2024-09-04

05:30PM

Ever since my focus on better sketches a few months ago, I've been trying to tackle the problem of adding color to my pieces, especially for stars. This presents a few problems right off the bat:

• Color applied to black paper tends to be very subdued (and stars need to pop)
• I want to avoid cleaning my acylic brushes in the dark
• It will be difficult to choose the correct color under a red-lamp
• None of my attempts so far look good

In my spare time I've been testing different mediums and methods to navigate these issues. I've tried oil pastels, crayons, colored pencils, chalk, and markers. The obvious solution, would be to use a colored acrylic and blend it, but that method would require me to clean my brushes in the dark for fear that I would maintain color on them while trying to brush white for a nebula or the moon.

This evening, I think I finally found a multi-step process that solves most of these issues and at least looks decent.

• I first apply a circular 'base' of white charcoal pencil to the page that is the same size as the brightest part of the star (sans airy disk). Applying this base of charcoal first helps the color 'pop' on the page.
• I then take a colored pencil matching the color of the inner-most part of the star's colored disk and work it over the base of white charcoal. Simply rubbing it over the white charcoal will not work as it will instead just move the charcoal around. I found that I have to almost 'etch' the color in with small 'pricking' motions.
• I then apply a varied amount of white acrylic over the color. The amount of white added will depend on the color saturation of the star. Because the color is applied with colored pencil, this prevents my brush from being contaminated with color.
• I then take a blending stump and pull out from the center in all directions. This has the tendency to blend the color and the white acrylic together into a nice even spread that provides a richer color on the black background. This also gives me control over how large a star's airy disk should appear.
• Lastly, I add a dab of white back to the center of the star with a white gel pen.

I tested this method with red, yellow, orange, and blue with passable results. My only concern at this point is how to do this for smaller stars, where I don't have much room to work within their radius. I might start off with zoomed in double stars, where the airy disk is larger at higher magnifications for practice.