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I spent three months coloring with colored pencils before I figured out blending was even a thing. I'd lay down a single color, move to the next section, and wonder why my finished pages looked flat compared to the ones people posted online.

The difference was blending. Not some secret talent, not expensive supplies. Just a few techniques that nobody told me about until I accidentally stumbled on a colored pencil forum at 11pm on a Tuesday.

Once I learned these five methods, my coloring went from "pretty good for a hobby" to "wait, you did that with pencils?" Here's each one, starting with the simplest (no extra tools needed) and ending with the most advanced.

Method 1: Layering with light pressure

This is where everyone should start because it requires zero extra tools. You just use the pencils you already have.

The idea is simple: instead of pressing hard and trying to get full color in one pass, you build up thin, transparent layers. Each layer adds depth. Three or four light passes look richer and smoother than one heavy one.

Here's how to do it:

1. Apply your first layer with barely any pressure. You should see the paper grain through the color.
2. Go over the same area again, shifting your stroke direction slightly. If your first layer went left to right, try small circles for the second.
3. Add a third layer. By now, the color starts looking more even and saturated.
4. Keep building until you hit the intensity you want.

The stroke direction thing matters more than it sounds. If every layer goes in the same direction, you end up with visible lines running through your color. Alternating between horizontal, circular, and diagonal strokes fills the paper tooth more evenly and hides individual pencil marks.

This technique works great on mandala coloring pages because the repetitive sections let you practice the same layering motion over and over. By the time you finish one mandala, the technique starts feeling automatic.

Method 2: Burnishing

Burnishing is layering's aggressive cousin. You apply heavy pressure with a colored pencil (usually a light color or white) over your existing layers to flatten the paper tooth and push the pigment together.

The result looks almost waxy and polished. Colors become saturated and the paper texture disappears. If you've seen a colored pencil piece that made you think "there's no way that's pencil," they probably burnished it.

How to do it:

1. Lay down your colors using light-to-medium pressure first. Build up at least 2-3 layers.
2. Take a white or cream colored pencil and go over the entire area with firm, even pressure. Small circular strokes work best.
3. The wax from the top layer pushes the colors underneath together and fills any remaining paper grain.

A couple warnings. Burnishing is a one-way street. Once you've pressed hard enough to flatten the paper tooth, you can't add more layers on top easily. The surface becomes too slick for new pigment to grab onto. So get your colors right before you burnish.

Also, cheap pencils don't burnish well. The wax content is too low. If your pencils feel scratchy and dry under heavy pressure, burnishing will just damage the paper instead of smoothing the color. Prismacolor Premier pencils (about $45 for 72) are great for burnishing because they're soft and waxy. Prismacolor Scholar ($20 for 48) work decently too.

Burnishing works especially well on flower coloring pages where you want smooth, rich petals that really pop off the page.

Method 3: Colorless blender pencil

A colorless blender is a pencil-shaped tool with no pigment, just the wax or oil binder that holds colored pencils together. You use it like a regular pencil, applying it over your colored layers to smooth everything out.

It does the same thing as burnishing but gives you more control and doesn't commit you quite as hard. The blender pushes pigment around and fills in the paper grain without adding any new color.

What to buy:

• Prismacolor Colorless Blender (about $2-3). This is the one most people use. It's soft and waxy, matches Prismacolor pencils perfectly.
• Derwent Blender Pencil (about $3). Firmer than Prismacolor, works better with harder pencils like Faber-Castell Polychromos.

How to use it:

1. Apply your colors first. Build up 2-3 light layers minimum.
2. Take the blender and go over the area with medium-to-firm pressure using small circular strokes.
3. Watch the colors melt together. It's genuinely satisfying.
4. If you need more color after blending, you can usually add another light layer on top and blend again.

The big advantage over burnishing: you can layer over a blender pencil more easily than over a burnished surface. The blender smooths things out without completely sealing the paper tooth, so there's still some grip for additional pencil layers.

I keep a colorless blender on my desk at all times now. It's the most-used tool in my coloring kit after the pencils themselves.

Method 4: Solvent blending

This is where things get interesting. Solvent blending uses a chemical solvent (usually odorless mineral spirits) to dissolve the wax binder in your colored pencil layers. The pigment turns almost liquid for a second, spreads evenly, and then dries smooth.

The result is the smoothest finish you can get with colored pencils. It looks painted. That super-smooth, almost airbrushed quality you sometimes see in colored pencil work? Solvent blending is usually how it's done.

