REALISTIC DETAIL
IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK
Are photo references overwhelming because of all the intricate detail?
Let’s simplify the detail, the negative way.
Fine Art Techniques for Colorists - Intro to Negative Painting
"I could never color something that realistic!"
Why not?
Far too often, we settle for cartoonish coloring because the idea of coloring 500 holes in the toast and the seed structure of a cut strawberry…
Well, it’s kinda terrifying, right?
Psssttt… it doesn’t have to be.
Artists have been drawing and painting very complicated things for centuries, with zero stress.
Let’s look at how they do it.
STRAWBERRY TOAST
INTERMEDIATE COLORING
MARKER + COLORED PENCIL INSTRUCTION WITH AMY SHULKE
Instead of coloring teeny tiny details…
What if we colored the space around the details?
Whoa, that would simplify things a lot!
It’s not only easier, the negative painting technique reduces your coloring time and saves money because it uses fewer colors.
It’s a win-win!
Stop stressing-out over the details.
All it takes is an opposite view.
STRAWBERRY TOAST
$45 USD - Instant Access to all class materials
Professional Illustrator, Amy Shulke shares the secret of negative painting
Strawberry Toast is my favorite kind of project
I love food illustration— in fact my senior exit portfolio in art school was full of food projects.
The biggest drawback people have to coloring realistic food is the amount of texture, detail, and frankly… crumbs.
Let me share a simplified method and no one will know you’ve simplified anything!
Improve your coloring by improving how you think about color
Intermediate Level
Copic Markers & Prismacolor Pencils
Minimal Supply lists
Maximum Impact
Everything looks hard when you overthink it.
OVER-ANALYSIS PARALYSIS
In Strawberry Toast, instead of zooming in to absorb the subtle nuances of every tiny detail, I’ll show you how to pull back.
Let’s color the forest, not the trees.
We’re not coloring berries and toast because it’s cute…
This is a nitty-gritty lesson covering the details in photorealism.
And because this is an Amy-Lesson, I've packed a bleepin' truckload of color theory into every part of the project.
Your finished project becomes the springboard for a lifetime of realistic coloring.
IT'S TIME FOR A NEW KIND OF CLASS:
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SKILL
Control markers and pencils with accuracy. When the mechanics of coloring becomes automatic, your mind is free to concentrate on the important aspects of art.
COLORING IS EASIER WHEN YOU'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT TECHNIQUE
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VERSATILITY
What we do with markers and pencils isn't magic. Coloring Theory should work with watercolor, pastels, or any other medium. It's not about the product, it's how we use the color.
COLOR IS UNIVERSAL. COLORING LESSONS SHOULD BE TOO
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INDEPENDENCE
"How to color toast" is useless unless you plan to color bread for the rest of your life. With negative painting, you can apply today's lesson to an endless variety of objects.
COLOR WHATEVER YOU WANT, WHENEVER YOU WANT
Begin Negative Painting Now
Color as many times as you wish. You’ve got forever access!
One time payment - $45 USD
How Strawberry Toast works:
Enroll today for instant access to the detailed supply list, line art, photo references, printable guidebook, and demonstration videos. No waiting.
Consult the photo reference while you color along with the video. Guidebook contains Work-In-Progress photos to check your progress plus helpful descriptions and tips.
Don’t just color the project once, test what you’ve learned! Can you color the same project on your own? Can you change the color palette while still retaining the same depth and dimension?
INTERMEDIATE COLORING SKILLS REQUIRED
Beginner techniques like blending and layering will not be covered in depth.
To master these skills before taking Strawberry Toast, I have two beginner courses. More info here.
STRAWBERRY TOAST IS AN INTERMEDIATE’S CHALLENGE LEVEL WORKSHOP
MORE COLOR WONK PROJECTS:
Color Strawberry Toast Now
Learn the negative painting technique— simplifying details for realism.
One time payment - $45 USD
Quick Questions:
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This workshop is taught at the intermediate level.
We will not cover beginner techniques such as marker blending or how to layer colored pencils.
To learn these beginner skills, please see our beginner Copic Marker course, The Blend
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Immediately and Forever! As soon as you're through the enrollment and payment processes, the class material automatically opens for you.
This workshop is 100% FULL ACCESS from the moment you enroll. Work at your own pace and take as much time as you want to complete the lesson.
Save your log-in info for forever access to the workshop materials.
Questions? Email us at info@vanillaarts.com
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The line art is included with the printable workshop materials.
No secondary or outside purchase necessary.
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Sorry but no. You must be logged into your account here at Teachable to view the videos.
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This is a self-directed workshop with no forum access or feedback from Amy or the Vanilla Team.
For more community support and feedback from Amy, please consider joining the Color Wonk community.
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No problem. Colored pencils are much easier than markers!
I don’t do anything fancy with pencils, anyway.
We cover the parts of the pencil technique in this demo demo and most marker people pick it up easily in just a few projects.
To learn my pencil technique in-depth, learn more about The Point here.
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Sorry, but no. We’re doing fine art techniques which require artist grade alcohol markers. Despite what you’ve heard or read, inexpensive markers are not the same as Copic and Olo.
Inexpensive markers can not handle the kind of heavy layering and color mixing we do in my lessons.
If you absolutely must use student or craft grade markers, then I’m the wrong instructor for you. There are other instructors who can teach you to use them.
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In my own work, I substitute colors all the time— but this is a class and you’re here to learn.
Not all markers and pencils behave the same way, even when the colors look similar. It’s a matter of chemistry and at this intermediate level, it’s safe to assume you’re not adept at making the correct chemical substitutions.
But here’s the important part: every substitution you make increases the difficulty of the project. Fighting with your art supplies will distract you from the lesson goals.
For your benefit, I highly recommend sticking to the recommended colors. They were chosen for a reason.
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This is a one-time, single payment purchase with no additional billing.
We use the Teachable platform to process your purchase. Teachable uses Stripe to accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover payments. We do not accept PayPal deposits but you may use a PayPal debit card.
Several major currencies are accepted but prices are listed in USD. VAT is automatically charged where applicable. We absolutely can not waive VAT charges.
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If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact me at info@vanillaarts.com within the first 48 hours for a full refund minus processing fees.
Note: A refund withdraws you completely from the workshop. You will lose access to the course panel, all materials, and any associated forum.
Repeat refund requestors will be blocked from participation.
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