Sometimes I Just Want to Color

Sometimes I just feel like coloring. When I do, I mostly prefer colored pencils over crayons. You can do some cool things with crayons, but I still prefer pencils...they smell better too. :D
My son and I found a few coloring books with great pictures for ages 8 to adult at Costco. This is the one we bought; "Color Me 3" - Illustrated by P.J.C.Smart.

Here is the picture I colored.

(looks better in person)

Girl with Flowers and Butterflies

Highlights and Shadow

I enjoy trying to color things with lighting and shadow.  I'm not always accurate, but I'm learning. I tried to create a bit of highlight and shadow on the arms, making them appear more 3-D, by coloring the sides of the arm darker and leaving the center (the part that would naturally be in more light) lighter.

Using this same concept I added depth to the face, hair and jewelry.

Up close

The flesh color is darker in
places to give the impression of shadow:
under the lips- above the chin,
under the jaw - along the neck,
beneath the cheekbone,
along side the nose, etc.
Added depth to the hair by coloring
first with golden yellow, adding orange
highlights and finishing with brown,
tracing in the darker lines.
Added dimension to the necklace and
other gold jewelry by coloring
first in golden yellow then edging with
orange to create the look of shadow.

Blending Colors with Colored Pencil

When layering and blending colors with colored pencil, I begin with the lighter colors first and blend in with the darker colors. You can always go darker, but you can't go lighter. So, I start with a soft touch, then darken as needed for the desired affect.

Here are some samples of where I used blending.

I added darker lines of pink color extending out from the center of the petal like you might see on a real flower petal in an effort to give a touch of realness.

I created the multi toned look on the petal by first coloring most of the petal yellow...leaving the very edge white so I could get the full pink affect when I added the pink. After gently blending the pink in and darkening it up at the edges I added a few stronger lines within the gently blended color to give a real feel to the petal.

Create texture by adding darker lines within and along the grain-line of the leaf.  Here I tried creating the look of a Hosta leaf.

Have fun with your coloring project!

-Jill