Tutorial - Colouring Golden Bells

Today I want to show you one of the techniques I use to colour metal, specifically, these golden bells. You can change the colours and mediums for the results you want, such as silver bells (using greys), but the technique is basically the same.

1. Begin by printing the image and selecting your colours. I'm using Copic markers - E84, Y28, Y26, Y23, Y21 and the 0 blender pen. 

2. Use the Y21 to mark out a highlight area, this will remain free of any colour and will appear to be a very high shine. I like to make a small circle (since the bell is circular) at the top and off to one side. Use the same pen (Y21) to colour the rest of the bell.

3. Now we're going to switch to the darkest marker, which is E84, and place our shadow opposite the highlight. In my case, that's around the base and right hand edge of the bell. Notice how I'm following the shape of the bell.

4. Metal often has a reflected highlight near the shadow. Use the E84 to add a second curve just above the first, connecting the ends.

5. Increase the size of the shadow with the Y28, blending into the darker colour. The second highlight will slowly decrease in size as you work through the other colours. Don't worry too much about this, as long as it's lighter than the areas around it, the final colour doesn't matter.

6. Next up is the Y26. Continue working on your shadow, ensuring that you follow the shape of the bell and the highlight. 

7. Continue working with the Y23 blending all the tones together as you go. At this point, you will almost be at the small white highlight.

8. Work the Y21 right up to, then slightly into, the white highlight.

9. To help blend the white highlight and the yellow markers, apply one layer of the blending pen (0) around the edge of the highlight. Don't overwork the area or you'll end up with mottling.

10. Now repeat the same steps for the other two bells, starting with the Y21 and marking out your highlight.

11. Once the bells are coloured, you can come back in with the E84 and add a little bit of darker detail. As you can see in the photo below, I added just a touch to the underside of the bells and around the centre rims.

12. Allow a few minutes for the image to dry completely. It's important not to work on wet ink when you're adding fine details as the alcohol can bleed and leave a fuzzy edge. With metal objects, you always want the edges to be straight and crisp. Once dry, colour the openings in the bells with W7, a nice warm, dark grey.

If you'd like to add even more shadows, highlights and details, you can do so with coloured pencils. They will easily go on over the alcohol ink without causing a disturbance, and can be removed with an eraser if necessary.

The completed image

Digital Stamps: