Control Freak Tips: How to Color with Loose Artistic Style (Copic Marker, Colored Pencil)

Control Freak Tips: How to Color with Loose Artistic Style (Copic Marker, Colored Pencil)

Do you micro-manage your markers?

You’re not alone. There’s something about Copic Marker and especially colored pencil that seems to attract persnickety people. We like control and we want to regulate our colors, so we choose the most controlled version of all art mediums.

Because really, who trusts a drippy paintbrush and all those weird little tubes? That stuff gets messy! Markers and pencils are safe.

And yet we dream of painting. Painting with wild abandon.

Today, let’s look at tips for coloring with passion and freedom.

Artistic Coloring: Add Life to Cast Shadows to with Beautiful Color (Copic Marker)

Artistic Coloring: Add Life to Cast Shadows to with Beautiful Color (Copic Marker)

People sign up for Copic Marker classes and read tons of tutorials, desperately wanting to blend better. Smoother blends, easier blends, prettier blends.

They think blending will make their coloring look more realistic. Then when it doesn’t work, they sign up for shading classes. The merry-go-round starts all over again.

Let me ask, how lifelike are my butterflies here? Do they look like they’re fluttering on the page?

Now let me tell you a secret…

Copic Marker Highlights: When Dimensional Coloring Technique Fails (Dark Pulling)

Copic Marker Highlights: When Dimensional Coloring Technique Fails (Dark Pulling)

Do you use standard Highlighting techniques?

C’mon, most people do.

Every Copic Marker class teaches it. Most beginner colored pencil classes do too.

Let’s use our lightest marker at the end of this petal. Now look at how dimensional our flowers look! Wow!!!

Highlighting for dimension is all over the internet. It’s rare to find a free tutorial that doesn’t use this coloring method.

And it’s wrong. It does’t always work.

What happens when the magic trick stops working?

Coloring in Times of Stress & Sorrow: Tips for Finding Relief Through Art

Coloring in Times of Stress & Sorrow: Tips for Finding Relief Through Art

Can creativity make you feel better?

I think so.

Coloring can be emotionally uplifting.

Spending time focused on things you love, like Copic Markers, colored pencils, cute stamps and coloring images— just being surrounded by color— for many of us, it soothes and calms the mind.

It simply feels good to be creative.

So knowing that coloring can make the best day feel even better… And now, with all this pandemic stuff…

Can we use coloring to help us cope with our emotions and struggles this time of social distancing and isolation?