Draw & Color: How to Color Realistic Flowers with Copic Marker (Video Resources)

Join pro illustrator Amy Shulke for a FREE ā€œDraw & Colorā€ livestream lesson on coloring realistic flowers with Copic Markers and colored pencils.
 

How to Color Realistic Flowers with Pink RV Alcohol Markers

Coloring realistic coloring isnā€™t just one technique.

And itā€™s not about using the most realistic blending combinations.

Realism with alcohol markers and colored pencils is a process, a series of stepsā€” methods we learn over time which eventually add up to more realism.

Let me show you the next step beyond standard flower petal blending techniques.

In order to create the illusion of a real flower, you need to know what real flowers look like.

Letā€™s stop guessing and start looking.

 

DONā€™T MISS THE SHY TULIP SUPPLY LIST (MARKERS & PENCILS) AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE

 


 

DRAW & COLOR: SHY TULIP

How to color realistic flowers with Copic Markers & Prismacolor Pencils

(click below to watch at YouTube)

 
 

LAST MONTHā€™S LIVESTREAM

Tips and resources for Amy Shulkeā€™s FREE coloring lesson on how to create real environments for realistic objects. Alcohol markers + colored pencils. VanillaArts.com

You color everything in the stamp using your best shading techniquesā€¦

And yet the finished project doesnā€™t feel real.

What are you missing?

Psssttt... coloring individual objects is the wrong approach. You need to think like a still life artist!

Letā€™s explore how.

 


 

Love the FREE lessons?

A gentle reminder:

Free lessons are not free to produce.

Like you, I must buy paper, pencils, and refill ink.

But I also have cameras, broadcast software, and usage rights for photo references to pay for. Thereā€™s also this website and the software I use to create graphics, reminder emails, supply lists, and PDF learning aids. Then consider the hours I spend researching and creating every video, livestream, and color theory article.

The best way to support me is to support yourself!

Classes, kits, and digital stamps keep you learning and keep me aā€™float!

 

SHY TULIP WORKSHEET

Subscribers to Amyā€™s Saturday newsletter can download a free PDF photo reference worksheet with color and texture prompts. Subscribe here.

Get your copy of the primary photo reference for the Shy Tulip project. Worksheet includes the photo plus color and highlight prompts.

FREE Worksheet for Vanilla Beans Subscribers

All subscribers to my Saturday newsletter have password access to the FREE Download Library where I keep lots of nifty downloads plus exclusive videos.

Subscribe, then take the link to the latest issue of Vanilla Beans. Every issue of Beans lists the current Library password. Already subscribed? Check last Saturdayā€™s issue for the Library link and current password.

 

TIPS FOR COLORING REALISTIC FLOWERS

TIP: Color temperature matters.

Even though my tulip begins with a cool set of RV markers, I still end the combination with a warmer pink as the lightest color. This adds a bit of sunshine to the final blendā€¦

But be careful because adding that same hint of sun to the shady end of the blend can accidentally flatten your flowers.

TIP: Underpaint with care.

Underpainting adds a sense of weight and presence to the objects you color. Itā€™s very useful in most circumstances but I find itā€™s the kiss-of-death with flower petals.

Think about it, the last thing you want is a flower with 10 pound flower petals. Thatā€™s kinda what heavy underpainting can create. Flower petals should be thin and silky, donā€™t weigh them down with underpaint just because you assume everything needs underpaint.

TIP: Whatā€™s my secret for lifelike stems and leaves?

Be sure to watch the video to see how I spread my colors around!

 

Sheā€™s a little shyā€¦

During the livestream, I draw an original image starting from fresh, white paperā€¦ but then I color over it!

So after the stream, I double-back to recreate the original line drawing, making slight improvements.

Shy Tulip: a simple single blossom

Clean and minimalist digital line art

I keep my drawings simple with no texture marks or decoration. Your coloring should be the star of the show, not my line art!

 


 

Color Inspiration:

Vanilla Undercover is my series of underpaint blending combinationsā€” creating realistic color with unusual markers.

Iā€™ll be coloring our tulip with a similar but slightly different blending combination (Iā€™ll explain why in the video).

Plus Iā€™ll need some green markersā€¦ hmmm.

 

My Marker Journal

I use a Zeta journal in the Draw & Color livestreams.

Itā€™s hard to find good paper for my mixed media illustrations. Markers like ultra smooth paper while colored pencils need tooth. Markers and pencils are opposites, so any paper that works for both mediums will always be a compromise.

And once you find a good compromise, it rarely comes in journal format.

This paper is pretty good for markersā€” it doesnā€™t feather, bleed, or discourage blending.

It also has enough tooth to add a few layers of colored pencil.

Is this the paper Iā€™d use for an all-marker illustration? No.

Is it the paper Iā€™d use for an all-colored pencil illustration? No.

But this is one of the best journals Iā€™ve found for marker + pencil.

(affiliate links)

 

SHY TULIP SUPPLIES:

Hereā€™s a summary of the Copic Markers and colored pencils I used during the livestream demonstration.

For a full supply list + links to trusted retailers, scroll to the end of this article.

TULIP PETALS:

Copic: BV0000, RV55, RV04, RV63, RV10

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils: 109 Prussian Green, 914 Cream, 938 White, 994 Process Red, 1005 Limepeel, 1008 Parma Violet, 1014 Deco Pink, 1026 Grayed Lavender

Derwent Lightfast Colored Pencil: Violet

LEAVES & STEM:

Copic: V20, YG63, YG61, Y11

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils: 109 Prussian Green, 914 Cream, 938 White, 994, Process Red, 1011 Deco Yellow

Derwent Lightfast Colored Pencil: Violet

CAST SHADOW:

Prismacolor Colored Pencils: 936 Slate Grey, 994 Process Red, 1005 Limepeel

 

Related Reading

 
 
 

SHY TULIPS: SUPPLY LIST

This list is what I expect to use during the livestream but colors may change mid-stream (literally). To be updated post-stream with actual supplies used.

 
 
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Marker Underpainting: Copic Blends for Realistic Color - Green Swatch (Willow Catkin)

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Color Palette: Copic Marker + Colored Pencil Combination (Purple, Brown, Lime Green) Chaffinch