The first 4 pencils I tested were all watersoluble: Caran d’Ache Luminance, Supracolor, Stabilo All Surface Pencils and Faber Castell Pitt Pastel pencils. I wanted to see if these pencils could also be dissolved with Pencil Blend, as if this was the case it would be possible to blend watersoluble pencils with regular coloured pencils. The Zest It Pencil Blend (CF) did not dissolve these watersoluble pencils as well as water does and so blending both watersoluble and non-watersoluble pencils combined would not be possible.

It’s a good product but I think it’s way to expensive for the quantity you receive. When painting a picture I will need to use quite a bit of this product for my painting to be realistically blended. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (1 layer) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (1 layer)– The PB with a brush did not break down the drawn pencil lines as much as I would have expected – only very slightly. Using the paper stump was more effective but I think that was wholly because of the pressure I was applying with the paper stump. When I burnished with a dry paper stump– The paper stump has able to soften the lightest drawn lines, but in the darker corner the lines would not soften. Shading with the pencil without any blending– The smoothest of the papers, the Luminance glides on. The tonal range is narrower as a result, as there is no texture to grab the colour and hold it on its surface. But the shading appears smooth.When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– After 3 layers there is very little different between the brush applied square and the paper stump square. They appear very even and matt and solid in their colour. More pencil can be added whilst the paper is still damp, because the paper is now softer, work with very gentlepressureand then blend again. The amount of pressure and the length of time on the sponge gives you more control over the amount you use. Blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– Very similar results, although because the paper stump was pushing the colour into the paper the darkest corner appeared darker and more even. In the brushed square you can see traces of the brush dipped in PB moving the colour around on the surface of the paper, so it is very slightly more uneven.

When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (1 layer) Maintained the intensity of the darkest area and blended nicely through the gradation to the lightest area. However you can still see a trace of the drawn lines. Adding the pencil blend gave a warmth to the quality of the square. When I burnished with a dry paper stump – Burnishes well with a dry paper stump, the paper stump fills the gaps between the drawn lines and the result is a solid and intense application of graphite. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– I found that I couldn’t get it much darker than I achieved with just one layer, the graphite was already as dark as it could be (which was pretty dark!) The strokes of graphite where the paper could not take anymore are visible as slightly shiny streaks. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– With the brush, you have more freedom – it’s possible to lift the graphite and move it around, similar to a watercolour pencil and water. You have more control and so you can blend with quite painterly effects. Once the solvent has evaporated the pencil is still smudgeable and erasable. With the stump it is a little less easy to control but you can still achieve a really nice blend and control the gradation. Also smudgeable and erasable. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (1 layer) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (1 layer) – The intensity isn’t lost as much, but some of the drawn lines are still visible when using a brush. With a stump the drawn lines disappear but the darks are lost a bit.Shading with the pencil without any blending –As expected, drawn lines are visible and there is a fair amount of texture. How to use Zest-it Pencil Blend - with a brush. The Coloured Pencil was applied to watercolour paper in the normal way, graduated as can be seen in the image left.

Our Pencil Blend is non-toxic and non-flammable which many Pencil Artists value for use with their pencils and in the studio environment. Artists share their techniques for Blending Coloured Pencils When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– After 3 layers, the two squares look equally smooth to one another, but the brush has lifted less of the colour away in the darker corner and so has a greater tonal range. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– By applying 3 layers the dark areas start to look slightly shiny as the oil became caked into the surface of the paper.

Materials used

When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– The Pastelmat could take 3 layers, with the darkest corner becoming really intensely dark. It was easier to control the blend with the brush – with the paper stump the gradation got lost a little bit as colour spread into the lightest corner. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers) –Both squares were blended beautifully, however it was harder to control the gradation from dark to light when blending with the paper stump. It's better to work small area's at a time, have a cloth or kitchen towel handy to wipe the tip of the brush, this also keeps the work smooth and the brush clean, which in turn keeps the sponge cleaner. Shading with the pencil without any blending – A good tonal range from dark to light, the subtle texture of the paper is reflected in the drawn lines.

When I burnished with a dry paper stump– Didn’t blend as easily with a dry stump, the texture of the paper started to chew up the paper stump, but it did soften the drawn lines, which were more noticeable in the green shading of the Pablo pencil. When I burnished with a dry paper stump – Worked pretty well -softened well with a dry paper stump although some drawn lines were still visible in the darker area. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– Again, the tonal range is greatest in the square that is blended with a brush, however only by a fraction. You can see traces of drawn lines in the square blended with a brush as well. In comparison the square blended with a paper stump is much smoother. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (1 layer) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (1 layer)– The brush doesn’t offer the pressure needed to soften all the drawn lines, but it does go some way to blending the colours. The paper stump is much more effective.Bottom left: I burnished the colour with a dry paper stump, to see how much softening I could achieve without Pencil Blend. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers) – Again, surprisingly the Pencil Blend failed to soften the lightest drawn lines although it did have a slight effect in the lighter corner of both squares. The square where I used a brush to work the Pencil Blend into the shading appeared slightly more blended than the square that I used the paper stump on.