Seccorell Postkarte Bötchen: Ein Segelboot auf dem Wasser in Finger-Wischmaltechnik.


The Technique | Short Introduction | Application Examples

Discover the Seccorell Smudging Technique

Seccorell is a unique Finger smudging technique in which color sticks are rubbed on a Grating Block into fine color powder and then worked into the paper with the fingers. This makes it possible to create soft color areas, soft color gradients and vibrant colors. The technique combines the flowing effect of watercolor painting with the soft look of pastel. The result becomes smudge-proof immediately, without water and without fixative spray.
What Makes Seccorell Special
Creative freedom at your fingertips

What Makes Seccorell Special

A unique aspect of this technique is the production of the colored powder. You don't use pre-made colored pencils. Instead, you rub the sticks directly against a grinding tool.

  • Precise dosage: Create your color even in the smallest quantities, entirely according to your wishes and needs.

  • Maximum freedom: Since you don't need water or elaborate accessories, you can start spontaneously at any time, even in places where classic wet paints or dusty chalks are impractical.

Whether you prefer expansive areas of color, representational motifs, or the design of objects: Seccorell offers ample scope for your creative ideas. The technique has proven particularly effective in Waldorf schools for creating main lesson books . Because the colors adhere to the paper instantly without the need for fixative spray, the designed pages remain clean and vibrant even with frequent turning.

Four steps to success
Seccorell Schritt 1: Reiben des Farbstäbchens am Reibeblock in der Finger-Wischmaltechnik.

Rubbing

Rub the color stick over the painting surface using a rubbing block.
Seccorell Schritt 2: Ausbürsten des Farbpulvers am Reibeblock in der Finger-Wischmaltechnik.

Brushing

Use the brush to transfer all of the pigment powder onto the paper.
Seccorell Schritt 3: Malprozess. Die Finger-Wischmalfarben mit Finger auf Papier verwischen.

Smudging

Blend with your fingers and work it in thoroughly.
Seccorell Schritt 4: Einarbeiten der Finger-Wischmlafarben mit Wattepad.

Polishing

For extra smudge resistance and a soft sheen, polish the surface with a cotton pad.

From powder to picture

Kleine Schultüte mit Seccorell Finger-Wischmalfarben und Bürstchen, umgeben von bunten Papierkonfetti und der Mini-Box.

The Technique | Short Introduction | Application Examples

For children and adults

Whether broad areas of color, representational motifs or the design of objects: Seccorell provides artistic freedom. Since the finger smudging technique is intuitive and results become visible quickly, the joy of creating is at the heart of the experience.

The Seccorell color sticks
Quality and safety

The Seccorell color sticks

are made of high-quality, wax-bound mineral pigments. This makes them especially economical, lightfast, and completely safe to use.

  • Recommended from first grade onward: As the technique requires a certain level of fine motor skills, we recommend it from primary school age.
  • Smudge-proof through polishing: During application, the pigments bond directly with the paper. A final polish with a cotton pad gives the image additional shine and makes the surface durable even without fixative spray.
  • Easy handling: A major advantage for everyday use and in educational settings is the simple cleaning process. We recommend placing an old newspaper or a sheet of scrap paper underneath. Excess pigment powder can then be easily brushed onto the surface and rubbed in. After painting, fingers can be cleaned easily with soap and water or a damp cloth.

Painting with your fingers

Your fingers are the most important tool with Seccorell. Simply rub off the pigment and work it into the paper with circular or wiping motions. Since mixing takes place directly on the painting surface, you can layer colors or rub them into each other harmoniously. From the three primary colors Red, Yellow and Blue, you can effortlessly develop the entire color circle including natural brown and gray tones.

Helpful tools for the smudging technique

The tools

To make full use of the Seccorell Finger smudging technique, you will need the following tools in addition to the color sticks:

  • Rubbing tools: The grating block is the essential tool for turning the color sticks into vibrant pigment powder. Thanks to its four separate rubbing surfaces, you can assign each side to a color family and keep the tones clean. A simpler version is the rubbing ring, which is included in the Scola set.

