Charting Your Course

Recently I've given in on something. I finally decided to make myself a chart of my colored pencils. I've seen other artists use them, but I just felt like it would take way too much time and that it was more about doing it perfectly than it was about using it.

I was finally pushed over the edge by:

• the fact that the colors on the ends of my pencils do not correspond well to the actual pencil colors
• once I get thinking about color, I tend to forget all about value (and I recently read that skipping values in CPs tends to give them a muddy appearance.)
• sometimes I want similar, but not the same combinations - so all the apples don't look identical.

I discovered:

• it didn't take very long
• I just didn't bother about perfection
• I wrote out guesstimates on the values as I did it - very useful
• I use it extensively when setting up a piece, in fact, I used it more than the reference concerning the colors.

So, if you've ever wondered about making one, I'd say go for it and post it in your working area! Katherine - thanks for the tip on the image location and bulleted lists!