Thanks for taking the jump to read today’s newsletter. If you landed on this page by accident, subscribe to the Vanilla Beans Newsletter here.

CHECKING IN

It’s Labor Day weekend here in the US.

Instead of our usual camping trip, we’re building a grand chicken coop. It’s the exact opposite of what one is supposed to do on a labor-free weekend.

Maybe I’ll post some photos when we’re done… even though it’s very off topic.

We’ve been talking about black recently.

First, I sent you on a mission to find naturally occurring true black. It’s a real eye-opener to notice how little of what we call black is actually black.

Then last week, I demonstrated how black outlines skew your coloring darker than you intend. The color of your outlines is part of the color palette.

Today, let’s talk about how to color black items with life.

Technicolor Black

It’s almost Halloween season and you’re coloring a black cat.

Or maybe it’s a top hat, a panda bear, or a Magic 8 Ball.

So you grab a hand-full of grays plus a black marker..

Because black stuff has gray highlights, right?

But that’s only true if you live in 1952.

I’ve got a question for you. Think hard before answering.

You got into coloring because you love color. And every time you color, you add a rainbow of markers and pencils to even the smallest projects. Color is so much fun!

So here’s my question…

Why do you color everything in shocking Technicolor…

But when the object is black, you slam on the brakes and use no color at all?

Why?

But Amy, gray is a color!

Well, kinda.

But really, gray is just a step on the value scale. Gray is watered-down black; it’s barely a color.

But Amy, I don’t use just any gray! I spice things up by using WARM gray!

Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this is a wild and crazy party.

My mistake.

I know how it happened.

Someone said “See here, Alice. This is how ya color black stuff.”

So you colored it with black and gray markers. And you keep doing it this way, never noticing how weird it looks.

I’m sure it’ll look more realistic if you keep practicing, eh?

How long do we wait before you question the wisdom of this advice? Some of you swear by the gray method and recommend it to others!

You’re so used to looking at a 1952 black cat sitting on a technicolor background that you don’t even realize how disjointed and alien it looks.

Seriously, you’ve got a fully colored image but all your black objects are completely colorless.

They don’t match.

And you never thought about it, until I just mentioned it, right?

At the start of this newsletter, I showed you a cat and a BG marker.

Did you notice the marker was teal?

If you did, you probably assumed I was referring to his eye color.

Nope.

If I were to color this cat, I’d color his FUR with BG75.

Because I don’t live in 1952.

There we go, look a little closer. You see the BG now, don’t you?

Turns out, this black cat isn’t very black. He sure as heck isn’t gray.

What other colors do you see? I’m seeing some pink and blue along with the teal.

The color is there if you pay attention.

Now shouldn’t you use actual colors when you color something black?

So this week’s tip about black:

Black objects are not grayscale. Add color to black for more realism.

You live a colorful life.

Your blacks should be technicolor too.

GRAY IS A RAINBOW TOO

Click to watch. If your device doesn’t like embeds, click here to watch at YouTube

ATTENTION UNDERPAINTERS:

Big, big, BIG change this week!

SEPTEMBER’S LESSON WILL NOT BE POSTED TO TEACHABLE OR CROWDCAST.

The new UP site at Mighty Networks is now open and the old forum has been moved into the new site as well. To continue your membership, you must move with us.

Please check your email for more information and a link to the new subscription page.