Art Tools of Katarzyna Kozlowska (aka Lady2)

Submitted by  Teoh Yi Chie on  January 13, 2014 - 3:53 am

We have Katarzyna Kozlowska aka Lady2 (DeviantArt | facebook), an artist from Poland to talk about her drawing tools today.

Her coloured pencil drawings and portraits really captured my attention, especially the eyes of her subjects. She has even created a tutorial on drawing eyes with coloured pencils.

Alright, let's get on with the interview.

Qn: Can you give our readers an introduction of yourself?

I don’t like to talk about myself – it’s always so hard! My works do it instead of me. But to be serious: I am an average girl from Eastern Europe. Bein’ into drawing since I was a little girl… And began to draw seriously in 2009. Now I’m studying an architecture. And all my free time I spend on drawing, sketching, learning about art etc. My whole world is about this art thing. I also do private and commercial commissions. Still trying to develop in this direction...

Qn: It seems like coloured pencils are your preferred drawing medium. Why do you like about them?

You got me! I have to admit that I discovered coloured pencils recently…

Previously I drew only using ordinary pencils you find everywhere. But I came into the conclusion that it’s time for small changes. So I’m still learning how to use them... However, I'm charmed by power of these little bastards! :D

Qn: What brand are these coloured pencils? Can you talk about the colours here? This is an interesting set of colours. I see mainly flesh tone colours, with reds, a blue, purple and green.

This is probably one of my favourite sets for drawing people. Because of a range of tones here - you can draw any type of skin tone without getting an artificial feeling. And it’s Polycolor set by Kooh-i-Noor. I really love them!

Qn: Faber-Castel coloured pencils. 36-pencil set? How does this set compare with the other set from above?

And these are my little children!

For a long time I hesitated on buying them because they are not cheap. However, everyone recommend them to me so I decided to take a risk. And I was not disappointed!

These are by far the best coloured pencils which I had the pleasure to draw. They are very soft and soooo easy to blend ... Perfect.

Unfortunately, I have a fairly small set. That is why I support them with Polycolor. Together make my perfect duo.

Qn How long do the colour pencils last? Your drawings are quite large. I suppose you would use up the pencils very quickly? Are the pencils sold separately?

This may seem strange, but colored pencils are more efficient than a pencil. They are expensive - but they are worth it. All the pencils I’ve got you can buy separately. However, it is more economical to buy the whole set.

Qn: What are the qualities of a good quality coloured pencil?

For me, a good coloured pencils must be sufficiently high quality that can be really easy to blend. And of course my must have is a wide range of non-standard colours.

Qn: Where do you buy the pencils? At art stores or online? I'm asking this because some artists are afraid of buying their pencils online for the fear of them breaking during shipping.

Usually I buy in the shops stationary. However, for few times I have ordered things on the Internet. They are so well packed that there is no way to break during the delivery.

Qn: Can you give us a quick rundown on the pencils you use? What's the difference between the technical pencils? What's that cute yellow pencil(?)?

In the picture you can see my personal set of pencils which I usually use when I draw black and white works.

After many years I collected the pencils which I think are best for me. So you can see 2h, 2b, 4b, 6b, 9b in different brands. I totally love Faber Castell green pencils. They are sooo cool! I also use two mechanical pencils: 0,5 and 0.3 mm.

Hhaha that cute yellow pencil is my mechanical eraser. The best they’ve ever invented.

Qn: What eraser do you use? Is it good? Some erasers can be quite brittle.

I use my cute yellow eraser. It is compact, does not leave streaks … There is nothing worse than drawing spoiled by bad eraser. So I recommend mechanical ones.

Qn: What paper do you use? I see some Daler Rowney and Canson drawing pads. The Canson drawing pad above seems to be for pastel work. Do these papers work well with coloured pencils?

I have tested sooo many papers from sooo many different brands that I found that Daler&Rowney paper is the best for me. They are really high quality and quite cheap. Also the texture is excellent for any mediums.

The Canson one is for pastel medium but I bought it to try coloured pencils on it… We will see how it works.

Qn: What are some of the sketchbooks you use?

The best paper is from Daler&Rowney so all my sketchbooks are from this company. The black one is sooo great because it’s got spirals and you can draw easily on each sides. The one with butterfly is the one I’ve handmade.

Qn: How do you protect your artworks? Pencil sketches in sketchbook have a tendency to smudge when in contact with other pages. How about the single sheet artworks?

For All my works I use an ordinary hair spray :D Yes I know that it’s seems weird … but it really works and it’s waaay cheaper than professional sprays.

Qn: How do you scan the large drawings?

I visit the printing press - where they have professional scanners.

Qn: I see that you also take commissions for the coloured pencil drawings. How do you ship those large drawings without damaging them?

I always packed them into the paper tube. It’s so strong that nothing can be damaged.

Qn: Who else do you think we should feature next?
There are so many great artists, it's hard to choose one. Maybe Jennifer Healy – she is my great inspiration!

That's all from Katarzyna Kozlowska. You can check out her works at

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