Why Sketch In Red And Blue? 7 Reasons Why Artists Do It

You might have been wondering “Why sketch in red and blue when I can just use my good ol’ graphite pencil, right?”

I know, it might seem strange, but there’s a whole bunch of good reasons behind this creative choice. 

Let’s dive into the world of sketching and explore seven explanations for why artists go for those vibrant red and blue lines.

tl;dr

Artists sketch in red and blue for various reasons, for example:  it’s easier to remove them when going digital, they help with inking, prevent smudging, lead to neater sketches, and aid in animation.

1. Easy digital filtering

One of the primary reasons artists opt for red and blue pencils lies in their digital adaptability. These colors are lighter than graphite, making them ideal for sketching. When artists sketch in red or blue, they can later ink over their artwork.

Here’s the magic: when you later scan or photograph your artwork and want to turn it into digital art, those red and blue lines are a piece of cake to filter out. 

No need to wrestle with a rubber eraser and accidentally Hulk-smash your paper. This way, you smoothly transition from the physical to the digital world without any paper casualties. 

2. Easier inking

When you’re using ink to draw, starting with a light red or blue sketch is really helpful. These colors stand out a lot when you put black ink over them, much more than if you used dark pencil lines. 

This strong difference makes it easy for artists to see where they’ve added ink and where they haven’t on their drawings. It’s like having a neon sign pointing, “Hey, I’ve been inked!”

In case of digital painting, it’s enough to lower the opacity of the sketch layer to easily distinguish between the lines, but still – using red or blue for the sketch can make it even easier.

3. No smudging

Colored pencils don’t make as much messy smudge as regular gray pencils do. 

This is super handy when you’re sketching because it keeps your drawing looking neat and prevents accidental smudges from ruining your final artwork.

4. Back in the printing day

Let’s hop in a time machine back to the days of old-school printing presses and newspapers. 

In the past, when printing newspapers and press materials, blue didn’t show up in the final product, while red copies appeared as black. 

This made blue an invisible guideline for artists and printers to keep their work on track without mucking up the final printed outcome. 

Maybe the “sketching in red and blue” thing is a relic of these old times?

5. Neat and refined sketches

Picture this: you’re brainstorming a character concept. You grab your red or blue pencil and start sketching. Once your rough idea is born, you refine it with pencil or ink. 

Now, let’s say you’re doing the same with just a graphite pencil. Even if you bring in the black ink later, it’s like dealing with a bunch of messy scribbles. 

But with red or blue? A nice and clean sketch. 

Here’s an example from Adventure Time and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse:

6. It simply looks nice

Red and blue are complementary colors which means they will always go look together, so no wonder blue-red illustrations look cool, too. 

Maybe it’s just the inspiration thing: you see a cool drawing done with red and blue pencils, and want to try it yourself. Then you share your artwork, other people see it, and so it goes. 

7. Animation magic

In the world of animation, red and blue, along with others, are used to distinguish between different elements within a scene. 

For example, red marks may separate a character from their background, or they could mark the “volume” of a character versus the moving parts of their costumes, just like they did in these Over The Garden Wall sketches:

Animators use differents colors to show where light and shadow should be in a scene – like at this anime drawing below. If you would like to learn more, here’s an interesting thread whose author goes deeper into the topic: What are the different colors in anime production drawings for?

Why sketch in red and blue? Bottom line

Though sketching in red and blue might not be super-important from a digital painter’s perspective, I hope you found this article at least a little bit interesting and informative. 

If you don’t want to miss any upcoming painting tips, consider signing up for my newsletter. 🙂