in conjunction with each other but I don't mix them together. Here is an example of my work. tictail.com/nathandixonartstudio/sanctuary

[@farmwife7944]

Lovely work. I particularly like the mix of graphite and color (sepias) you used for "Streetcafe". I enjoy using Derwent's Graphitint pencils along with the Derwent watersoluble graphite pencils (labeled as sketching and graphitone) and add water selectively. They play well together.

[@artofleopinheiro5657]

Thanks for this vídeo!

[@trashlover3495]

Your videos are very informative rekaxing to watch maybe because of the bird noises :D

[@teohyc]

Thankfully the bird noises aren't those distracting ones. lol

[@TheMeltedMan]

neat!

[@erictheguitar]

looks like sodalite from Daniel Smith

[@luchocairo8717]

Nice

[@JSheetzArtwork]

They go together like two peas in a pod? :)

[@ArtistWizardry]

Watercolor wins.

[@lilavibomi9494]

Love U

[@HgoArt]

It does not make sense to use graphite without value gradation since, of course, there is no chromatic variation.