Bright color on Kraft paper?

It doesn’t have to be so hard!

Folks, I’ve seen a ton of Colored Pencil on kraft paper tutorials and videos. Ugh, they make my heart sink.

It seems like everyone advises you to basecoat the heck out of everything with thick layers of white colored pencil.

Have you ever tried this?

Because seriously, once you spend 15 minutes coloring everything white, you’ve got no tooth left over then to add all the brilliant color!

If you basecoat in white, you’re saying goodbye to any shot you have at realism.

Realistic complex color takes layering. Layers won’t stick to white. You’re stuck with simplistic flat hues and praying the color will adhere.

The candy corn project here does not have a white basecoat.

Nope.

And yet the candy almost glows. It’s bold and vibrant with no weird pastel vibe…

And it looks realistic.

So how’d I do it?

It’s simple.

And you can do it too.

Join me for Marker Painting Workshops

Online coloring classes

Candy Corn originally ran as part of my Marker Painting Basics series at Patreon in October 2017.

This amazing class and the digital stamp have been unavailable until now!

Learn how to judge the luminance of your Copics and the translucency of colored pencils for vibrant color on kraft and other mid-toned papers.

Baby Pumpkin, Candy Corn, and Tonic all work hand in hand to help you develop bold and vibrant colors.

Baby Pumpkin is a beginner level introduction to paper staining for stubborn marker colors.

Tonic covers glowing greens in a fun lesson on colorful texture.

If Halloween is your jam, you can’t miss this total approach to vibrant, spooky, and downright eerie color.

The best thing about Marker Painting Workshops?

Workshops are NON-SEQUENTIAL!

Learn to incorporate real artistry into your coloring projects, one concept at a time. Every Workshop details a new method for enhancing realism, depth, and dimension.

Each class stands on its own as independent learning. You don't have to take six of my other classes to understand this lesson.

All of my Workshop classes are FOREVER ACCESS. Work at your own pace and repeat the project as many times as you'd like.

Come color with me. It's a ton of fun!

Select supplies used in “Candy Corn”:

(contains affiliate links)

Vanilla Arts Company is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for use to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com.