Jennifer, I just want you to know that I am not an artist, creative yes, but not an artist, so your help has become invaluable to me. I follow and have joined some of the coloring sites so when I came upon yours, I don't know, I was skeptical because I have joined so many that really haven't helped me because I just couldn't understand some of it or didn't want to. I'm impatient by nature (roaring ADHD). I have to tell you that what you offer is just perfect for me. Thank you so much for your tutorials and demos in so many of the mediums I would like to understand better. Please do some Copics, they are difficult as I am sure you know. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you, and boo to those people that thumbs down, sheesh. :)
I wish you had done the Derwent pencil blender too, to compare it with Caran Dash blender. Does anybody know, which of the 2 works better with Polychromos please?
Jennifer, Much of my work over the next 18 months will focus on teasing out the chemical basis for some of the solvent effects you saw in this series of tests. The primary phenomena will be driven by solubilization of wax, oil, binder, and extender; penetration of solvent into the mixture as a function of reduced surface tension; and the solvent's ability to suspend (lift) the pigments and redistribute the particles across the paper. Meltz is water-based and so likely is surfactant (detergent) based. You can test this by adding a few drops of Meltz to a couple of ounces of tap water in a bottle. Vigorously shake the bottle. If you get suds or foam, more than likely surfactants are present in the Meltz. Meltz might also contain suspension agents such as CMC (carboxymethylcellulose), gels, gums, or other suspension enhancers, and I suspect probably some builders, such as long-chain alcohols. The alcohols are not in themselves surfactants but can be potent surfactant adjuvants, allowing not only a reduction in surface tension, but contributing to easy formation of micelles allowing better penetration into the oils (due to micellization). I would be really surprised if Meltz does not contain significant surfactant and adjuvants, since it penetrates both Inktense and hydrophobic (oil- or wax-based) colored pencils. I would expect something like amyl alcohol or 1-hexanol to work better than IPA (isopropyl alcohol), since amyl has five carbons and hexanol has six carbons while IPA has only three carbons. The ethyl alcohol (booze alcohol) in your alcohol pen is only 2 carbons, but probably has some water, too, so you get some reduction in surface tension with the superior suspension capability of water. You might try mixing equal parts Meltz with IPA or pure ethyl alcohol or high-proof booze such as 100 proof vodka or bourbon. Typically alcohol will degrade surfactant performance, but this may not occur in Meltz, since the surfactants will be tuned to the highly lipophobic ('water-hating') oils and waxes in colored pencils. You might also try ethyl acetate (EtOAc), which is the primary or only ingredient in most fingernail polish removers nowadays. EtOAc is not nearly as toxic as acetone (Me2CO), which is a highly indiscriminant solvent and should not be inhaled. There are other solvents that would probably work better than either EtOAc or Me2CO, but they're far more toxic than either of these two common solvents and for that reason I won't discuss them here. I may end up trying them in my study, but only if I can throw together a fume hood.
Thanks for talking about how the blending affects the *paper* and it's tooth. Also, the related concept of what is left behind, like when you talked about the Gamsol, Zest It, and Melt solvent blenders. Online, we can only see the color but miss those really important aspects. Also, your discussion about different applications (brush, paper stump, etc.) is really helpful. Thanks! Request: Will you hold onto these? Later, when you are doing mixed media experimentation, pull them out and draw some gel pens (white!) over the swatches to see if the blenders effect the other media we use with colored pencils.
I bought eco-terpentine in the hardware store, but Gina K kept saying: it's no good, so, living in Holland gamsol is hard to get and expensive, I bought Zest-it, but also hard to get but a little less expensive than Gamsol, but IT WORKED JUST AS WELL AS MY ECO TERPENTINE... and that was about 2 euro's or so, so... I felt ripped off, payed about 17 euros for the zest-it (incl. sending) and was NOT much better :-( but am sorry I did buy the bottle (thought that was expensive enough) I did not also buy the sponge bottle as I thought I already made one myself... BUT LOVE YOUR VIDEO. I was shocked when I saw your picture on youtube, as I always watched Leslie Bockenstette, you instantly reminded me of her, but than the version of Leslie with make-up... it's a huge compliment, believe me... she was AMAZING and I still miss her video's. But also love yours ! !!!
