White Over Green

Negative colouring - using white or light coloured pencil on a darker background - is one of my favourite techniques. In today's post I'll show you how I coloured one of the images from the Warm and Woolly set of digital stamps, not only to give it a little colour but also some added texture.

Start by stamping the image onto some smooth or lightly textured card stock. I've used a pretty green background that has a little bit of tooth (roughness). The more tooth your paper has, the more texture will appear in your colouring.

Add a very light layer of white pencil to one area of the image, I began with the sheep's face. You barely want to touch the surface of your paper with the pencil, just enough that you can see it.

Now apply the lightest areas by pressing heavily with the pencil. For faces, the lightest areas are generally along the nose, on the cheeks and across the brow. Animals will also have light along the tops of their ears.

Now you want to work the pencil from the lightest areas to the darkest so that there is a gradual change rather than a sudden difference. You may want to do this in layers rather than all at once.
Don't forget to pay extra attention to the eyes, which are usually the focal point of a character image. I add black pen over the pupils and, if necessary, the eyelashes. A dot of white in each eye will bring your character to life.

Add a light layer of white pencil to the remainder of the image, then colour the legs and feet in the same way you did the face. The lighter areas will be the top of the feet and the darker areas will be at the top of the legs, just under all that wool.

To add some extra texture and fun to the wool of the sheep, I drew in some "curls" by pressing firmly with a sharp white pencil. Don't add them everywhere, just in the areas that are marked in the image.

Colour the sheep's body adding pencil over the top of the "curls". Leave some darker areas here and there to give the impression of thick wool.

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