Inspiring and Amazing Maize!

Hello everyone and welcome to another Inspire Me Monday! I'm Amy Shulke of vanillaarts.com and today, we're talking about the Achilles' Heel that usually gets in the way of developing realistic depth and dimension. You love pretty color... and so you want to use it everywhere. But, real life is muddy. Realistic coloring is murky. If all you’re using is bold, bright, and attractive color, it’s no wonder your coloring looks flat and fake.

Universal shading is a concept that you need to absorb and understand in order to add life and dimension to your coloring projects. And. pssst... this concept makes coloring so much easier! So, allow me to share a few tips using Power Poppy's digital stamp set Maize for Days. 

TIP 1: There are more corn husks than anything else in this image but they're not very important. I want the husks to fade from view, not attract attention. Because I know I'll be using a lot of blue-gray color in this image, I choose a set of Copic browns that are very cool and almost dull, then I shade them with a BV to tone them down even more.

TIP 2: Just as I did with the husks, I continue to find less important objects and give them the same dull treatment. Here, I've colored the ribbon and bittersweet with blue-gray BV Copics to keep them from stealing attention away from the colorful corn coming next. To tie everything together, I repeat some of that blue-gray in the corn.

 

TIP 3: I'm starting to add more colors to the corn but I'm being clever about it. I don't want the corn to be an obnoxious, eye-popping riot of color, so I simplify the color palette. I've chosen 4 kernel colors and created a light and dark version of each. This way I have 8 kernel colors but they feel coordinated, cohesive, and professional.

TIP 4: I've saved the least realistic corn color until last. I don't need a lot of pink to make a statement.

TIP 5: Working my way through the husks now, adding a vein texture and pushing the shady areas deeper. Notice my color selection here, would you have shaded tan husks with a violet pencil? Brown shade doesn't have to be brown!

TIP 6: Copic colorers get trapped into thinking that every color deserves it's own shade color combination. That really complicates the coloring process but it also leads to flat coloring when you choose a pretty shade color rather than a realistic shade color. Real shade is rarely pretty. Trying to keep that pink or yellow corn beautiful in the shade will flatten the depth!

If you want a few more real time ideas on how to pull off realistic coloring with universal shading, you're in luck! On Friday, October 12th at 11 a.m. EST, I'll be hosting a live stream class delving deeper into these theories. And there's more good news, students who sign up receive 20% off the digital version of  Power Poppy's Maize for Days.  

Click HERE to learn more about this intermediate to advanced class and check out the supply list. Don't worry, if you can't make the live stream, there is a recording you can play immediately after the broadcast ends which you can watch as many times as you like until April 1, 2019. I hope you join me!

Thanks for stopping by & happy coloring!