ZEST - IT Pencil Blend 125 ml, TZP125

Product Information

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. A Tortillion dampened with Pencil Blend from the Blending Sponge was used to give a smooth finish to the blending. Extra pencil was gently added where necessary and blended to form the cap of the mushroom. I then thought I would try blending with water to see what results occurred in comparison. The water went some way to blending but it was very uneven. Some drawn lines were completely softened but it accentuated other areas where the graphite was less dissolvable, creating interesting textures but a no means smooth, blended, burnished square. When I burnished with a dry paper stump – The dry paper stump had minimal effect on the shading, you can see that the drawn lines have smudged a bit, but the drawn lines are still very much visible.

great alternative to turps, white spirit etc, without the horrible fumes... and with a lovely orange smell! Don't need to use much to go a long way, and doesn't stain paper.2017 The dampened brush was used to blend the coloured pencil. It was blended from dark to light, giving a soft transition of colour.

What is Pencil Blend?

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 blended square still has traces of drawn lines in it. The tonal range is still as wide as the completely dry unblended square. There has been some blending and softening but it hasn’t been entirely successful. There’s a much smoother result in the paper stump blended square, although again the tonal range has been reduced where the stump has lifted some of the darkest shading. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (1 layer) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (1 layer) –The Pencil Blend broke down the colour a little when blended with a brush, but not all the drawn lines were softened by the Pencil Blend.

The area can be left to dry or further Coloured Pencil can be added to the area whilst the paper is still damp, each will give a different look. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (1 layer) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (1 layer)– Using the PB brings out the intensity and darkness of the graphite in the darkest corner quite dramatically in comparison to the square that was burnished with a dry stump. More control with the brush than the stump dipped in PB. Shading with the pencil without any blending I noticed this was easier to blend than the other pencils by itself, just as I put the colour on. Lovely medium – hard consistency. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– Applying the Pencil Blend with a brush for 3 layers gave a really smooth paint like quality, with a real depth of colour that has a velvet like texture where the colour is applied at its heaviest. When I applied 3 layers of colour, burnishing with Pencil Blend and a paper stump between layers, the resulting square is less smooth looking and still pastel-like in its texture. 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.Conclusion with Luminance – by far most effective on Pastelmat, didn’t really work on the other papers, which implied it may not be suited to use with wax pencils. Testing its efficacy with a harder wax pencil – the Derwent Studio – will offer a useful comparison. When I burnished with a dry paper stump– This buffed up the shading and gave it a glossy surface, as well as softening the drawn lines in the lighter corner away completely. It was not possible to completely burnish away the lines in the darker corner. 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. These findings were sufficient proof that Pencil Blend doesn’t work with watersoluble pencils, so at this point I stopped testing the Supracolor, Albrecht Durer and Pitt Pastel pencils. When blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a brush (3 layers) vs blending with Pencil Blend (CF) and a paper stump (3 layers)– Drawn lines are dissolved with the brush and the gradation is maintained. With the paper stump the gradation is harder to control, and gets a bit lost. But the square looks very blended and smooth.