Let’s Color a Realistic Red Christmas Ornament
Many people learn beginner Copic Marker coloring techniques and then stagnate.
They use the same basic blending techniques for decades.
It’s called “the 10 year beginner”. You color well but you’re repeating the same ol’ same old— never learning, never growing.
If you're getting bored with coloring books and rubber stamps
If you're wondering why your projects always looks cartoonish
Or if you've always wanted to do more than just color
Let me show you the world beyond blending.
Marker painting is a fine arts approach to coloring and it's very different than the average coloring class.
Marker + Pencil: Realistic Red Christmas Ornament
(click below to watch at YouTube)
And hey, don’t miss the other ornament videos from this basket:
Tips for Realistic Red
TIP: Advanced coloring is not what you assume
Blending technique never changes. The only difference between beginner and advanced coloring is HOW we use color. Beginners and intermediates tend use literal blends (light, medium, and dark of the same color). Meanwhile advanced colorers use markers like paint, blending dissimilar colors to create the illusion of touchable objects.
TIP: You don’t have to color on marker paper
I teach beginner and intermediate classes on high quality marker paper because I want students to learn the technique, not waste time fighting with the paper. But as you move into upper intermediate to advanced level coloring, paper becomes less of an issue. You’ll never have your best blends on something like Bristol paper but we often choose paper for reasons other than blending.
Having said all this, I will stress: beginners coloring on unfriendly paper is ALWAYS a bad idea. You’ll pick up bad habits as you fight the paper. Some bad habits never go away and you’ll spend a lifetime trying to correct them!
TIP: What’s Amy’s best tip for highlighting red ornaments?
Watch the video to learn which three colored pencils I use and why… hint, I didn’t chose them for their color!
Antique Color
Advanced Independent Coloring
a basket, a blanket, and over 20 antique Christmas ornaments for you to color
Original digital line art by Amy Shulke
Vintage Trimmings: a Christmas Celebration of Color
Perfect for Copic Markers with or without colored pencils
Study Package Includes:
Vintage Trimmings digital stamp in black line and gray line versions (PNG & JPG)
48 page full color guidebook including photo reference, color suggestions, value study, tips, and over 200 full color progress photos
60 minute video of Amy’s color selection and swatching process. She explains her reasoning for choosing each marker color.
Recorded version of the Vintage Trimmings Livestream where Amy demonstrates the knitted background texture plus several key ornaments
Vintage Trimmings is not a class or tutorial. This is an advanced independent study for students learning to color without constant guidance.
Copic Marker List
Amy used Holbein Colored Pencils over the Copic. Pencils listed at the bottom of this article.
KNITTING:
E42, E41, E40
BASKET:
BG78, E79, E77, E55
BROWN ORNAMENTS:
E79, E77, E74
RED ORNAMENTS:
BG75, R39, R37, R35
BLUE ORNAMENTS:
BG78, BG75, BG72, BG70
GREEN ORNAMENTS:
BG99, BG96, BG93, BG90
Related Red Reading
Learn more about R29 and the “Cool Peppermint” Copic illustration.
The realism in this “Dewy Leaf” Copic illustration does not come from blending combinations
More About Red Markers
We test Copic inks. See results here.
Copic underpaint blending recipes.
Copic project palettes using color theory.
Supply List: Vintage Trimmings
