Wax crayons belong to the art materials united under the general name "pastel". The pastel used in painting and drawing is waxy, oily and dry. This classification is determined by the method of manufacturing the material.
It is easy to guess that the basis for the described crayons is wax, in which color pigments are added. Such pencils of the best quality are produced only from natural raw materials and vegetable paints.
How to use wax crayons
There are several great techniques that give unique results. The classic way is sketching. It is made with a pencil of that color, which will be the main one in the gamut of the picture. Then shades are applied to the sketch. Wax crayons (oil and dry pencils, by the way, are used at this stage in exactly the same way) use dark and then light in the picture. The strokes that will lie on top must be done very carefully so as not to tear off the wax already laid on the paper.
Graffito method
Translated from Italian - “scratched” drawing. It is carried out in the technique of engraving. It will take wax crayons , paper and a knife. Pastel is densely applied on a sheet of paper - first light, then dark. Contours are scratched with a knife.
Stained glass enamel method
Have to stock up on a grate-stand. Under it, you need to place burning candles, and on it - a metal or porcelain plate on which a sheet of paper will lie (experts advise putting a newspaper under it). The meaning of the method is that in the process of drawing with wax, the surface must be constantly heated. Crayons melt on warm paper and create a delicious enamel effect.
Encaustic
This is also a method of drawing with molten wax, but it is done differently. The image is voluminous, "live". The method was used by the ancient Egyptians. You will need wax crayons, thick cardboard, a solid (without holes for steam) iron. Multi-colored lines are applied to the sole of a slightly heated device and pressed, slightly turning, the iron to the surface of the cardboard. It will turn out beautiful stains, which can be turned both into realistic hills, mountains and rivers, and into outlandish abstract landscapes. Finer and finer lines can be made with the nose or edge of the iron.
Wash Method
The picture will turn out to be very mysterious and transparent if the image created by wax crayons is washed out with turpentine. A drop of solvent is taken on a synthetic brush and led with light strokes according to the drawing.
Wax crayons in children's art
Crayons of various shapes and colors deliver unprecedented creative enjoyment for kids. The lines and strokes are colorful and embossed, and the tool itself does not require constant sharpening. Paper of different texture allows you to create unusual patterns and compositions. Paintings look very picturesque, for the creation of which they use watercolor and wax crayons. The photo on this page shows a wonderful technique. First, a “wax” image is made on watercolor paper , and then it is painted with paints.
The second life of wax crayons
Drawn to a short tip and broken chalk can be turned into a beautiful souvenir or a new tool for the artist. The wreckage is placed in heat-resistant molds and baked in the oven for two to three minutes, allowed to cool and removed. If the colored fragments are mixed before the procedure, the new chalk will turn out to be unusually colorful.