Media & Techniques

Two New Products to Include in Your Order for Next Year

Whenever I sit down to put in my order for the following school year, I feel torn. On the one hand, part of me wants to put in the exact same order each year. I know what I need and it saves a ton of time. On the other hand, I love looking through the art catalogs for new and exciting materials. I can get sucked in for hours.

Well today, I’d like to save you a bit of time by recommending two new exiting products made by Derwent. They are the Inktense and Graphitint Pencils. I had the opportunity to try out both products at a booth at the WAEA conference this fall and I could not pull myself away from the table. I actually squealed with delight.

The reason I love these products is that each can be used in a variety of ways. Let’s take a look.

Inktense Pencils

inktensepencils copy

Inktense pencils are one of the coolest art materials I have ever used. Used dry, they work like bright colored pencils. Dip them in water before coloring and the colors intensify. Or, color with them dry, then use a wet paintbrush to blend the colors on the paper. The options are endless. You can even use a wet brush to pull the color right from the tip of the pencil before painting with it! Shown below are three techniques on watercolor paper.

inktensesample copy

I would definitely order these over traditional watercolor pencils, as they have so many other cool uses.

Graphitint Pencils

graphitintpencils copy

The Graphitint pencils are great also. These work in much the same way as the Inktense pencils, although because they are graphite based, the colors are more subdued. Like the Inktense pencils you can use them dry, dip them in water or draw with them and then run over the top with a wet brush.

graphitintsample copy

I think these would also be fun for value drawing on dark paper.

Both of these products would be a great addition to any classroom, but I think they would fit especially well at the secondary level. Admittedly, they are on the more expensive side for classroom art materials, but I think that they would be so much fun for a special project if you can swing it.

In the comments, we’d love your ideas.

What types of projects do you think would be fun to try with these?

What other fun products are you adding to your order this year?

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amanda Heyn

Amanda Heyn is AOEU’s Director of K–12 PD & Media and a former AOEU Writer and elementary art educator. She enjoys creating relevant and engaging professional development just for art teachers.

More from Amanda