  • Cleaning brushes: The natural cleaning brush is intended for everyday use and removes pigment residue from the texture of the rubbing surfaces with its bristles. For occasional deeper cleaning, the hard bristles of the brass cleaning brush are ideal.
    Important: These cleaning brushes are not paintbrushes.

  • Erasers and eraser holders: The refillable eraser holders are used like mechanical pencils. While the fine eraser refill holder is ideal for sharp contours and highlights, the broad eraser refill holder is excellent for creating larger areas, lettering, or patterns directly from the polished color layer.
The tools

Seccorell in the third dimension

To design steep surfaces or three-dimensional objects, you can simply pre-rub the color powder onto a surface, pick it up with your fingertip, and then apply it precisely to your workpiece.

Drawing, Erasing & Combining
Creative freedom

Drawing, Erasing & Combining

The smudging technique can be flexibly expanded and combined with other tools:

  • Contours & Light: Use the edges of the color sticks for lines or work with an eraser to create targeted light effects from the colored areas.

  • Combining with colored pencils: The combination of hard colored pencil outlines and cloudy Seccorell backgrounds creates a unique spatial effect.

  • Glazes and color depth: As with watercolor painting, you can layer transparent layers of color on top of each other. Because the pigments are dry, the lower layers do not re-dissolve. This creates exceptional brilliance.

Tip for pure colors

It is recommended to assign the grating block (or the edges of the rubbing ring) to the different color tones. To do this, paint the long sides with Yellow, Green, Red and Blue. For the large boxes, you can additionally mark the second rubbing block with White, Black, Brown and Violet.

Application in Schools and Education

Designing with head, heart, and hand

Seccorell is firmly rooted in Waldorf education because the technique goes far beyond a purely artistic experience. It can address the child (and the adult) on three levels:

  • Head: The forward-thinking dosage of pigments teaches mindfulness in handling resources.

  • Heart: The transformation of the solid stick into fine powder strengthens confidence in one's own creative power.

  • Hand: Direct skin contact promotes fine motor skills and creates a deep, haptic connection to the image.

Whether it's a child's first attempts at painting at home or the precise elaboration of main lesson books: Seccorell makes learning and creation immediately tangible.

Learn more about our pedagogical approach

Designing with head, heart, and hand

How to make your picture smudge-proof

Massage the Finger smudge pastels well into the painting surface with your fingers. Finally, polish the individual color surfaces thoroughly with a cotton pad or a dry paper towel. This gives the picture a beautiful sheen and makes it smudge-proof, just like a colored pencil drawing!

Gently "brush off" excess color powder with a cotton pad without applying pressure instead of blowing, and rub any powder residue into a newspaper or paper underlay.

From paper to pebbles
Versatile

From paper to pebbles

Seccorell adheres to almost any surface that can also be colored with colored pencils. Any type of standard writing paper is perfectly suitable. High-quality art paper can also be beautifully decorated. Only glossy paper, very smooth tracing paper or kite paper are unsuitable, as the pigments cannot find adhesion on these surfaces.

The respective surface structure influences the result: On coarse paper, the colors appear particularly intense and matte, while on finer paper they appear smoother and glossier.

  • Natural materials: The technique adheres excellently to sanded wood, smooth pebbles or shells.

  • Craft projects: Plaster, clay or canvas can also be decorated with color.

  • Special tip: You can even paint Easter eggs. Rub them briefly with vinegar water beforehand to optimize the adhesion of the pigments. See instructions.

To the drawing paper

no special demands are made. However, it should not be as smooth as lacquer. On fine-pored papers, the color areas will be smooth and glossy; on coarser papers, they will be very intense but rather matte.

Rule of thumb: any paper that can be colored with colored pencils can be decorated with Seccorell. The only exception known to us so far is kite paper or very smooth tracing paper.

Seccorell Postkarte Rot Abstrakt: Geometrische Formen in warmen Rot- und Gelbtönen in Finger-Wischmaltechnik.

