VANILLA ARTS
the library behind the studio
16 years of realism, color theory, marker science, experiments, articles, and teaching philosophy from illustrator and educator, Amy Shulke.
Behind every article on this website— there’s a story, a question, or a classroom moment that changed the way I teach.
And I still remember the breaking point.
In 2013, Zentangles were the hot new hobby. Because tangles made drawing feel easy, I had my local Copic students try some simple exercises with fine line pens and a set of very popular watercolor markers.
The students made some amazing hearts that day. It was one of those classes where everyone left feeling great about their new skills. “Let’s do it again!”
But then over the next four weeks, we all watched as my class samples on the wall faded away. This small blurry photo is all I have left of the original project.
All that beautiful color went poof!
So even though I’d been teaching for years, this was the moment that changed the direction of Vanilla Arts.
When you spend hours drawing and coloring something, it shouldn’t vanish.
When you spend good money on markers, they shouldn’t disappear.
And folks, the watercolor markers we used then are still popular with colorists today.
We all start somewhere………...
THE INTERNET CHANGES QUICKLY
Art fundamentals do not.
This is why the articles here at Vanilla Arts are still as useful and groundbreaking today as they were when first written.
Observation Over Shortcuts
Realism isn’t built from tricks or recipes. We explore the deeper skills underneath believable color, texture, and form.
Understanding Your Tools
From marker science to paper tooth, Vanilla Arts documents years of testing and experimentation to explain why our art supplies behave the way they do.
A Working Studio Notebook
This archive preserves more than finished lessons. It captures evolving ideas, discoveries, failures, and artistic problem-solving across 16 years of teaching.
START EXPLORING
Over the years, Vanilla Arts has grown into thousands of pages of articles, experiments, tutorials, classroom observations, and artistic deep-dives.
Some ideas evolved.
A few older techniques were retired.
Others became the foundation of everything I teach today.
To make the archive easier to explore, I’ve organized the most enduring articles by topic.
From realism fundamentals and color theory, to marker science, Copic color palettes, and underpainting combinations… all with an eye on supply behavior and why our brains think the way they think.