To draw a sunset with colored pencils, I start with the largest bands and shapes of color, build the sky gradually with light layers, then add clouds and dark foreground silhouettes near the end. The key is not pressing hard too soon. Leaving the early layers adjustable makes it much easier to create smooth shifts between yellow, orange, pink, violet and blue.
I prefer working from an actual sunset or a photo reference rather than following a fixed color formula. Every sunset has a different arrangement of light, cloud shapes and warm-to-cool transitions.
What You Need
- Colored pencils with several warm and cool colors
- Paper with enough tooth to accept multiple layers
- A sharpener
- A sunset photo or view from life
You don’t need an enormous pencil set. A useful group might include yellow, orange, red or pink, violet, blue and one or two darker colors for the foreground.
If you’re choosing pencils for this kind of layering, see my guide to the best colored pencils for artists. Paper also matters, especially when you’re building many transparent layers, so I have a separate guide to the best paper for colored pencils.
1. Study the Sunset Before You Draw
Before putting down color, I squint at the reference and simplify it.
I’m looking for a few large relationships:
- Where is the brightest part of the sky?
- Where do the warm colors begin to cool?
- Are the clouds lighter or darker than the surrounding sky?
- Where are the strongest dark silhouettes?
I don’t assume the sky is a perfect horizontal gradient. Real sunsets often contain diagonal bands, broken clouds, isolated patches of color and abrupt temperature changes.
2. Block In the Largest Sky Colors
I begin with light pressure and place the main color families where I see them.
A sunset might have pale yellow near the horizon, orange and pink through the middle, then violet or blue higher in the sky. Another sunset may have almost none of those colors in the same places.
At this stage, I don’t worry about making the colors smooth. I simply establish where they belong.
Keeping the pressure light is important because I want the paper to continue accepting additional layers.
3. Build the Sunset With Light Layers
Once the major color areas are established, I begin layering them into one another.
Instead of pressing harder with one pencil, I often introduce nearby colors gradually. Orange can overlap pink. Violet can move into blue. A little pink or red can warm an otherwise orange area.
The layers don’t have to disappear completely. I like some pencil texture to remain visible.
If you want more control over this part of the process, my colored pencil techniques guide covers layering, pressure, color mixing and burnishing in more detail.
4. Blend Warm and Cool Colors Without Making Mud
The most interesting part of a sunset is often where warm and cool colors meet.
I avoid immediately grinding those transitions together with heavy pressure. Instead, I build several lighter layers and allow the colors to overlap gradually.
For example, a transition from pink into blue may benefit from violet between them rather than forcing the pink and blue directly together.
The reference should guide the choices. I’m trying to reproduce the relationship I see rather than use the same combination every time.
5. Add the Clouds After the Main Sky Is Working
I don’t usually outline every cloud before coloring the sky.
Instead, I establish the larger sky first, then look at how each cloud differs from the color around it.
Some sunset clouds are darker masses. Others catch strong orange or pink light along their edges. Thin clouds may simply interrupt the underlying gradient slightly.
I let some edges stay soft and make others sharper where the contrast is strongest.
6. Use Your Pencil Strokes to Describe the Sky
I don’t try to erase every visible pencil stroke.
Instead, I let the direction of my marks reinforce the movement I see in the clouds and light.
Longer horizontal or diagonal strokes can help describe bands of light, while shorter broken strokes can work around cloud edges.
This keeps the surface from feeling mechanically blended.
7. Deepen the Darkest Colors Gradually
As the drawing develops, I return to the darkest areas of the sky and strengthen them where necessary.
I still prefer layering several colors rather than automatically reaching for black.
A dark blue layered with violet, for example, can create a richer upper sky than one heavy dark pencil applied immediately.
8. Add Trees, Mountains or Other Silhouettes Last
I usually save the darkest foreground shapes until the sky is nearly finished.
These might include:
- Trees
- Mountain ridges
- Buildings
- Telephone poles
- Rock formations
- A distant coastline
A strong dark silhouette can make the sunset appear brighter simply because of the increased contrast.
I keep these shapes simpler than the sky. Too much detail in the foreground can compete with the light that made me want to draw the sunset in the first place.
9. Burnish Only Where You Want a Smoother Finish
If I want certain areas of the sky to become smoother and more saturated, I may burnish them near the end.
I don’t do this too early because heavy pressure compresses the paper and makes further layering more difficult.
You can use a light-colored pencil or another appropriate pencil to blend selected areas while leaving other passages more textured.
My guide to burnishing with colored pencils explains the technique separately.
Good Colored Pencil Colors for a Sunset
There isn’t one required sunset palette because the reference determines the colors. But these are useful families to have available:
- Warm yellow
- Golden yellow or ochre
- Orange
- Warm red
- Pink
- Violet
- Light blue
- Dark blue
I wouldn’t try to use all of them simply because they’re available. A limited palette can often make the drawing feel more unified.
How to Make a Colored Pencil Sunset Look Smoother
If the sky looks streaky or patchy, my first response isn’t usually to press harder.
I add another light layer from a different direction. This helps fill more of the paper texture without immediately flattening the surface.
I can then decide whether selected areas need slightly more pressure or burnishing near the end.
If tiny white gaps in the paper are the main problem, see my guide to coloring with colored pencils without white spots.
Can You Use Watercolor Pencils for a Sunset?
Yes. Watercolor pencils can be useful for broad areas of sky because you can activate the pigment with water and then add dry-pencil detail afterward.
They behave differently from ordinary wax- or oil-based colored pencils, though, so I treat them as their own medium rather than as an interchangeable substitute.
If you’re using them, my guide to watercolor pencils covers the process in more detail.
Common Problems When Drawing Sunsets With Colored Pencils
- Pressing too hard too early: this makes later blending and color adjustment much more difficult.
- Using one orange for the entire sunset: real skies usually contain changes in temperature, saturation and value.
- Outlining every cloud: cloud edges vary between sharp and almost invisible.
- Making every transition perfectly smooth: visible marks can help the drawing retain movement.
- Adding foreground detail too soon: I establish the sky before committing to the darkest silhouettes.
The Simplest Way to Start
If you’re new to colored pencils, reduce the sunset to three basic areas first:
- A light warm area near the horizon
- A middle transition of orange, pink or violet
- A cooler upper sky
Build those colors slowly, then add one or two simple cloud shapes and a dark foreground silhouette.
Once that basic version makes sense, you can tackle sunsets with more complicated clouds, reflected light and subtle color shifts.
For the fundamentals of the medium, continue to my guide on how to use colored pencils. You can also browse the main colored pencils hub for paper, techniques, sets and other tutorials.