Vanilla Undercover: Underpainting with Copic Markers for Beautiful Realism - Canary Song
Realistic Color
You don’t have to be an artist, or even a bird enthusiast, to know that canaries are most noteworthy for their colorful, yellow plumage. So if you were choosing a color palette to create lifelike looking canaries ruffling with realism, would V01 be on your “must have” art supply list?
“Seriously?” you ask. “Do you mean…P-U-R-P-L-E?”
Traditional Copic Marker blending combinations can add a little bit of depth and dimension but they can not add realism. As an artist, you will never successfully achieve this goal until you are brave enough to use the dreary, desaturated colors actually found in nature’s shadows.
Examine carefully where we have spotlighted the actual shade colors in the above canary photograph. That darkest color is probably not a hue you want to paint your dining room with. It’s pretty ugly! But it is the actual color for the shade on those canaries. Copic specializes in the pretty markers that everyone loves, but sometimes, in the quest for photo-realism, you need to muddy things up.
Underpainting the Y13 marker with V01 mimics this dingy shade color perfectly!
Always remember: real shade is not darker color, shade is desaturated color.
To create the desaturated colors that Copic does not make, Vanilla Arts Company teaches Online Workshops and Livestream Coloring challenges using the underpainting method. Students learn to layer colors realistically rather than using standardized blending combos.
Underpainting creates natural colors found in everyday life!
Copic - Canary song
Underpaint Y13 with V01 to successfully capture the murky yellow seen in the deepest shade of these canaries. This pushes back the dark areas and allows the brighter yellow expanses to pop forward. The gorgeous, lifelike dimension that results will have you expecting that canary to burst into song any second!.
Elena’s Advice:
When you first blend the Y13 over the V01, you may wonder if you made a muddy mistake. Don’t stress! Wait until the project is finished and you will be delighted with how realistic it looks!
Learn to use your V’s to underpaint:
Vanilla Arts Company - Lemon Zest Online Class
Vanilla Arts Company - Texas Yellow Rose - Digi Stamp & Booklet
Vanilla Arts Company - Rubber Duck - DigiStamp + Recipe Guide
Crafts for Paws - Copic Coloring Club with Elena Cazares
Further reading:
Why Artists Do Not Shade - Part 1
Color Smart: Create Focal Points
Artistic Coloring: How to Color Shade with Realism
Improve your Copic Marker Coloring. The Power of Photo References & Observation
Copic Marker Blending Problems? Refill your Markers for Instant Improvement!
Looking for More Blending Combinations?
Elena Cazares is a Vanilla Arts student and a budding online instructor with beautiful sense of color and style. She is a hurricane of positive creative energy.
Elena runs CraftsForPaws.com, a 501(c)(3) non profit animal rescue. C4P’s donates 100% of their profits to rescue and care for worst-case stray dogs and cats in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.
Shop to benefit Crafts for Paws at their sister site - Violeta Ink. Join Elena’s Copic Coloring Club here for online class announcements and catch her YouTube cardmaking series here.