The Technique | Short Introduction | Application Examples

Ten creative application examples

Discover the versatility of Seccorell. From delicate touches of color on paper to vibrant accents on natural materials, this technique opens up countless possibilities for your own artwork.

Hand beim Verreiben von Seccorell Farbpulver mit Farbstäbchen und Reibeblock der Finger-Wischmaltechnik.

1) The basic technique on paper

The Finger smudging technique is simple and quickly leads to wonderful color gradients. These four steps will give you an instant, beautiful result.

  1. Rubbing: Rub the color stick directly against the rub block above your painting surface. This way you produce exactly the amount of color powder you need for your design.
  2. Brushing: Use the brush to completely apply the resulting pigment powder to the paper. This optimally prepares the surface for subsequent painting.
  3. Wiping: Now, creatively rub the powder with your fingers. Using circular or wiping motions, work the pigments deep into the paper's structure.
  4. Buffing: Finally, buff the surfaces vigorously with a cotton pad. This permanently sets the color and gives your picture a silky sheen.

Inspiration and cleanliness
These examples are meant to inspire your own artwork and encourage you to experiment. Always use a scrap piece of paper or newspaper as a base. Excess pigment dust can easily be rubbed onto it and thus safely disposed of. This prevents smudges on your table or the finished artwork.
Herbstwald Motiv gestaltet von hell nach dunkel mit Seccorell Farben und der Finger-Wischmaltechnik.

2) Autumn picture

This design uses the technique of gradually building up from light to dark tones. Here's how to do it:

  1. Base coat: Build the picture consistently from light to dark. Start with light yellow pigment powder and apply the entire autumnal mood broadly using your fingers.
  2. Color mixing: Mix the gray of the tree trunks directly on the paper using dark blue and light red. Be careful not to burnish these areas too firmly yet, so that the texture remains open to further details.
  3. Adding details: Once the composition is complete, paint in the dark yellow elements, followed by the light red ones. Finally, add the bold dark red accents for the autumn leaves.
  4. Final fixing: Only at the very end do you work each individual color area into the paper with firm finger pressure and a cotton pad. This step permanently fixes the pigments. This image was created exclusively with the eight basic colors of our Seccorell Finger smudge pastels.
Bunte Luftballons mit heller Aura und Lichtpunkten gestaltet mit Schablone und der Seccorell Finger-Wischmaltechnik.

3) Stencils

These instructions show you how to create precise contours and a sense of depth with Seccorell smudge pastels:

  1. Make a template: Draw your balloons on slightly heavier paper and cut them out. Do not use thick cardboard, so that you can later work the color right up to the edge.
  2. Apply the color: Position the stencil and apply the desired color. Work the pigments in thoroughly until the surface is smudge-proof. This helps keep the contours sharp, even if the balloons overlap later in the picture.
  3. Clean the edges: Remove the stencil and gently brush off any loose pigment powder with the edge of a cotton pad, without pressing on the surface.
  4. Repeat the process: Place the template in the next position and repeat steps two and three until all the balloons are arranged on the paper.
  5. Create the background: Apply sky blue around the balloons and blend it with small circular motions. Only work up to the edge of the balloons so that they keep a light aura. This gives the picture a more dynamic effect.
  6. Blend the background: Once the sky is finished, work it firmly into the paper with a cotton pad, again using small circular motions.
  7. Draw the strings: Add the balloon strings with colored pencils or a single colored pencil. Draw them a little lighter behind the balloons to create more spatial depth.
  8. Add highlights: If needed, erase highlights from the balloons. Pay attention to the direction of the light source. Alternatively, you can leave lighter areas when applying the color.
Nachtszene mit Zwerg und Mond am See, erzeugt durch Schichten und Radieren mit der Seccorell Finger-Wischmaltechnik.

