Colouring The Bear

Colouring an image with dark colours can be tricky, as the details can easily get lost under the layers of ink. Making sure you have enough contrast is the key to successful colouring, and that means you need a lot of variation between the lightest and darkest marker or pencil.

I'm colouring a little black bear with alcohol markers. I have six shades, from solid black to a warm mid-tone grey, as well as a lighter grey that I will use later to accentuate some of the highlights.

I like to start by adding my darkest shade, which in this case is black (copic marker 100). Take note of where I've added the marker in the photo below. By keeping it to one side of a line, I'm allowing a contrast to develop, which will help distinguish the different areas of the bear. For example, I've applied the black marker on the back of the bear, under his arm. I've also applied some on his other arm. This will allow me to create a contrast between the arm that is closest to the viewer and the bear's body and second arm.

Now I'm going to start my blending with a very dark grey (W10). I'm building on the black I laid down earlier, still making sure I have enough contrast so the details of the bear are not lost. As I have six shades of grey to work through, each layer will be rather narrow and blended into the shades on either side. This helps to give a smooth transition of colour.

Make a mental note of where the highest areas of the bear will be, these are the places where the colour will be lightest - the highlights. Generally, that's the cheeks, top of the head, top of the ears, the protruding part of the belly and thigh and tops of the shoulders and feet. In contrast, the darkest areas will be under the body, in the ears, the bottom of the feet, under the chin and arms. Also remember to add shadow around the eye sockets, but not on the eye lid.

Continue to work the colour outward toward those highlight areas. Remember that you can go back and add a little more of any shade if you wish, as long as you also blend it with the shades that came after.

At this point you may be a little worried that you've lost the details of the bear, but it's actually just the contrast between what you've coloured and what you haven't... the bright white paper can be quite jarring. Once you add the final shade the image will come together.

If you wish, you can strengthen the deepest shadows by adding a little more of your darkest marker, in my case, the black (100).

I decided to colour the bear's nose in the same shades of grey, starting with the W10 rather than the black. Once the nose was coloured, I realised I needed a little more shading on the muzzle, where the fur meets the bottom of the nose. This will give me the contrast I need between the two areas.

If you feel you need to add extra highlights, don't be tempted to come in with the blending marker (0) if you have coloured your image as dark as I have. There is too much difference between the lightest marker (W6) and the blender (0) and all I'll achieve is a very obvious patch of light cardstock, much like a "cauliflower" in watercolour painting. Instead, I've chosen a marker that is two steps down (W4). A quick swipe across the top of the bear's head, the top of his ears, shoulder and belly will give me some additional light.

I've added the same family of greys to ground the image, starting with the W6 and working down to the W3. Keep the top of the shadow nice and dark and crisp and blend the bottom out to the lightest colour.

Next is to colour any additional areas of the image, in this case, the roller skates. I selected some purples by comparing them to the patterned paper I want to add to my card. This helps to coordinate the overall project.

Finally, fill in around the image with a very light blue (B0000) to give the impression of space. I like to break up the outer edge of the blue with a layer or two of the blender pen.

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