You may have a large assortment of color pencils, but if you fail to organize them, as well as your other art materials, you won’t be able to find just the right color you need when you need it. You don’t have to have full-scale professional studio to do stunting colored pencil drawings – just set up a good smooth steady drawing table, adequate lighting, and containers and/or sorters for your pencils.
Finding a Space for a Studio
You can set up a colored pencil studio just about anywhere. While some artists use their dining rooms, others spread out in basements. A spare bedroom is also excellent as it gives needed privacy and allows you to be as messy as you want to be without having to clean up. All you do is close the bedroom door.
Drawer bureau – When you’re first starting out working with colored pencils, your work area can be as simple as a bureau of a desk drawer.
Closet studio – Do you have an empty closet? All you need is sufficient lighting and a desk and you’re good to go. A closet may be small, but it affords plenty of privacy as well as saves space.Setting up a Drawing Table
As a hobbyist or an amateur artist, you probably don’t want to invest a lot of money in a professional drawing board. However, it doesn’t take much to set up an adequate drawing table.
Instead of buying a drawing table, a simple drawing board with a smooth flat surface will work fine.
Set up a folding table (a long, rectangle one will work better, giving you more space for pencils than a square one). You can either buy a drawing board or be creative and find a smooth piece of wood that will do the job. Just be sure the surface is even and flat enough so as not to get indentations on your drawing paper.
Find a comfortable chair in your house that has adequate back support. Often you can find a cheap used office chair or even a rocking chair at a thrift store.
Organizing Colored Pencils
There are many ways to organize your colored pencils. You can store them either vertically or horizontally. If you store your pencils vertically, make sure to have the points pointing upward so as not to break them. If arranged horizontally, make sure they don’t roll off the table.
Plastic food containers – Plastic container (see-through) containers work well.
Silverware tray/sorters – Silverware trays are excellent. Stop by a thrift store and pick up some used sorters for almost nothing. Old coffee cans – Coffee cans are great for arranging pencils according to colors. Even better, are plastic containers where you can see not only the color, but also the name of the colored pencil. Don’t have your containers so tall that you can’t see your shorter pencils.
Plastic organizers – You can find a variety of inexpensive plastic organizers at most department stores.
Storing Papers
Store your art paper in dry areas, at room temperature. Keep papers away from windows or any other areas where they would be in danger of moisture or damaging elements. Arrange them in such a way as to prevent dents and scratches. It’s also best to store them horizontally.
Finally, be flexible. In other words, always be open to better organizational tips by searching online as well as visiting colored pencil forums.
Originally published on Suite 101.