Six months ago I started this Spider-Man crazy drawing, which challenged me as hell for many reasons. Canvas was only A4 size, I had to cram two half body figures (one of which was Spider-Man!), faces were actually miniatures (so 1mm off center is a disaster) and colors were tricky. On top of everything I chose the wrong paper, too grainy, so small details were even harder. So I only did the faces and the drawing stayed on the ever-so-growing pile of unfinished drawings. Fortunately I didn’t scrape it because then I found out promarkers.

Yep, a while ago I got to try winsor & Newton promarkers. And although they were not exactly the ideal tool for my art , I had the most amazing idea. I tried to use them as the base layer of my drawings. With amazing results! 

Why use promarkers (markers in general) in a pencil drawing? 

• If you read this blog chances are you are drawing yourself. So you much know that the biggest challenge with colored pencils is making the drawing smooth, not leaving any white spots on the paper. Using markers as a base layer creates a smooth colored canvas, so colors on top look instantly better. 
• Markers are inherently brighter and more pigmented than colored pencils so your drawing looks more saturated, perfect for achieving a poster-like quality. 
• Drawing time is reduced to a fraction since covering an area with large markers is a loooot faster than covering the same area with the pixel-wide tip of a pencil. 

I really don’t know how it would turn out if I didn’t use promarkers. For sure it would have taken a lot longer. All I can tell is that I am super happy with this mixed media technique, I cannot wait to make use of it again! 

So, let’s go back to this drawing. As I mentioned I did the faces many months ago and I cannot remember what materials I used. For the rest of the drawing here is a complete list of… 

Tools 

• Winsor&Newton promarkers in colors lemon, pumpkin and red
• Faber–Castell albrecht durer colored pencils in dark cadmium yellow, cadmium orange, dark red (not shown here)
• Lyra Rembrandt polycolor colored pencils in pale geranium lake, white. 
• Faber-Castell Pitt oil based pencil in black
• White posca pen
• White prismacolor pencil
• Tombow mono zero pencil eraser
• Winsor&Newton smooth surface cartridge pad 230gsm. 

And yes, after being obsessed with Lyra Rembrandt polycolor, promarkers are my latest discovery! 

What about you guys? Do you have a favorite combo when it comes to drawing?