Learn to color a vintage antique silver fork with realistic dimension. Illustration shown in progress.

Let’s Color a Vintage Silver Fork

B60 is the primary marker for the silver fork in “Tarnished Silver” an advanced coloring project from VanillaArts.com

Do you color silverware and other silver objects with gray Copic Markers or gray colored pencils?

Uh oh…

A lot of colorers spend a ton of time debating which grays to use, warms or cools? Light grays or dark grays?

But the problem is, you shouldn’t be using gray at all.

There’s a difference between grayed color and gray. When you robotically reach for gray, you’re missing an entire rainbow of color!

Let me show you the world beyond gray.

Marker painting is a fine arts approach to coloring and it's much more rewarding than blending the same ol’ grays.

Marker + Pencil: Gray is a Rainbow

(click below to watch at YouTube)

Watch Amy’s gray rainbow lesson at YouTube, “Tarnished Silver” footage shown in progress.

Tips for Coloring Gray— without actually using gray

Coloring a photo-realistic group of silverware without gray pencil. Watch the process on YouTube.

TIP: Real gray objects are rarely gray.

Take a second or even a third look! There’s a difference between grayed color and actual gray. Your brain is taking a shortcut, calling a difficult to describe color “gray”.

When you reach for a gray marker or colored pencil, you’re limiting your ability to color with realism and style.

TIP: Gray markers are fine for underpaint but do not use gray pencils for shading!

Gray colored pencils contain high levels of opaque white pigment. White will smear the colors from previous layers. White also reflects light turning your shady areas into weird highlights.

TIP: When does Amy use gray colored pencils?

Watch the video to learn the specific situations where gray pencils are helpful.

Watch: ”Gray is a rainbow” here

Vintage Shine

Advanced Independent Coloring

practice finding color in the gray with 21 knives, forks, and spoons to color

Original digital line art by Amy Shulke

Tarnished Silver: The Colorful Approach to Gray

Perfect for Copic Markers or watercolor— with or without colored pencils

Purchase: tarnished silver here

Study Package Includes:

Tarnished Silver digi stamp in black and gray line versions (PNG & JPG)
29 page full color PDF guidebook including photo reference, color suggestions, value study, tips, and over 60 full color progress photos
2 Sneak Peek videos of Amy’s coloring process for a knife and simple spoon
Recorded version of the Tarnished Silver Livestream where Amy demonstrates the most complicated ornate rainbow spoon

Tarnished Silver is not a full class nor a start-to-finish tutorial. This is an advanced independent study for students learning to color without constant hand-holding.

The goal is to give you enough guidance to get started but leave enough mystery to develop YOUR ability to make unique artistic decisions.