MCC Colouring 101 Wk 4 - White Inkpads, Tooth & Pencils

After my previous post I sensed my own need to make a structured comparison of the white inkpads that I own in relation to using either the oil-based Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils or the wax-based Derwent Coloursoft pencils. Knowing how my own materials behave with one another is becoming more important to me as I realise that some of my failures & hence hesitancy in using certain styles of images has come about because I've not had sufficient knowledge to pay attention to the combination of cardstock/paper, inkpad & colouring medium suitable for that particular stamp. Add my own slight stature to the mixture - small hands & short height - & a particular project can become very frustrating not to mention time consuming.

I have now developed my own strategies for stamping. I stamp onto a hard surface - my favourite is a glass mat - & I always stand up. If the stamp is large, I place the glass mat onto a firm floor & whilst stamping use my knee (with the full force of my 7 stone weight behind it) on the stamp in order to get enough pressure. This works for me.

stamped onto smooth cardstock

stamped onto cardstock with a little tooth

I deliberately chose a stamp where there was a silhouetted area for colouring onto as well as some intricate detail - as you can see in the smooth cardstock example the butterfly's body & antennae are very finely detailed & quite separate (most apparent on the Adirondack, Brilliance & ColorBox Pigment stamped images) from the wings. I selected two pieces of black cardstock from my stash, one smooth & the other with some tooth.

At the end of the day it will depend upon personal preference (the photos are clickable for enlarging to enable a personal choice) & whether a matt or pearlescent effect is desirable. My wn favourite is the Adirondack inkpad on smooth cardstock & colouring with the Polychromos pencils.

The following is a summary of my findings:

• Amongst the inkpads the Adirondack & Brilliance stamped with the best definition on the smoother cardstock although they also performed well with the rougher cardstock.

• The Polychromos blended & layered the best on the smooth cardstock but also very well on the less smooth. The Coloursoft definitely gave a better finish on the rougher texture as it was difficult to achieve a smooth even blend when layering onto the smoother cardstock & there was some binding with increased layering.

• Overall detail is easier to achieve with the Polychromos as they maintain their sharpened point very well & leave little debris whereas the Coloursoft need to be used more carefully so as not to smudge any of the pigment from their dusty debris into the cardstock. The Coloursoft also need sharpening more frequently.

1. With Polychromos - use Adirondack or Brilliance inkpad on either cardstock.
2. With Coloursoft - use Adirondack or Brilliance inkpad on the rougher cardstock.
3. With Adirondack inkpad - use either pencil & select cardstock accordingly.
4. With Brilliance inkpad - use either pencil & select cardstock accordingly.
5. With smooth cardstock - use Adirondack or Brilliance inkpad with Polychromos.
6. With rougher cardstock - use Adirondack or Brilliance inkpad with either pencil.

Recipe

Stamp Chocolate Baroque UDLSP0154 Butterfly Blush.

Inks Adirondack - Pigment Snow Cap, Brilliance - Brilliance Moonlight White, ColorBox Pigment - ColorBox Pigment Frost White, Chalk - ColorBox Chalk Alabaster, StazOn - StazOn Cotton White. 

Colouring Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils & Derwent Coloursoft pencils.

Cardstock Smooth & not so smooth from stash.