Rich, I spray it with Krylon mat finish, usually two coats. This provides enough 'tooth' to take the art pencil or crayon. After coloring, I spray with a fixative to seal the surface and prevent the pencil from 'blooming'.
Thanks for the complements.
Hey there, I tried this after you wrote to me about the pencil bit. I used Ilford FB Matt and I colored with Prismacolor pencils and it didn't look that great, it took effort to leave pigment behind on the print and having done that it made deep indentations that scoop up color. So maybe your process there with the krylon is something to try. I didn't know you used RC paper though, very interesting. RC paper is something I don't feel paranoid about "wasting" in a discovery process that fails.
Hi Perry - I haven't tried FB matt, but haven't had any luck with RC matt. For me, glossy with the Krylon matt spray seems to work best. You have to go very lightly to avoid making indentations. A very light touch and lots of strokes works. I use a little naptha on a Q-Tip or artists Stomp(Stump/smudge stick) to smooth and blend the colors. I had to do some before I got a satisfactory one. Right, I don't mind wasting some RC paper to develop a process. Thanks.