How I created my artwork for Derwent’s revamped Metallic range by Mirela Duta

Sometimes an opportunity comes along that it’d be silly to turn down. I’ve been working with Derwent since I began my art journey.

Celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the British brand’s popular Metallic Pencils, I was tasked with creating something that would help the range sparkle and shine on shelves.

In the following project, I used the full range of Metallic Pencils; including the eight new colours that have been produced to celebrate the range’s birthday.

Step 1

Grab your colours and test how they appear on a selection of papers. Use a variation the colours and textures to see what works with the pencils on offer. I chose black paper as it not only layered the Metallic
Pencils really well, but it allowed the shades to stand out too!

Step 2

Prior planning is absolutely vital. I planned out my individual shapes and how they connected together, annotating them so I knew what each piece meant and how it fitted together.

Test here with different colour blends; I found that Copper and Gold mixed really well together to create a unique shade.

Step 3

Once you’re happy with you’re planning, it’s time to put pen to paper. A lot of my work is geometric and, with the stylish metallic range, I felt a piece that combined both a modern design and made the Metallic collection properties shine was ideal.

I began by drawing my shapes with a ruler, carefully joining lines together like a puzzle piece. No two shapes were the same but they all fitted perfectly together to create a composition that was both bold and eye-catching.

Step 4

Using a smaller ruler, I create a selection of polygons, that were slightly off square. Within each shape, I drew another shape leaning the opposite way.

Each smaller shapes then had a pattern inside, which allowed me to display a selection of techniques, the colour vibrancy and the versatility of the new range.

You can easily achieve these too!

Step 5

Choosing the shade to start with was the difficult bit!

In each pattern, I drew smaller patterns or solid blocks of colour. I tried to combine colours that sat comfortably together and didn’t make my composition look disjointed.

Outside of each shape, I drew ‘sunrays’ in a contrasting colour which started in tight knit lines and expanded wider, drawing the eye down the shape and into my patterns. This variation of shapes adds movement and flow to the final piece.