Water-soluble crayons

I was messing around with water-soluble crayons/wax pastels (Caran D'Ache brand) and graphite in my water media class today. I love the creamy, vibrant colours you can get using the crayons compared to watercolours. The portability of a little box of 10 water-soluble crayons is also a plus. I also had some watercolour pencils (Steadtler karat aquarelle), but wasn't too big a fan of the hard, thin lines.

I found it a challenge to maintain a loose feel to the paintings and I struggled with how permanent lines are when you draw into wet areas directly. Also, I was always too eager to add water and often did it too prematurely... So I'm not too happy with the results, but will be experimenting more later!


Water-soluble crayons/wax pastels, water-soluble graphite & gouache on paper, approx. 5.75x7.5 in. each

I think I overworked the ones above, so I tried to do a more sketchy one!


Water-soluble crayons/wax pastels & water-soluble graphite on paper, approx. 5.75x7.5 inches

These practice pieces also made me appreciate the importance of a good, durable watercolour paper (I used Winsor & Newton 140 lb hot press)