Between the Derwent and Prismacolor colorless blender pens, it appears that you put down more pigment on the Derwent. Love this test sheet. Would love to have one, please.
Honey in watercolor is an antibacterial, and that helps reduce mold, which can be a problem for things like pan watercolors. But it’s also an aid to keep the watercolor wet, helping with blending and keeping the paint from drying out. For pan watercolors with honey in them, they typically rewet much better and faster.
I always use ‘zest it’, I find it the best on the market, always keep plenty at home and buy the pot with the sponge and remoisten with the zest it from the bottle. Spectrum Noir is also a good option. I purchase both on Amazon UK. Thank you for sharing this, very interesting 😘x
Love Zest-It but that Prismacolor Premier Blender is very cool. It seems to have a Teflon strip on it. I can go easily from one color to another without smearing.
Hi! You mentioned around 30-35ish about a link to a video you did on how to clean the nibs on the Prismacolor blending pens, but I can’t see that link. Is it one of the links listed and just called something else? Thanks! Big hi 👋 from Australia 🇦🇺 and it’s great to hear voice and you are very funny (you know, something to fall back on if you suddenly find yourself in a sinkhole - you actually could do comedy, you crack me up so much and are so much fun 💖). But yeah, where is that link re cleaning nibs on blenders? 🙏
Interesting to see! For the moment, I blend with white pencil and the derwent blender. But the Derwent blender pens seems interesting. Do they bleed if you want to use them in two-sided coloring books?
Baby oil you could go lighter and won't go through the paper - also reminds me of watercolor painting. If you can't take the smell use mineral oil - which is baby oil without fragrance. Also I prefer a brush as it's more a painting feel like watercolors.
This was great :) I was surprised by a couple of inclusions on there, and that you'd included acetone to try, acetone dehydrates and leaves a residue naturally so wasn't shocked when it failed. I'd be worried about some of those products with how they hold up 24-48 hours later, can you come back and touch up your work, or are they used as the 'last & final step' instead of say burnishing?
Hi! Omg you have the patience of a saint. Since my son committed suicide August 1, 2020 I have so little patience and my hands shake a lot. God I love him and miss him so much I feel like I am dying inside. This is why I started colouring, it is helping me calm down. Can you please tell me what (wood ?) piece you are cleaning your stumps with and where would I find it. Thank you, your work is wonderful. Hug’s
Armadillo Feathers Hello Armadillo Feather (fun name!). Citra Solv is the product brand name I was trying to remember. I believe multimedia artists use it to “melt” ink on pages from certain magazines and get abstracted color paper for collage.
Thank you so very much for this wonderful demonstration. It saves me so much work. It seems to me that the OMS and the Derwent Blender Pen are the best for what I’m trying to achieve. I might actually try the Derwent Blender Pen after this demonstration. Hmm. Very interesting. However, I was surprised how well the Prismacolor Blender Pencil did. In all fairness though, it might be a better test to blend out the brand of pencils with the same brand as the blenders and then test the same blenders with all the other CPs you have since each pencil seems to have a different makeup. But that would be VERY time consuming if you have a lot of different kinds of pencils, which I don’t. I have Prisma Premieres and FC Polychromous. 🎶 “She blinded me with science. SCIENCE!” -Thomas Dolby. Hahahaha! (I know he meant something else by that song’s lyrics; I just thought on the surface it was funny.) Thanks again.
I think using the same stump in each oil changes the variant because the oils are not drying between uses so they are all mixing together. Therefore you are not getting a true result.
Me too! So glad I tried this test but it opens so many other questions...like how would this test play out with a different colored pencil brand or with different colors?
yes, I have noticed that some pencil colors blend easier than others. Then I felt silly because it would make sense that some colors require more pigment than others. That then leads to more questions running around in my head! Lol
Zest It is not toxic, but it can be a skin irritant so if it enters your airways it could cause breathing difficulty, if swallowed it would give you a nasty stomach ache and acid indigestion but that is much easier to treat with simple antacids, my advice is do not under any circumstances drink the stuff!.