What you need:

• Gamsol (Gamblin Odorless Mineral Spirits), about $10 for a 4oz bottle. This is the standard. It's refined to remove the most toxic compounds, but you should still use it in a ventilated space.
• Cotton swabs or blending stumps for applying the solvent.
• Paper towels for cleanup.

How to do it:

1. Apply your colors with medium pressure. You want a decent amount of pigment on the paper.
2. Dip a cotton swab in Gamsol. Dab off the excess on a paper towel. You want it damp, not dripping.
3. Gently go over your colored area with the damp swab. Use small circular motions.
4. The pigment will dissolve and spread, filling the paper grain completely.
5. Let it dry for a minute or two (it dries fast).
6. Add more pencil layers on top if needed, and blend again.

Solvent blending is amazing on dragon coloring pages and mermaid coloring pages because you can create those smooth, iridescent scale effects that are almost impossible with dry blending alone.

Things to watch out for:

• Ventilation. Even "odorless" solvents have some fumes. Open a window.
• Paper quality matters a lot here. Thin copy paper will buckle and tear when wet. Print your coloring pages on 32lb paper or cardstock for solvent blending.
• Don't oversaturate. Too much solvent makes the colors run and bleed.

Method 5: Baby oil blending

This is my favorite method to recommend to people who want solvent-level smoothness without the chemical concerns. Baby oil (mineral oil) dissolves colored pencil wax just like Gamsol, but it's non-toxic and you probably already have some in your bathroom.

How to do it:

1. Color your area with medium-to-heavy pressure. You need a good amount of pigment for this to work.
2. Dip a cotton swab in baby oil. Squeeze out the excess so it's just lightly coated.
3. Rub gently over the colored area in small circles.
4. The colors blend together and the finish becomes smooth and slightly glossy.

The catch: baby oil doesn't evaporate like Gamsol does. It soaks into the paper and can leave a slightly translucent, oily spot. On white areas of the page, this can be visible. On fully colored areas, it's usually fine.

Some people use rubbing alcohol instead of baby oil. It evaporates cleanly but doesn't dissolve wax-based pencils as well. It works better with Crayola-type pencils than with Prismacolor.

Baby oil blending works well on pages with large, solid-color areas. Try it on butterfly coloring pages where the wings have big sections that benefit from smooth, even color.

Which method should you use?

It depends on what you're going for:

Most people end up using a combination. I typically layer first, use the colorless blender on most areas, burnish the darkest sections, and break out the Gamsol for special pieces I want to look polished.

Supplies for blending

If you want to start blending, here's what I'd recommend at each budget:

Under $15: A set of Crayola Colored Pencils (50-pack, about $8) and practice the layering and burnishing techniques. No extra tools needed.

$20-30: Prismacolor Scholar pencils (48-pack, about $20) plus a Prismacolor colorless blender ($3). This covers 80% of blending needs.

$50+: Prismacolor Premier pencils (72-pack, about $45), a colorless blender ($3), and a bottle of Gamsol ($10). With this kit, you can do anything.

If you're not sure where to start, read our complete guide to coloring with colored pencils first. It covers grip, pressure, and layering basics that make blending much easier.

A four-week blending practice plan

Want to actually get good at this? Here's what worked for me:

Week 1: Layering foundation. Pick a mandala coloring page and color it using only layering. No blender, no solvents. Focus on building smooth, even color with 3-4 light layers per section. This teaches pressure control, which is the foundation for every other blending method.

Week 2: Burnishing and blender pencil. Pick a flower coloring page and divide it in half mentally. Color the left side using burnishing (heavy pressure with a white pencil on top). Color the right side using your colorless blender. Compare the results.

Week 3: Wet blending. Pick a page with large, solid areas. Cat coloring pages work great because the body is one big shape. Try baby oil on one section and Gamsol on another (if you have it). See how each feels different and produces different finishes.

Week 4: Mix everything together. Pick your most detailed page. A dragon or mermaid design works perfectly. Use different blending methods in different areas: layer the background, burnish the scales, use solvent on the skin, blend the wings with a blender pencil. This is where it all comes together.

By the end of four weeks, you'll know which methods you prefer and when to use each one. Most people gravitate toward one or two favorites and use the others as occasional tools.

The thing that actually matters

Every blending technique in this article works better when your underlying layers are good. Even, consistent layers of color blend smoothly. Patchy, uneven layers produce patchy, uneven blends.

So if your blending attempts look rough, the problem usually isn't the blending method. It's the coloring underneath. Go back to basics: light pressure, multiple layers, changing stroke direction. Nail those three things and blending becomes almost automatic.

Print a few pages from our free library, grab whatever pencils you have, and start with method one. You can always work your way up from there.