4) Night scenes

Follow these eight steps for your night picture:

  1. Preparation: Place a protective layer such as newspaper under your drawing paper. Cover the area for the moon with a round paper disc or a suitable object.
  2. Create a daytime scene: Initially, design the sky, landscape, trees, and water as a bright scene in light blue. It shouldn't look nighttime yet. It's important that you leave out the area in the water where the moonlight will later shine.
  3. Fix the base layer: Work the light color surfaces thoroughly into the paper with your fingers and perform a smudge test to be safe. Remove excess Seccorell color powder without any pressure using the edge of a cotton pad.
  4. To create a nighttime atmosphere: Now spread the night across your entire picture. Sprinkle all colored areas evenly with dark blue pigment powder and work this dark veil in well with your fingers. The outlines will remain visible underneath and will be revealed later.
  5. Polishing: Remove excess powder with the cotton pad and polish the surfaces firmly. Only remove the cover from your moon once the night scene is evenly applied to the paper.
  6. Adding figures: Place sharply defined figures, such as a small gnome, into the scene using a homemade stencil. Erase the dark color within the stencil and recolor it with fresh powder. Draw fine details like twigs or grasses directly with colored pencils.
  7. Add highlights: Use an eraser or eraser pen to selectively highlight the moonlight on branches, the landscape, and the figures. Carefully brush away the eraser residue with the edge of a cotton pad.
  8. Final touch: Gently trace the erased highlights with a pale yellow color stick. Also, very subtly paint the moon and the reflected light in the water with pale yellow and work the paint in so that it is smudge-proof.
Pfau Motiv mit Gefieder und durch Radieren erzeugte Lichtkanten gestaltet mit der Seccorell Finger-Wischmaltechnik.

5) Erasing and drawing

This motif combines precise lines with the gentle Seccorell Finger smudging technique. This is how the colorful plumage is created:

  1. Preliminary sketch: First, lightly sketch the peacock using colored pencils or a colored pencil. The outlines, and especially the bright ovals in the plumage, must be drawn boldly. This ensures that these areas will not take on color when the background is later blended.
  2. Coloring: Once the drawing is complete, you begin coloring the areas. Use the bright colors to give the body and feathers their characteristic brilliance.
  3. A special trick: There's a pro tip for the small dots on the headdress. Take some pre-ground color powder with a damp cotton swab and press it directly into the picture with a twisting motion.
  4. Fixing: Work all colors very thoroughly into the paper with your fingers until the surfaces are absolutely smudge-proof.
  5. Sharpen the contours: Use an eraser or an eraser lead holder to refine white highlights and precise outlines. You can then redraw the colored lines or add further details.

This image was created with the eight colors of the Scola. You can find many more creative ideas in our examples .
Farbenfrohes Seccorell Mandala Motiv mit klaren Konturen gestaltet mit der Finger-Wischmaltechnik.

6) Coloring and painting

This technique shows you how to make complex patterns glow while keeping the colors absolutely pure:

  1. Design selection: Choose a mandala design for your project. Laser copies are excellent, in addition to your own drawings or letters. Since their outlines don't absorb color, your image will retain exceptional clarity.
  2. Applying the color: Sprinkle each segment of the mandala with color powder one after the other and thoroughly massage the pigments into the paper with your fingers.
  3. Maintain color purity: Use a separate finger and the corresponding area on the paint block for each color. This ensures that your colors always remain clean and vibrant.
  4. Custom mixes: Create any desired mixed tones, such as brown or gray, directly from the primary colors. Particularly harmonious transitions are achieved when you mix different pigments directly on the paper while they are still in powder form.
  5. Fixing: Finally, polish each colored area individually with a cotton pad. This step permanently fixes the pigments in the paper and gives the mandala its shine.

This example can be wonderfully transferred to letters or school notebooks using the Finger smudging technique.
Nachtmotiv mit schwarzer Skyline vor einem leuchtenden Himmel gestaltet mit der Seccorell Finger-Wischmaltechnik.

7) Mixed techniques

This design impresses with the strong contrast between a bright background and a dark silhouette.