![How to Blend Black Widow Colored Pencils [My Favorite Tips & Tricks]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5aoyQUVSA3Y/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to Blend Black Widow Colored Pencils [My Favorite Tips & Tricks]](/img/tr.png)
Jennifer, I just want you to know that I am not an artist, creative yes, but not an artist, so your help has become invaluable to me. I follow and have joined some of the coloring sites so when I came upon yours, I don't know, I was skeptical because I have joined so many that really haven't helped me because I just couldn't understand some of it or didn't want to. I'm impatient by nature (roaring ADHD). I have to tell you that what you offer is just perfect for me. Thank you so much for your tutorials and demos in so many of the mediums I would like to understand better. Please do some Copics, they are difficult as I am sure you know. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you, and boo to those people that thumbs down, sheesh. :)
Wow Pamela. Your comment is amazing and just what I needed to hear today. Thank you. 😍
I wish you had done the Derwent pencil blender too, to compare it with Caran Dash blender. Does anybody know, which of the 2 works better with Polychromos please?
Jennifer, Much of my work over the next 18 months will focus on teasing out the chemical basis for some of the solvent effects you saw in this series of tests. The primary phenomena will be driven by solubilization of wax, oil, binder, and extender; penetration of solvent into the mixture as a function of reduced surface tension; and the solvent's ability to suspend (lift) the pigments and redistribute the particles across the paper. Meltz is water-based and so likely is surfactant (detergent) based. You can test this by adding a few drops of Meltz to a couple of ounces of tap water in a bottle. Vigorously shake the bottle. If you get suds or foam, more than likely surfactants are present in the Meltz. Meltz might also contain suspension agents such as CMC (carboxymethylcellulose), gels, gums, or other suspension enhancers, and I suspect probably some builders, such as long-chain alcohols. The alcohols are not in themselves surfactants but can be potent surfactant adjuvants, allowing not only a reduction in surface tension, but contributing to easy formation of micelles allowing better penetration into the oils (due to micellization). I would be really surprised if Meltz does not contain significant surfactant and adjuvants, since it penetrates both Inktense and hydrophobic (oil- or wax-based) colored pencils. I would expect something like amyl alcohol or 1-hexanol to work better than IPA (isopropyl alcohol), since amyl has five carbons and hexanol has six carbons while IPA has only three carbons. The ethyl alcohol (booze alcohol) in your alcohol pen is only 2 carbons, but probably has some water, too, so you get some reduction in surface tension with the superior suspension capability of water. You might try mixing equal parts Meltz with IPA or pure ethyl alcohol or high-proof booze such as 100 proof vodka or bourbon. Typically alcohol will degrade surfactant performance, but this may not occur in Meltz, since the surfactants will be tuned to the highly lipophobic ('water-hating') oils and waxes in colored pencils. You might also try ethyl acetate (EtOAc), which is the primary or only ingredient in most fingernail polish removers nowadays. EtOAc is not nearly as toxic as acetone (Me2CO), which is a highly indiscriminant solvent and should not be inhaled. There are other solvents that would probably work better than either EtOAc or Me2CO, but they're far more toxic than either of these two common solvents and for that reason I won't discuss them here. I may end up trying them in my study, but only if I can throw together a fume hood.
Jennifer, I'm so grateful you did this testing of various blenders for us! I thoroughly enjoyed this video and learned a lot!
So, baby oil minus the fragrance is, mineral oil?
A great show. You are an inspiration with your art journey of learning and teaching.
Thank you! I love to do art science 😊💜
just found this video and loved it. How was the drawing, after blending with zest it?
Thanks for talking about how the blending affects the *paper* and it's tooth. Also, the related concept of what is left behind, like when you talked about the Gamsol, Zest It, and Melt solvent blenders. Online, we can only see the color but miss those really important aspects. Also, your discussion about different applications (brush, paper stump, etc.) is really helpful. Thanks!
Request: Will you hold onto these? Later, when you are doing mixed media experimentation, pull them out and draw some gel pens (white!) over the swatches to see if the blenders effect the other media we use with colored pencils.
Good suggestions and I’m glad you found the testing so helpful. There is so much to learn. I love art!
