Artistic Coloring: 3 Mistakes Everyone Makes with Stamps (Copic Markers, Colored Pencils)

Artistic Coloring: 3 Mistakes Everyone Makes with Stamps (Copic Markers, Colored Pencils)

Are your coloring projects pretty but boring? You find a wonderful stamp. You can’t wait to color it with your Copic Markers, colored pencils, or maybe you’ll use watercolor. So you color it really well. And yet the finished project is just a little… Boring? Even worse is when you stumble across sixteen other people who colored the stamp exactly like you did. Why is it so hard to color a jaw-dropping stamp in an eye-popping way? Let’s look closer at why great stamps go mediocre during the coloring process.

Learn to Capture Accurate details for Realism (coloring Classes vs. demonstrations)

Learn to Capture Accurate details for Realism (coloring Classes vs. demonstrations)

Do you want to play a game? “Okay class, pick up your R35 and we will color the tail of this ribbon.” That’s how Copic and even some colored pencil classes work, right? If you do exactly what the teacher does, you’ll end up with something amazing. And it works… Kinda. You walk away with a very pretty project. Your Christmas scene looks just as cute as the instructor’s. Your ribbon is smooth, your ornaments look shiny and the box looks perfectly dimensional… maybe even realistic.

Am I a Beginner? 5 Things Experienced Colorers Never Think About (Copic Markers, Colored Pencils)

Am I a Beginner? 5 Things Experienced Colorers Never Think About (Copic Markers, Colored Pencils)

“Do I color like a beginner?” It can be hard to determine where you fit because it’s possible for someone to color for years with Copic Markers or colored pencils and still be a beginner. I know that sounds crazy but if you’re never presented with upper level techniques and if you never color anything but simple stamps for small cards, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been coloring, you still have beginner skills.

Be a Smart Artist: 5 Things to Think About While Coloring (Copic Markers, Colored Pencils)

Be a Smart Artist: 5 Things to Think About While Coloring (Copic Markers, Colored Pencils)

What do professional artists think about as they work?

Well, it’s not what you see in the movies.

Turning the stereo up to eleven, chugging whiskey, and waiving a paintbrush around in the air like you’re swatting flies? That’s how artists work on television. It looks romantic on camera.

But in real life?

All that distraction is a good way to make bad art.

If you’re moving from craft-level stamp coloring to artistic coloring with Copic Markers, colored pencils, watercolor… well, it’s easy to feel like a misfit.