Do you wish for talent?

"I wish I could color like that artist on YouTube!"

All adult colorers have coloring heroes, inspirational Copic Marker artists, or colored pencil geniuses whom we'd gladly trade places with. We love the look of their coloring projects and oh, if only we had their skills!

We'd give anything to be that talented, to be kissed by the coloring gods.

Talent. We chalk it up to talent. "That person is talented."

But you're wrong. It's not the talent you admire.

It's the color.

What you love in someone else's coloring usually has nothing to do with how well they rub markers on paper.

What you admire is their use of color.

A good color palette is more important than coloring skill

Good coloring is mostly about presentation. The package.

Coloring heroes have a look, a style that we identify with.

Style has nothing to do with talent.

What you admire isn’t how they color, it’s how they use their color.

You could have all the talent in the world but if you're choosing the wrong colors for your projects, talent can’t help.

Years of coloring classes, tutorials, practice... perfect flicks and flawless blending... it's all for naught if you don't understand how to choose and use good color.

Good coloring is no match for bad color.

Heck, even GREAT coloring is no match for mediocre color.

You can learn to use color like a professional

Awesome color sense is not some mystical talent bestowed by the angels at birth.

We can all learn to use color better, no matter where you're starting from, no matter how long you've been coloring.

But first, we need to identify the mistakes you're currently making— because bad color choices are ruining the look of your best coloring.

Mistake #1: Grabbing markers as you need them

Do you plan your project ahead of time or do you skip the preparatory steps and start coloring right away?

What you should do and what you actually do are two different things.

You’ve heard teachers, mentors, and professional artists talk about the benefits of planning. This isn’t anything new.

You know you should plan ahead, deciding what colors to use on every element before you even pick up a marker.

But darn it, coloring is so much more fun than planning and testing!

Plus, most folks get a little lost and confused during the planning process. You’ve got 358 markers and 150 pencil colors to choose from. That’s too many options with no perfect answers.

We procrastinate making a decision about what color to use on the third flower from the right until we actually get to that part of the project because it's too hard to think about it early.

Some stamps are simple. It's okay to fly blind when you're coloring a simple smiling cartoon bug.

But more and more, we are seeing intricate and complex coloring images; especially in the digital stamp world where line-artists are free to draw anything without worry about how well it can be reproduced in rubber. And don’t get me started on the mandala craze and all the coloring books spawned from this movement

Complex stamps mean artistic freedom and opportunity for originality but they also create color palette conundrums.

A flower bouquet stamp may have 15 or more elements to it. If you grab markers as you need them, you can end up using 15 different blending combinations on one stamp. That's at least 45 markers!

Which is crazy!

This is why talent isn’t enough. No matter how technically well you use them, 15 blending combinations can’t look cohesive or professional because it’s too much stuff going on. Talent won't dig you out of this jam.

Grab-n-go color selection leads to confusing, disjointed, and childish projects with no theme or style.

Basically, they’re one big mess.

Mistake #2: Using all your favorite colors

I love red. I also really like aqua.

If you’re like me, you want to use your favorite colors every chance you get!

But stop and think: how long would you spend on my website here if every project was red and aqua?

Zzzzzzzzzz... snooze-fest!

Wait! There’s more…

This warning isn't just about your favorite colors.

Copic fans have favorite blending combinations too... either we love the look of the blend or we love the feel of blend.

I'm guilty of this too. I'm not normally a fan of Chartreuse but I use YG03 all the time because it's so much fun to watch that marker blend with anything it touches! YG03 is freakin' amazing!

People start playing with Copic Markers or colored pencils because they love color but then they limit themselves to little tiny color ranges and just a few blending combinations.

Color ruts are boring to look at.

Sure, you're having fun but your viewers are bored.

Mistake #3: Not incorporating neutrals into the color palette

So you've got a darling little stamp of a cottage with cute little window boxes filled with flowers.

You color the cottage blue, the window boxes red, the grass is green, the flowers are yellow and pink and turquoise and purple...

Color, color, color! But it's too much!

Every image needs breathing room- a place for the eye to rest.

Too much color makes it hard for your viewers to focus on any single object in the image.

If you don't give people a focal point, they get frustrated, give up, and look away.

Neutrals on the other hand, are a quiet place for the eye to rest.

