Hand colouring prints

[wilfbiffherb]

ive been trying to read up on hand colouring prints as i quite fancy getting into it. theres a lot of emphasis on only using fibre papers and dedicated oils/paints but i was hoping to use pencil crayons or maybe watercolour pencils. does anyone have any hints/tips/advice they can give me for getting started?

 

[MDR]

If you like to work with pencils Marshall has a set of oil pencils for handcoloring photographs you can buy them at adorama and even amazon.
Here's a link to Marshall's how to document http://www.handpaintedphotography.com/MarshallBasics.pdf

Watercolour pencil could work since early prints were often tinted with watercolour paint.

Good luck

Dominik

 

[Ian Grant]

I wrote this a few years ago, I used to do some commercial hand clouring in the late 1970's earl 980's.

Retouching dyes are the best route none of the ugliness of paints & crayon on the print surface.

Ian

 

[tkamiya]

I hand color. I use matte textured fiber paper and colored pencils. RC won't work with pencils because surface texture is too smooth. If you can get any on, it will rub off too easily.

 

[wilfbiffherb]

thanks for the advice guys - ill look into the marshall pencils maybe. but then again i do use a lot of rc paper.

 

[jp498]

I've used RC glossy with kids watercolor. (You know, the kind where the paints are like oval bars of soap all lined up in a plastic case, and you dip the brush in water before selecting a paint)

Basically the gelatine layer will accept some water and the majority will evaporate. It will accept enough to define the brushed on area, and it will accept it slowly. Put on too much watercolor and it will spill out of the area you are trying to do. Let it dry by evaporation. If the coverage isn't thick enough color, let it dry or mostly dry, and add another layer of color to increase density. Don't paint adjacent areas with different colors at the same time, lest the wet watercolor might mix before it dries in place. Once it's dry you can also layer another color on top of an existing one as well.

 

[pstake]

I have tried this a few times, also. Using fiber prints and oil paints, but I can't seem to get the emulsion to accept the paint. Should I be mixing the paint with linseed oil or something? Should the print be wet or dry?

 

[ric_kb]

the print surface can be lacquered (matte spray) so it will absorb the pencil, media... then top coated ...

BUT, I'd rather use matt paper and color directly onto the emulsion. I assume you are trying for "realistic" imaging, in which, the color doesn't appear as a separate or distinct element of the image.

 

[cliveh]

Food colouring works, but you may need to dilute it down as it is very garish.

 

[pentaxuser]

There is someone on APUG who does very good handcoloured prints. Have a look at the gallery going back a couple of months at least, maybe more. He usually shows several prints at once which is how you will find him. I cannot remember his name but I have commented on his prints and asked questions and he has always replied.

Worth a search.

pentaxuser

 

[tkamiya]

Before deciding on media, you might first want to define what kind of effects you are trying to achieve. My choice of media is FB Matte and Prisma colored pencils. I use turpentine + oil mixture to smooth it out.

Using these materials, colors are typically muted. I'll never get vivid and bright colors.

Generally speaking, FB matte papers are much easier and more receptive to hand coloring. If you fancy getting into the world of hand-coloring, you might just start using them.

Here's my comic releaf on this subject.
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)