Translucent Beige

Did you know that underpainting isn’t just a technique for darker colors?

Surprised?

Well that’s what Vanilla Arts is here for…to teach you those little surprises that will make your Copic coloring projects drip with realism…

Just like these donuts are dripping with glaze!

Good coloring is a combination of good thinking and good observing. Ask the average person on the street what color they think a glazed donut is and not one in a hundred is going to say, “Blue violet!”

But look at those shaded areas in our photo reference. If you try to color them with straight YR31, it will be way too bright…

and unrealistic.

The solution is simple: Tone down those areas with a little BV0000 underpainting.

Resplendent Rust

Gaze upon the glorious colors of autumn…red, brown, orange, gold, pink, and even stubborn bright greens that refuse to surrender their pigment to winter’s beckoning fingers. Autumn is the triumphant end to summer. How does a marker artist capture with realism the vibrant color palette of sugar maples? At Vanilla Arts, we teach you how to think outside the box when it comes to blending colors for realism. That’s why we underpainted the dark end of this R27-YR07-YR04 run with B32.

Intoxicating Purples?

How particular should you be when choosing Copic Markers for your next art project? If you’re coloring these luscious grapes with a photo reference, would you use a black marker or black colored pencil for the deep, shady recesses between the grapes? Not if you want them to look realistic! Black pigment…