Time Machines & Techniques
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WEATHER UPDATE?
We got down to -18 and the stocktank water heater in the goose’s kiddie pool couldn’t keep up. The pool is hopelessly frozen solid.
Not a problem. They skinny-dip in the waterbowl now.
Gooses be crazy.
TIME MACHINES & TECHNIQUES
Hey Amy,
I’ve been doing the Color Theory Technique for a while now but I can’t find anyone teaching the advanced version. Will you ever do a video on realistic Color Theory Technique?
Wait, huh?
The technique what?
I watched a movie last week about changing history.
Normally, the first rule of time travel is to avoid altering the normal course of events; but this guy was part of a team, deliberately making lots of subtle adjustments to improve several possible versions of the future.
What would you change?
My husband says he’d go back to Enchantment Under the Sea and make sure his mother danced with Warren Buffet.
Me? I’d be on an art mission.
I’m going back to stop Technique Tuesday.
If you missed the first thousand times I mentioned it: I am not a colorist.
Even though I teach coloring classes, my background is 100% fine arts. So I’ll admit, I don’t always understand what goes on in Coloringland. Every year, there’s less and less crossover.
One of the things that always grates my gizzard is the misuse of the word technique. Try it sometime, use the word technique and watch me get full body heebie-jeebies.
Somewhere along the way, y’all took the art word for “here’s this weird thing I sometimes do...”
And turned it into an officially certified solution to everyone’s coloring problems.
Oh, it’s a technique! It must be important!
Slap the word technique on anything and you can charge for the lessons.
My apologies if the grande dame of technique blogging is here reading this… but folks, if you think about it, Tuesday techniques were the start of a downward slide in coloring.
Because folks, not everything is a technique
Hi, welcome back to my channel. Today, we’re exploring the Color Theory Technique.
Nope. That’s not a thing.
Stop trying to make CT Technique happen.
So anyway, this chick teaching Color Theory Technique said to color everything with 15 blue pencils. Blue sky, blue tree, blue grass blue, even the squirrel. Blue, blue, blue.
I guess that’s the analogous part of the Color Theory Technique.
Then we’re supposed to color one thing orange. That’s the complementary part.
She’s not wrong, the orange does pop.
But that’s not a technique. That’s just poor decision making.
Many coloring influencers will tell you to start with blank white paper and a color wheel.
Take some colors from over here and combine them with another color from over there…
Honestly? It looks like the goal of Color Theory Technique is to let the color wheel make all the decisions for you.
It’s entertaining, at least for a little while. But eventually, you’re gonna get tired of blue grass. You can’t use this technique forever.
OMG people! Now you’ve got me calling it a technique!
If you’re here…
And I’m going to repeat that again because your motive is important—
If you’re here because you’re expecting color theory to take the guesswork out of choosing colors…
Hoo-boy, are you in the wrong place!
Color theory is actually incredibly limited when it comes to color selection. Pardon the colorful language, but I’d say color theory sucks at color selection.
Because it was never intended to be used for color selection.
People are all wee-wee’d up about artificial intelligence and what AI is doing to art and artists… but y’all think nothing of spinning a wheel and letting that thing tell you which colors to use.
Color theory can not pick the best colors for you.
That’s your job and as soon as you delegate your job to a mindless wheel…
You take the art out of coloring.
Okay, if color theory isn’t a technique and it can’t pick good colors…
Then what’s color theory good for?
Let’s talk about that next week.
IF YOU LIKED TODAY’S ARTICLE, SUPPORT FUTURE FREE LESSONS
Want to do some cozy coloring?
How about some hot cocoa?
OMG, Amy! That’s a very cool project but I can’t color something that complicated!
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With a photo reference and a finger to keep track of where you’re at, you can absolutely color anything.
Anything! You can do this!
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A whole history of classic courses are waiting for you. Instant access including study exercises.
Real art lessons, not nifty novelty techniques
CURRENT PASSWORD: RubberDuckie
RECOMMENDED COLOR WHEEL AND CARDS
This is the color wheel I bought recently and I only got it because it works with the color cards we use in my Color Coach group. The cards are great. The wheel? Meh, it’s a wheel.
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