I bought eco-terpentine in the hardware store, but Gina K kept saying: it's no good, so, living in Holland gamsol is hard to get and expensive, I bought Zest-it, but also hard to get but a little less expensive than Gamsol, but IT WORKED JUST AS WELL AS MY ECO TERPENTINE... and that was about 2 euro's or so, so... I felt ripped off, payed about 17 euros for the zest-it (incl. sending) and was NOT much better :-( but am sorry I did buy the bottle (thought that was expensive enough) I did not also buy the sponge bottle as I thought I already made one myself... BUT LOVE YOUR VIDEO. I was shocked when I saw your picture on youtube, as I always watched Leslie Bockenstette, you instantly reminded me of her, but than the version of Leslie with make-up... it's a huge compliment, believe me... she was AMAZING and I still miss her video's. But also love yours ! !!!
hello, your video popped up in my queue. so glad, it did! i really like your videos, they are so informative.
thanks so much for this video, GREAT INFORMATION!! have you tried mineral oil as it doesn't smell.
Between the Derwent and Prismacolor colorless blender pens, it appears that you put down more pigment on the Derwent. Love this test sheet. Would love to have one, please.
Meltz works best with holbein colored pencils And according to the company it is soposed to give a watercolor effect
Honey in watercolor is an antibacterial, and that helps reduce mold, which can be a problem for things like pan watercolors. But it’s also an aid to keep the watercolor wet, helping with blending and keeping the paint from drying out. For pan watercolors with honey in them, they typically rewet much better and faster.
Awesome! Thanks for the knowledge.
I love watercolours made with honey but unfortunately I had every one grow fuzzy mold on them all.
I always use ‘zest it’, I find it the best on the market, always keep plenty at home and buy the pot with the sponge and remoisten with the zest it from the bottle. Spectrum Noir is also a good option. I purchase both on Amazon UK. Thank you for sharing this, very interesting 😘x
Good to know. I may have to buy Spectrum Noir to try one of these days.
Love love nail polish
Thank you.
Me too. What kind is it?
Love Zest-It but that Prismacolor Premier Blender is very cool. It seems to have a Teflon strip on it. I can go easily from one color to another without smearing.
Be careful with Zest-It. You can wipe it off and it still works. A very minute amount goes a very long way.
What exactly is vegetable oil? Is is a certain kitchen oil? I can only think of plant oil coming from seeds or fruits.
I like this doggy!
Baby oil used very lightly works great
I didn't catch it are you using in video
Polychrome Faber Castell or prisma colors??? Thank you
I wonder what white vinegar would do?
Hi! You mentioned around 30-35ish about a link to a video you did on how to clean the nibs on the Prismacolor blending pens, but I can’t see that link.
Is it one of the links listed and just called something else? Thanks! Big hi 👋 from Australia 🇦🇺 and it’s great to hear voice and you are very funny (you know, something to fall back on if you suddenly find yourself in a sinkhole - you actually could do comedy, you crack me up so much and are so much fun 💖). But yeah, where is that link re cleaning nibs on blenders? 🙏
Right
Thanks for doing this testing!
You are very welcome 😊
Oh! And that Tombow... seeing as it contains both water and glycerin, would that be a blending pen for gel pens too?
Interesting to see! For the moment, I blend with white pencil and the derwent blender. But the Derwent blender pens seems interesting. Do they bleed if you want to use them in two-sided coloring books?
Where did you go to school for art?
Ever used Sennelier Green for oil? ecologic wihtout the citrus-smell. Originally ment for thinning oilpaint or brush cleaner. (From Belgium)
Baby oil you could go lighter and won't go through the paper - also reminds me of watercolor painting. If you can't take the smell use mineral oil - which is baby oil without fragrance. Also I prefer a brush as it's more a painting feel like watercolors.
Great suggestions. Thanks!
I wonder if Avon Skin So Soft would work like the baby oil/mineral oil?
Tombow (with glycerin) clear blender.
