Ten minutes before the first drawing

How to make a swatch card for a new set

A cap or a barrel only hints at the colour inside. We swatch every set we make before it leaves our desk, and we would like you to do the same with yours. Here is the method, start to finish.

Use the paper you will draw on

A swatch is only true on the paper it was made on. The same marker looks deeper on coated marker paper than on sketch paper, and a soft pencil looks grainier on cold press than on a smooth sheet.

Tear one page from the pad you plan to use, or claim the last page of the book. If you work on several papers, make a card for each. It sounds like a chore and takes one cup of tea.

Rule a grid and write the labels first

Draw boxes about the width of two fingers, in rows of six or eight. Write the colour number or name under each box before you add any colour, so nothing gets skipped and nothing gets guessed later.

Our markers and gel pens are numbered or named on the barrel, and many sets include a blank color card with the grid already printed. Use it. That card is the most useful sheet in the box.

Make three marks, not one

For colored pencils, fill each box in three bands: light pressure, medium, and as firm as the core allows. You will see how far each colour can travel from pale to full.

For markers, lay one flat pass, then a second pass over half of it once the first is dry. For gel pens, draw a line and a small filled square, and tilt the card under a lamp to see the glitter or metallic sheen.

Add a blending row

Under the grid, pick neighbors and overlap them: yellow into orange, light blue into mid blue, a skin tone into its shadow. With alcohol markers work while the ink is still damp. With pencils, layer the lighter colour on top to smooth the join.

Note which pairs blend easily. Those pairs are the ones you will reach for in a finished piece.

Keep the card where the set lives

Slide the finished card into the case or tape it inside the lid. When a favorite colour runs low, the card tells you exactly which number to refill or replace. When you choose a palette for a new page, you choose from real marks instead of plastic caps.