Do you color a lot?

You’ve heard instructors and your coloring heroes say:

The way to improve your coloring is to practice.

And oooh-baby, you are definitely practicing!

You take online Copic Marker or colored pencil classes. You watch coloring videos. You read the blogs and you follow the tutorials. You’ve done the Inky Month Challenge umpteen times in a row.

You happily spend all your free time with a marker in your hand.

You are crankin’ out the projects!

Lots of projects.

You’ve colored flowers, you’ve colored people, you’ve colored cupcakes, snowmen, and googly-eyed bears wearing striped pants.

But wait…

Can I ask you something?

With all the coloring that you’re doing…

I’m sure you’re getting good at Copic blending, smoothing out the colored pencil layers, and I’ll bet you’re starting to think about picking colors for your very own blends…

But with all of this practice, are you any more artistic now than when you started?

Are you more creative?

Are you doing anything innovative and unique yet?

Are you an artist?

Or are you just really good at coloring?

There is a difference between coloring and making art!

I know, I’m stepping on a landmine here.

Someone will get insulted. Someone will send me an all-caps email.

Who in the heck are you to tell me that I’m not an artist? We are ALL artists! We were born to make art. Every time I pick up a marker, I am an artist. Everything I make is artistic!

Okay, calm down. I know you are artistic. I’m happy for you. Keep on coloring. You go girl!

But there’s a difference between your pretty marker blends and Rembrandt, Bouguereau, or even Thomas Light-em-up Kinkade, okay?

It’s not all on the same level.

Like it or not, the art world has standards. Your circle of friends and family, even total strangers— they have opinions too.

Not everything is Art with a capital A.

Sometimes it’s just coloring.

There’s a difference.

And don’t blame the markers. It has nothing to do with Copic versus fancy oil paint. The medium doesn’t make it Art.

Some Copic Marker art goes viral. People see it and share it. These pieces catch the eye and spark the heart. We want to explore the coloring deeper, how it was made, and know more about the person that colored it. Noteworthiness makes it Art.

On the other hand, we scroll past 50 hand colored cards on Pinterest in just a few minutes. Most pins barely merit a glance. They’re missing that special something which attracts our attention and makes them noteworthy. It’s artistic but it ain’t Art.

So let me ask you: you’ve been doing lots of coloring… but are you making anything noteworthy yet?

“But I’ve been practicing!”

I know.

You have been practicing. That’s why I’m writing this article.

I see a lot of students coloring a lot of projects.

A lot of projects.

Here’s the problem:

Do you realize that most Copic colorers have been taking online classes and following video tutorials longer than it takes to get an art degree?

Uhhhhh, not kidding!

I was in art school for 4 1/2 years. I’ve got students who have been coloring with Copics for more than a decade!

Granted, the college art experience is a tad intense.

But it’s not unusual for a Copic fan to be doing coloring projects on a weekly basis for years…

Yet they still can’t color on their own with expression and artistry.

Something is very wrong here.

Something is missing.

If you’re doing the time, you should be getting some results.

Far too many people are little more than very experienced beginners.

What’s missing?

Here’s what I see as I straddle the gap between art instruction and Copic classes:

I meet a lot of Ten Year Beginners— tons of experience and no skills.

For every dozen Ten Year Beginners that I meet, I might stumble upon one rare someone who takes three classes and then ka-boom, they’re off making art.

While most people credit that kind of rapid growth to natural-born talent, I don’t see it that way.

Talent is NOT a big factor in art. Talent gets you started but we don’t hang talent on museum walls.

We hang PROFICIENCY and CREATIVITY.

And most online Copic classes don’t teach you diddly-squat about proficiency or creativity.

Think back to all the many coloring classes you’ve taken over the years:

How many classes did you take because the project looked soooo cute?

How many classes did you take because you thought the project would make a great gift?

How many classes did you take because you already own the stamp but the class looked better than your version?

Notice a theme there?

Most people take coloring classes because of the project.

The same is true for videos and tutorials. You decide whether to watch, read, or purchase based upon the look of the project.

