When you’ve moved beyond coloring

In every parent’s life, there comes a day when your child isn’t a child anymore. You’ve fed and clothed them, tended their wounds, supervised their education…

But eventually, all little birds leave the nest.

The same thing happens in coloring classes.

Or at least it ought to.

All students get to the point where you no longer struggle to use Copic Markers or colored pencils. Coloring becomes pretty darned easy as you zip though projects with little effort.

At that point, a good instructor either adds more challenges or pushes the little birds out of the nest.

Because it’s not good to play follow the leader forever.

Copic Marker and colored pencil classes are fun but demonstration lessons eventually stall artistic growth. Open groups are the next step after coloring classes, encouraging students to choose their own colors, medium, and style of rendering. A good mentor facilitates feedback & instruction.

Coloring Step by Step is comfortable

Routine keeps students happy.

You’ve become accustomed to the way coloring classes run. It feels good to know exactly what’s coming your way.

Here’s the class image and here are the printing instructions. Make sure it’s this exact size…

Here’s the class supply list. Make sure you use these exact markers…

Here’s where we’re going to put the blue marker. Do it just like I’m showing you right now. Now let’s pick up the light blue marker and put it in this spot here…

Did it not blend? Okay, let’s all go back and do it again…

Demonstration classes make it very easy to color without thinking.

Which is why the classes are so comfortable.

With little to no effort, you can crank out a project just as good as the class sample.

And if you do give it some effort?

Better be careful or you’ll start to color better than the instructor.

The problem with Demonstration style Classes

You know, the kind of class where you follow the leader?

Eventually you run out of leaders.

Follow the leader is only challenging when the leader is doing something you’ve never done before.

When they’re out of new tricks, you stop learning.

On the one hand, it’s very, very good when you outgrow an instructor…

But if you were really only learning how to follow instructions?

Well, you’re not getting any closer to being a unique and original artist by copying the instructor, are you?

A good instructor offers continual challenges

And I want to be a good instructor.

So I’m always looking at how my students are performing— the questions they ask, the things they color easily, and the hurdles they face in completing class projects.

This tells me how I can better challenge them to take the next step.

For many years, my students needed more basic skills.

Blending, layering, understanding the difference between depth and dimension, color sculpting…

So I released lots of classes which focused on essential techniques and mindsets.

Now, I see a large group of students with lots of skills and no idea how to use them.

As the student body progresses, so should the lessons.

The trick is to keep a student right on the edge. They’re not so familiar with the concept that it feels easy but they’re also not so stressed-out that they fail miserably.

There’s a learning sweet-spot and it’s my job to keep you in your ideal learning zone.

I can’t keep throwing blending lessons at you.

Many of you are ready for more.

The problem is that the next dose of more is kind’a scary.

There are no demonstrations at this next level. It’s time to fly, little birdies.

The art-school difference

When you spend too much time following the leader, copy-catting class projects, you lose part of your artistic soul.

Yes, it’s great to learn how to blend and it’s rewarding to figure out how I do what I do.

But the world doesn’t need another me.

The world needs a you.

I know in today’s social media world, you can post your Vanilla class projects and easily get 50 friends and family members telling you what a great artist you are.

But not really.

Copying my class projects is not art, it’s an exercise.

Copying my class projects is not what you were put on this earth to do.

You were made for more.

And that’s the part of art school that I’ve never been able to translate into coloring lessons.

The more is missing.

In art school, the classes had focus topics, like Perspective for Product Illustration, or Capturing the Figure in Motion.

And that’s what you worked on the entire semester.

There wasn’t much of a supply list for many of these classes. What you used wasn’t nearly as important as how you completed the assigned task. So I worked with colored pencils a lot but the kid next to me might be using conte crayon, the next kid over might be erasing graphite, and there were always a few painting majors standing at easels near the back of the group. It wasn’t this way for every class but a lot of classes were carte blanche when it came to how you got the job done.

I didn’t realize it at the time but these open format classes were essential to developing my artistic style.

Because no one was telling me HOW to do it, I had to figure it out for myself.

Because no one was telling me WHAT to do it with, I had to fumble around until I learned what worked and what didn’t.

And the instructor feedback was always tailored to helping me resolve and improve my unique approach to the problem.

This doesn’t happen— actually, this can’t happen when I’m telling you to use B06 here and blend it out with B04 after that.

Developing your voice & style

Your projects will never look like your art until you sit in the driver’s seat.

You must make the major decisions and do it on a regular basis, project after project to develop an instinct for what you like, what you don’t like, the marks you naturally make, and which funky little quirks make you smile.

Welcome to the next level: the Year of You.

In Marker Painting Foundations and Colored Pencil Plus, we worked on the fundamental skills necessary to master your Copic Markers or colored pencils.

In Box of Colors, we explored project preparation and photo references, getting you ready to make the important decisions behind each project.

Now with The Underpainters, it’s time to venture out on your own.

Create the art you’ve always wanted to make, with independence and freedom…

But not too-too much freedom.

We’re not going to leave you hanging.

The Underpainters is a mentor based support system to help when things don’t go exactly as planned.

Things we can’t do in regular coloring classes

When I sat down to brainstorm how to meet the needs of my intermediate to advanced students this next year, I kept coming back to the same thing…

If only I could recreate open-format learning.

If only? Why not?

Well, it can’t be done in your typical coloring class, that’s for sure. If you’re dead-set on recreating my art my way, the way we do in regular classes and Workshops, then we’re never going to uncover the real you.

It takes a support group, not an instructional class.

Introducing: The Underpainters.

A place to experiment with your materials, marks, and even with your interpretation of the assignment.

It’s more like the open format art class experience.

Each month, we’ll explore a new project reference.

Use the digital stamp or draw your own.

Color it with pencils, markers, watercolor, pastels… you do your thing.

And use the colors you want to use.

Stay faithful to the reference or switch it up. Be conservative or get creative.

How you complete the assignment is up to you.

And I’ll be there with the Vanilla Team and a great group of students to help you over the rough patches.

Beyond coloring classes

Think you can’t do it? Think again.

Realism. Artistry. Independence.

You are ready for more than demonstration style instruction.

How do you step away from follow-the-leader style demo classes?

How do you color what’s in your head rather than novelty techniques and crafty trends?

How can you color less like the instructor and more like YOU?

You don’t need more classes.

You need a support system.

Complex reflections

Create lifelike mirror effects while you develop your own artistic voice.

Christmas Baubles

Artistic Coloring Kits are everything you need to challenge yourself with intermediate to advanced level images.

Use your color sculpting and rendering reflections skills to create realistic Christmas Baubles!

Let your skill & creativity be the star of the image, not the stamp art. Ideal for large-scale projects in Copic Marker, colored pencil, or watercolor

Kit includes: digital stamp, suggested supply list, photo references, guide to shade and shadow & underpainting advice, color map & coloring process tips & photo collage

Select supplies used in Christmas Baubles:

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