How to Illustrate Pumpkins with Caran d’Ache

Follow along with artist Steph Fizer Coleman as she demonstrates how to create a vibrant pumpkin illustration using gouache, colored pencils, and oil pastels.

Instructions

  1. Begin by painting a loose background using a mixture of White, Primary Yellow, and Magenta.

  2. Paint a variety of pumpkin shapes using various mixtures of White, Primary Yellow, Orange, Magenta, Scarlet, and Burnt Sienna. Try different mixes of these paints to get different colors. You can also mix your paints directly on the page as you paint the pumpkin shapes. Nestle the pumpkin shapes at a variety of angles. Be sure to leave space to add stems later.

  3. Use three colors of Neopastels (I used Yellow, Vermilion, and Purplish Red) to roughly block in more color variation and texture.

  4. Use a small piece of crumpled tissue paper to blend the Neopastels. Venture outside the confines of the pumpkin shapes to create an added layer of texture over the background with the Neopastel smudges.

  5. Use a dark Luminance colored pencil (I used Dark Sap Green), to add stems and additional details.