Layering and blending colored pencils builds rich colors and values. Combine this with embossing and outlining the drawing with a hard Verathin pencil to precisely control detail. Outlining the drawing at the start helps to contain the subsequent pencil strokes, making it easier to make a crisp and clean drawing. Detail is the last step. Had it been applied early in the process, it would have been smudged by the Odorless Mineral Spirits and lost beneath layers of deepening color. Click on the first image to start a step-by-step slideshow.
Outline the petals and sepals with a sharp Verathin pencil. Use less pressure on the elements in the background to suggest depth. Add a hint of a shadow below the flower with dull purple. Use an embossing stylus on the petal edges that point toward the viewer and to create fine white lines around front sepal.
Color the flower and stem with a soft prismacolor pencil to establish major colors. Observe how embossing turns the edges of petals toward you.
Deepen the purples with layers of Process Red and True Blue. True blue is applied on the stem, creating a darker green.
Blend the pencil strokes with Odorless Mineral Spirits applied in a waterbrush. Some of the dissolved color will tint the embossed lines.
Once the Odorless Mineral Spirits have dried, strengthen the richness of the colors with additional layers of pencil.
Detail comes last. Add crisp veins with a verathin pencil and reinforce some of the pale petal edges with a white gell pen. Keep the contrast and linework light on the background elements.