  1. Preparation: Choose your painting surface. If you are using cardboard covered with canvas, smooth the surface beforehand with fine sandpaper. You can start immediately on regular paper.
  2. Creating the background: Apply the Seccorell Finger smudge pastels for the sky from light to dark and massage them in thoroughly. Leave the sun area untouched while wiping or erase it later. Finally, polish the surface with a cotton pad until it is completely smudge-proof.
  3. Placing the skyline: There are several ways to create the dark silhouette. You can use a stencil and color the areas black, or cut out the buildings from black paper and glue them on. Drawing them directly with wax or felt-tip pens is also possible. On canvas, a warmed wax crayon creates great effects.
  4. Sharpen the contrasts: A well-covered, dark foreground is essential to make the skyline stand out strongly against the sky. For fine lines or final touches, it's best to use a dark colored pencil or a colored stick. This motif lends itself beautifully to being rendered using the eight primary colors.
Bunt bemalte Kieselsteine aus der Natur, gestaltet mit Seccorell Finger-Wischmalfarben.

8) Wood, stone and more

Seccorell adheres beautifully to many natural surfaces. Here's how to transform simple found objects into miniature works of art:

  1. Preparing the color powder: First, rub the required pigments into a small pile on a smooth surface or scrap paper.
  2. Application: Take the powder with your fingertip and gently massage it directly into the surface of the pebble. The warmth of your fingers will help the pigments bond optimally with the stone.
  3. Discover diversity: This technique is ideally suited for many other natural materials such as untreated wood, snail shells, mussels or even light-colored feathers.
  4. Surface test: Since every natural form is different, we recommend testing the color absorption on a small area beforehand. The finer the surface structure of the material, the silkier and shinier the result will be.
Drei Tischlaternen aus Seccorell Malblock gestaltet mit Finger-Wischmaltechnik für warme Farben im Kerzenschein.

9) Lanterns

These lanterns are a beautiful addition to any decor. What makes them special is the natural vibrancy of the colors in candlelight, all without the use of oil.

  1. Preparation: For this project, use our special table lantern drawing pads from the creative supplies section. The papers are already pre-cut to size, and simple folding instructions are included with each pad.
  2. Design: Paint your designs onto the still flat sheets of paper. As usual, work the pigments in thoroughly with your fingers to achieve an even and vibrant color effect.
  3. Natural transparency: A major advantage of the Seccorell Finger smudging technique is its translucency. The incorporated mineral pigments make your lanterns beautifully translucent without the need for additional oil treatment of the paper.
  4. Finishing: After polishing the colors, simply fold the lantern according to the instructions. In no time at all, you'll have enchanting light objects for festive occasions or your home.
Seccorell Zauberbilder mit weißem Stift vorschreiben und die Botschaft mit der Finger-Wischmaltechnik sichtbar machen.

10) Magic Pictures

This technique causes amazed faces, as images or texts appear on the paper as if from nowhere.

  1. Prepare for invisibility: Using a white colored pencil or a white paint stick, transfer text or a drawing onto the paper. Apply enough pressure so that the pigments form a protective layer. Your design will initially remain almost invisible on the white paper.
  2. Alternative engraving: Instead of a pen, you can also use a hard, blunt object such as a knitting needle, a key, or a closed ballpoint pen. By pressing firmly, you engrave your design directly into the paper's texture as a fine indentation.
  3. Magic effect: Now rub any color over a large area across the prepared spot. As if by magic, your motif now appears bright on the colored background, since the engraved grooves or the white preliminary drawing do not accept the new Seccorell color powder.
  4. Fix the color: Thoroughly massage it in with your fingers and then firmly polish the surface with a cotton pad. This will fix your artwork and make the secret message permanently visible and smudge-proof.

Painting Instructions & Ideas
Tierkunde 4. Klasse Waldorfschule

Animal Studies - 4th Grade

Painting instructions for the main lesson book in the 4th grade of the Waldorf school. Now the nature-study perspective of the animal kingdom begins, always in comparison to the human...