Start by drawing lightly with a pencil labeled water-soluble, then use a damp brush to activate a small area. Let it dry before deciding whether to add more drawing. Watercolor pencils let you combine dry marks and washes; the useful first exercise is learning what your own pencil does at each stage.

A · Dry: Leave the drawing dry: Keep it as your reference. B · Activated: Pass a damp brush: over lightly drawn marks. C · Combined: Let the wash dry: Then add a few dry lines
An exercise layout with empty observation areas, not simulated swatches of a pencil brand.

Check the pencil before adding water

Look for a water-soluble or watercolor description on the product. Derwent’s Watercolour range, for example, is intended for both dry use and use with water. A colored pencil’s shape or painted barrel alone does not tell you whether its marks will activate.

Use paper intended for watercolor if you plan to add washes, a clean brush and a small container of water. A smoother surface is a sensible sample for close line work; compare it with the surface you already own using the paper-surface guide. You do not need a new full set of pencils to run this exercise.

Try three small areas

Choose one color. Label three small rectangles A, B and C, leaving space below each for notes. This is our suggested layout for learning the sequence, not a standardized product comparison.

  1. A: keep a dry reference. Shade lightly with visible, closely spaced marks. Leave this area dry so you can compare the original drawing with the later stages.
  2. B: activate the drawing. Repeat the light shading. Wet the brush, remove excess water and pass it gently across a small section. Watch the marks rather than repeatedly scrubbing the same spot.
  3. C: combine stages. Repeat the activated area, allow it to dry, then add a few dry lines where you want detail. Compare the deliberately dry marks with the wash underneath.

Canson’s pencil guide shows how wetting selected marks can combine line and wash, and how colors can be mixed. The three-area layout makes that choice explicit: you do not have to dissolve every line.

Why are some pencil marks still visible?

Visible marks are not automatically a failure. They may be part of the image you want. If you want a less linear result, compare a lighter application rather than trying to force an already worked surface to change.

In her watercolor-pencil tutorial, artist Louise De Masi uses light pressure and also picks up color from the exposed pencil tip with a damp brush. That second approach is an option to try on a separate sample when you want to start with a wash instead of a drawn texture. It is not an instruction to soak the wooden pencil.

Will the color reactivate after it dries?

Check the exact range. Derwent says Inktense becomes permanent after the pigment has been fully dissolved with water and allowed to dry. Undissolved marks are an important exception. Do not assume every water-soluble pencil has the same behavior as every other range, or label all of them simply “ink” because of the effect they produce.

Keep the first page as a reference

Write down the pencil range, color name, paper and which marks you left dry. Add a short note after the sample dries: what stayed visible, what you liked, and what you want to change next time. Leave claims about exact color, fading or permanence to the relevant product information and a suitable test.

Rinse the brush after the exercise and follow our watercolor brush-care guide. Keep the labeled sample for your next drawing session.

Sources checked September 9, 2026. Research-based beginner guide with an original exercise layout. No brand swatches or physical pencil tests are presented.