White, gray, taupe, even pale blues or sedate aqua... they're a calm little oasis to help you appreciate the brighter colors.

Remember when I mentioned the need for a focal point? A focal point is the most important object in the stamp. The focal point is where the color, texture, and detail should go. The other elements are of lesser value and they're great locations for neutral resting zones.

Plus, neutrals add sophistication.

Do you remember Lisa Frank from the 1980's? It was a teeny-bopper tweenish girl thing, right?

Mature adults were not fans of Lisa Frank. It wasn’t the unicorns and rainbows which appealed to young girls, it was her garish use of color.

Psstttt… I know a bunch of grown women who color like Lisa Frank. Nothing but brights. No focal point, just gobs of color smeared on everything.

And they wonder why they hate their own coloring? Yikes.

Mistake #4: No range of values

Do you only use Copics that end in a 4 or less?

Or are you a big fan of the number 8s?

The last number on a Copic Marker indicates the value or potency of the color. After you’re done coloring, if you look at the markers spread across your desk and if everything ends in the same number— you've got a value problem.

Too much of a good thing is not a good thing.

Professional and polished art projects contain a wide range of color values.

Every project should have a couple markers from every last number.

In "Created to Create" show here, the daffodils have last numbers ranging from 5 to 1. The aqua runs from 5 to 9. The darkest violet is a 9 and the lightest brown is a 0. I've used every last number except an 8.

Balance.

Be a jedi, find the value balance.

Mistake #5: Using high contrast blending combinations

I know, I just got done telling you to use every last number ever made...

Now I'm saying the opposite?

Hold on, this'll make sense after I explain it.

There are a few bloggers, YouTubers, and online instuctors who love to use very large blending combinations.

Their blonde hair recipe might call for six markers with a value span running from 000 to 9. The pink shirt on the blonde girl runs from 0 to 8, her blue skirt runs 2 to 9, and her skin might be 0000 to 7. 

Every object in the image is an extreme range of contrasts from super light to super dark.

Lots of values equals lots of balance, right?'

Nope.

When everything is high contrast, it all mushes together into a color hurricane.

High contrast everywhere cancels out the overall value balance.

Your viewers can't find the focal point, they can't detect the edges of some objects, they can't focus on the details, they can't read the sentiment.

Sure, it's amazing that someone can squeeze 12 markers into a blonde hair recipe but just because you can do it doesn't mean you should do it.

And if you can do it, don't do it everywhere.

Mistake #6: Using nothing but zero markers

Hold on, this one is going to kick a bunch of you in the butt.

Sorry.

But it has to be said.

Copic has multiple color families, like RV, R, BG, or V. Inside each family are multiple groups. I'm talking about the first number on the marker this time, not the last number.

R01 has something in common with Y01, B01, G01, and every other marker that starts with a 0. The “Zero” groups are all very bright and clean colors. Pure yellow, pure red, pure purple.

They're very pretty which is why Copic sells a lot of them. They're also simple and straightforward colors, like you’d find in a small box of crayons, which makes beginners feel safe.

Zero markers are clean hues but they also look very artificial.

Look at Y02. I mean really look.

Go swatch that marker out on a piece of paper. Y02 glows! 

Now look at the other Zeros. Do you see that same neon vibration in B04? Check out the day-glo on YG01 and then look at V06.

I don't know if Copic adds florescence to their Zero ink formulas but most of them feel like I'm using a dollar store highlighter.

It'll be a cold day in heck before you see me using any of the F markers. And frankly, RV04 is just as bad. I own it but sure I ain't usin' it!

I know, some of this is about taste. I like my colors a little more muted and muddy but even you glow-bugs reading this have to admit that we can't color everything neon.

I'm not saying to pitch all your Zero groups but I would caution you against using too many in the same image.

A little vibrancy is fine but making your viewers wince or reach for their sunglasses isn't exactly what you intended, right?

About the digital stamp…

Created to Create is an instant download from the creative mind of Marcella Hawley of PowerPoppy.com.

Just print it to a Copic safe paper and color. My supply list is listed below.

Want to read more about color palettes?

A Beginner's Guide to Coloring with Maturity & Sophistication

A Beginner's Guide (Part Two)

Select Supplies used in "Created to Create":

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