There are several groups on Facebook that are devoted to working with colored pencil. They’re very enjoyable to participate in–lots of works-in-progress are shared, lots of questions are asked and answered about techniques, tools, surfaces, framing, photographing, subject-choosing, etc., and the policy is that feedback/criticism is given only if requested. Occasionally, someone in one of the groups asks the other members “Do you do your background first or last?”
I do my backgrounds first, for two reasons:
1) In the real world, the environment was there before the subject was, so it affects all the light, colors, and shadows you see in your subject. Creating that environment (background) first will help you make better color and value choices when you draw the subject.
I learned this as a teenager when I started getting commissions for portraits in graphite. It took months for me to realize why, after I’d spent hours getting the value range right on the face, adding the background suddenly made the face look flat, so I had to go over the face all over again. It was because the initial surrounding sea of white paper was a strong and artificial contrast to the graphite grays in the face–it made them seem darker than they really were. Then adding the background eliminated that sea of white and thereby reduced the contrast, which in turn emphasized that the range of values in the face wasn’t wide enough. Once I figured this out and changed my process to add the background first, this problem went away.
This is why learning to draw in charcoal or graphite first is so valuable–it teaches you the importance of value range, without the added complication of color. In color drawing, the same problems are compounded and can be harder to see and resolve.
2) Business before pleasure. Of course we can’t wait to do the fun part, the subject, so it’s human nature to get right to it. When the subject is done, so is the fun, right? With only the background remaining, it’s a slog to the finish that can’t be over soon enough. Sorry to say, it’s easy to recognize drawings that were done with this approach, even if their value range is good. Too many people spend many hours on the subject, render it beautifully, and then ruin the whole drawing by impatiently rushing through a slap-dash background. I’d show you a few examples, but I don’t want to embarrass anyone! (I did it a few times on those teenage graphite portraits, too, ugh.)
Instead, I practice and encourage working up the background first. Think of it as the prelude to the main event! When you’re finished with your whole drawing, you’ll have a cohesive artwork that displays your skill throughout.
Denise J. Howard's Art Blog 