Project is king in Copic-world. I’ve had students skip classes saying:

• I don’t color animals

• I don’t color robots

• I’m sick of coloring flowers

• I’m really more interested in people. I’ll be back when you cover skin & hair.

Without exception, every Ten Year Beginner that I’ve ever met is also a project-bouncer. They hop from class to class based upon what the project looks like.

And when YOU practice? You have a list of projects to work through, right?

I’ve got 3 videos to catch up on, then I’ll do the birthday cake tutorial. And I’ve got four new stamps from the Holiday Blast. Plus I should make a card for Aunt Tillie’s birthday.

Projects.

Everyone is ticking off projects.

It’s killing your chance to learn.

Projects delay learning

Project-bouncing means you never focus on a subject for longer than it takes to finish the card. You never master a skill. Before you can get good at something, you’re on to the next project.

You finish a lot but learn little.

You never reach proficiency level.

Proficiency means expertise. Proficiency is essential to making art!

People don’t go to art school to learn how to paint ice cream cones. Art classes are not that specific. You don’t learn Balloons 101 and then take Tulips 124. There isn’t a Department of Skin & Hair Technique.

Nobody has ever taught me how to create the look of the weathered wood that you see here in my Welcome Home illustration. I’ve never taken a door knob class or a wreath class either. That’s not how art works.

Good art classes are not for production.

Instead, art classes are dedicated to skill development. Teach a student how to see clearly or how to use their supplies with dexterity; then they can color peeling paint, rusty brass, Christmas wreaths, and long flowing ribbons without a teacher holding their hand.

The first step to artistry is to become proficient with your tools and materials.

I don’t mean “first step” metaphorically.

Proficiency leads directly to artistry.

Until you reach proficiency with your tools you’ll always think about how to use your tools.

Once you stop thinking about what marker goes where, it frees your brain to think about more important things.

Like capturing a moment, telling a story, conveying an emotion.

That stuff is actual ARTISTRY!

Ten Year Beginners never attain proficiency which means they never move beyond basic fill-the-shape coloring.

And remember those supposedly talented people who swoop into class and seem like instant experts?

They’re the ones who achieve proficiency through practice.

They don’t practice the project, trying to make it neater/smoother/prettier. Instead, they practice the techniques and methods presented in the class until they have proficiency.

Proficiency development is a smarter way to work that leads to actual learning and artistic growth.

Check out Amy’s favorite art supplies, click above.

You don’t need more projects!

And as much as it pains me to say it, many of you don’t need more classes.

You have years of classes just sitting there waiting for you to open them back up and rediscover the techniques and methods you ignored the first time.

Go back and practice the lessons you’ve already purchased.

Refresh your memory about what the instructor was trying to teach you.

Was it about blending? Was it about color selection? Was it about color sculpting?

If you’ve got forever access to a class, why not take it again and practice the lesson until you’ve perfected it?

Here’s the other thing you can do: take note of where you struggle in a project, then find a class or workshop to target that weakness.

Is blending something you constantly struggle with? Take a class dedicated to blending. I happen to have one here.

Do you stumble over shading? Try a class like this.

Do you wonder about how much detail to add? Here’s a class to target that weakness. Or maybe you find it hard to work independently? Here’s a group designed to tackle that problem.

Many ten year beginners are ten year beginners because they find it too uncomfortable to address their coloring faults and weaknesses.

You’re better than that!

The only way to grow into the artist you were meant to be, is to wear down the hurdles holding you back.

You can do this!

And hey, want to color “Welcome Home”?

This new digital art stamp + guide from Vanilla Arts Co. is the perfect opportunity to practice soft marker swishes, pencil texturizing, color sculpting, and cast shadows.

It’s not about the door, it’s what you can open with it.

Digital download package includes:

• “Welcome Home” in three handy formats— PNG, JPG, and easy print PDF

• Copic Marker + Prismacolor Premier supply guide

• Step by Step photos to check your progress

Supplies used in “Welcome Home”:

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.