Dead End Blends - Why 3 Marker Combos Lead to Cartoonish Coloring
DEPTH AND DIMENSION IS NOT REALISM
You’ve been coloring with alcohol markers or colored pencils for a while now.
You’re pretty good at blending and you can do the whole shade/highlight thing.
But you’re missing something.
You can color— just not the way you want to.
You’re struggling with realism and at first, you thought it might be the markers. Maybe you don’t have the right colors or even worse, maybe markers are the wrong medium for realism?
Or maybe it’s you?
Today’s video is all about about the Marker Dead End.
That no-escape place where everything you color ends up looking like a cartoon.
It’s not you, it’s your blending combination!
Don’t worry, there’s a simple explanation and once you see the reason, you’ll take a giant leap forward in your coloring!
“Christmas Cupcake”. Copic Marker + Holbein Colored Pencil on Strathmore 300 Smooth Bristol Board. 9 x 9” by the author, Amy Shulke.
WATCH: DEAD END BLENDS
Latest Video - Why 3 Marker Combos Lead to Cartoonish Coloring
(supply list at bottom of this article)
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LEARN MARKER + PENCIL COLORING TECHNIQUES
Marker with a dash of colored pencil…
The Blend - A 12 week online course for beginners/intermediates which focuses solely on smooth blending with Copic Markers. Learn to blend or improve your current blending technique with this intensive skill building approach to coloring.
Enrollment open January through June.
Colored pencil with a touch of marker…
The Point - A 12 week online course for beginners/intermediates which focuses on efficient techniques for Prismacolor colored pencils. Learn to layer colors with confidence and artistry through this intensive skill building approach to coloring.
Enrollment open July through December.
TECHNIQUES USED IN “CHRISTMAS CUPCAKE”
The following techniques can be spotted in the DEAD END BLENDS video:
NOTE: Sometimes I color in a less efficient way to make a point. I would not recommend following the marker process seen in the video because I spent nearly 3x longer trying to fix the marker problems with colored pencil.
It turned out well in the end but there are easier ways to color!
My Copic blending combination for the frosting was 3 very pale G markers, none of which were shady enough to create depth on the right side. I would recommend using darker markers PLUS a violet or gray underpaint on the right side to turn the form.
I’ve been using the gold combination (see below) on all my projects this Christmas and I can’t get over how realistic it is! E33 & E31 with Y23 over the top of it all. This is honestly the best gold combination I’ve ever created.
Remember that shiny metallic objects aren’t really shaded. Instead, metals reflect colors from the objects around them. I borrowed pencils from the frosting and red ornaments to create reflections.
Always use a photo reference for metals. I searched online for “gold metallic cupcake wrapper” and selected an interesting photo. There’s no way I could invent such interesting wrinkles and colors.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE BLENDING COMBINATIONS
Real shade is not darker color, real shade is desaturated color.
And it usually takes more than 3 markers to shade and highlight objects with realism.
To create the murky shade colors that Copic Marker does not make, Vanilla Arts Company teaches Online Workshops using the underpainting method. Students learn to layer colors realistically rather than blend.
Underpainting creates the natural colors found in everyday life.
TRIM THE TREE
Not ready to set up the 8 foot Christmas tree and unwind the big tangles of strand lights?
Let’s color instead, it’s so much more fun!
Christmas Cupcake is an artist-grade digital stamp perfect for realistic coloring, now available at my line art site, Sketch-Garden.com
PURCHASE INCLUDES FULL SUPPLY LIST FOR EACH ORNAMENT COLOR
Watch me color pastel green frosting with lots of folds and waves, then color your own using my style and supplies or develop your own unique twist.
Christmas Cupcake digital stamp comes in two line colors: black lined version for easy coloring and disappearing gray lines for realism.
UNDERPAINT WITH MARKERS
Not everyone notices the LIVE tab on my YouTube channel. If you missed it, you’ve missed some full coloring lessons and they’re absolutely free!
You can learn to underpaint and color theory makes it easier!
12 episodes covering six major color groups:
The first episode for each color shows how to select underpaint markers for the target color.
The second episode shows how to color the flower inspiration.
THE GIFT OF COLOR
MORE CHRISTMAS PROJECTS
(click the pic for more info)
ADVANCED COLORING
INTERMEDIATE COLORING
WE TEST COPIC INK
BEAUTIFUL COLOR PALETTES
UNDERPAINT RECIPE ARCHIVE