This was great :) I was surprised by a couple of inclusions on there, and that you'd included acetone to try, acetone dehydrates and leaves a residue naturally so wasn't shocked when it failed. I'd be worried about some of those products with how they hold up 24-48 hours later, can you come back and touch up your work, or are they used as the 'last & final step' instead of say burnishing?
A follow up video is a great idea. Steve and I were thinking along some of the same lines as you. Great ideas. Thanks.
Glycerine might work well with watercolor pencils.
Hi! Omg you have the patience of a saint. Since my son committed suicide August 1, 2020 I have so little patience and my hands shake a lot. God I love him and miss him so much I feel like I am dying inside. This is why I started colouring, it is helping me calm down. Can you please tell me what (wood ?) piece you are cleaning your stumps with and where would I find it. Thank you, your work is wonderful. Hug’s
I am so sorry for your loss. You are a very strong and brave woman.
My heart grieves for you...I’m so very sorry for your loss 😭. I wish I could hug you.
Believe on God and have faith on Him. Never give up!!!! I love you sweet lady!!
How about using baby oil
You a Beautiful lady love your tutorials, Remember we very close to Australia a Country CALL NEW ZEALAND 😆
Honestly OMS is not that much toxic. You should not drink it for sure, but its not high toxic. I use oms for blending colored pencil
Honey is a humectant also.
That’s what I was thinking but I was t sure. Does it add a shine?
You can try spike lavender instead of oms
Spike lavender? That’s new to me. What is it?
I use lavender scented baby oil. I got it at Walmart.
Citronelle - I think that is an american product and may be easier and similar to “Zest it”. You might be able to get it in Walmart and Supermarkets.
Good idea. I will look into that.
Is that different from Citra Solv? Citra Solv would work; I get it at Whole Foods or online.
Armadillo Feathers Hello Armadillo Feather (fun name!). Citra Solv is the product brand name I was trying to remember. I believe multimedia artists use it to “melt” ink on pages from certain magazines and get abstracted color paper for collage.
Thank you so very much for this wonderful demonstration. It saves me so much work. It seems to me that the OMS and the Derwent Blender Pen are the best for what I’m trying to achieve. I might actually try the Derwent Blender Pen after this demonstration. Hmm. Very interesting. However, I was surprised how well the Prismacolor Blender Pencil did. In all fairness though, it might be a better test to blend out the brand of pencils with the same brand as the blenders and then test the same blenders with all the other CPs you have since each pencil seems to have a different makeup. But that would be VERY time consuming if you have a lot of different kinds of pencils, which I don’t. I have Prisma Premieres and FC Polychromous. 🎶 “She blinded me with science. SCIENCE!” -Thomas Dolby. Hahahaha! (I know he meant something else by that song’s lyrics; I just thought on the surface it was funny.) Thanks again.
I think using the same stump in each oil changes the variant because the oils are not drying between uses so they are all mixing together. Therefore you are not getting a true result.
I use vasaleen
Wow! I am surprised with the Zest It product!
Me too! So glad I tried this test but it opens so many other questions...like how would this test play out with a different colored pencil brand or with different colors?
yes, I have noticed that some pencil colors blend easier than others. Then I felt silly because it would make sense that some colors require more pigment than others. That then leads to more questions running around in my head! Lol
Is it a good idea to have the dog so close inhaling all these spirits? Just wondering as I know even with zest It can give me a headache.
Have you ever tried the Dove Blender pen?
Odourless blend
i heard coconut oil is good. i don't know though
Zest It is not toxic, but it can be a skin irritant so if it enters your airways it could cause breathing difficulty, if swallowed it would give you a nasty stomach ache and acid indigestion but that is much easier to treat with simple antacids, my advice is do not under any circumstances drink the stuff!.
💜💜💜tfs💜💜💜
And to note your using lyra and caran blenders which make both oil based pencils and you using them on WAX based pencils. A tad different.
Gamsol it toxic not happy I just learn that gamsol toxic does have bad smells (thumb up me it smell )
Yes. A lot of our art products have warnings that we need to be aware of.
That a shame because I get bad headache do to strong smell
Zest
With the zest-it you mention that it is about desolving the wax. But you are using polychromos and they are not wax based.
Vegetable oils go rancid. Whereas mineral oil doesn’t.