Coloring book tutorial - Basics

People have been asking me in the past how my colored pencil work looks so smooth and I've also seen a lot of people asking this question at the DeviantArt forums. I'm no pro when it comes to colored pencil art and I have a lot to learn. However I've colored a lot of coloring book pages and I feel like they are a great learning tool when it comes to colored pencils.

It might seem odd to do a tutorial solely for coloring books but the reason is simple: Coloring books tend to have a very unique smooth paper, inked lines and there's no under painting techniques involved. So I wanted to make a separate tutorial for them.

Materials

You will want to find a coloring book that you like obviously. When you choose a subject that you like, it's easier to stay focused and motivated. There are more to coloring books than just the mandalas you see everywhere. I was overjoyed to find some coloring books of my favorite video games like the Witcher or World of Warcraft. For this tutorial I will use an image from Lena Furberg's Måla Magiska Hästar - coloring book:

Next, we will need colored pencils. Usually with art supplies you might not need the most expensive thing available but colored pencil is one such medium where quality speaks. Better quality pencils simply deposit more pigment so you don't have to press down so hard. Trust me, your wrist will thank you later.


Three brands tend to get mentioned the most: Faber Castell Polychromos, Caran D'Ache (Pablo, Luminance, Supracolor) and Prismacolor. Derwents also get mentioned a lot and they are most definitely readily available but I would place these pencils in a hobby line. But of course this is just my personal opinion. Nothing prevents you from using the pencils you want to use for your color work.

Faber Castell Polychromos set of 120.

I've been using my 120 color set of Polychromos for several years. As a European, these pencils were readily available to me. Caran D'Ache pencils are even easier to get but they cost a lot more than Polychromos. I do have several shades of Caran D'Ache Luminance pencils for more variety and I constantly use a white Luminance pencil for blending.

Finding a supplier with your pencils in open stock is also very important. You obviously can't buy a new set every time you run out of a single color. Sadly, I can't get single Polys from Finland but Jackson's Art Supplies is an online art supply store in the UK and ordering from them is very easy and rather cheap. Search around for a fitting supplier and compare prices and postage fees.

Now that we have our pencils we will also need a sharpener. Some people make a big deal out of this. I used to make a big deal about it too but then I caved in and just started to use the regular Staedtler can sharpeners that you see in department stores. Just need to replace them from time to time. I do also have a Jakar crank sharpener but I find that it chews on the pencils way too fast. I do use it for restoring a point in a pencil if the lead breaks. Some people sharpen with a knife. It's really a matter of preference. Polychromos have very sturdy lead so I have never had to use any magic tricks.

Other supplies:
- Erasers (regular vinyl eraser, kneaded eraser, eraser pen)
- Cotton swabs and pads
- Fixative (optional, more on this at the end of the tutorial)
- Colorless blender (optional, I occasionally use Caran D'Ache Full Blender Bright)

Erasers, can sharpener, cotton swabs and pad and some white ink.

Choosing colors

I tend to be rather conscious about color early on. Before I even pick up a pencil I think about a color theme that I want. Day or night? Winter or summer? Warm or cold? I also try to keep color theory in mind and I might use complementary colors to make something stand out of the picture. I've used my Polys a long time so I no longer refer to a color chart or test swatches. But I highly recommend doing them if you're uncertain about color or have just gotten new pencils. With watercolors, I always refer to a color chart. But we aren't using that medium here.

Here I had the idea of gold and silver. Gold is a warm metal color, silver is cool. I used warm shades on the gold horse. I used green and some blue for the shading on her mane to make it pop out more and to create an illusion of depth. I used warm reds for the flowers. For the silver horse I kept all colors cool and used deep purple and indigo for shading. For the berries and vines I used cool reds and greens.

This is an image from Mass Effect - coloring book. The robotic lifeforms (geth) in this image have a lot of predetermined colors but I chose silvery white as I wanted them to pop out of the image. I used red sand at the bottom to make the blue lights on the geth pop. Things tend to get cooler in color the further they are from us so I colored the mountains with cool brown. I used red accents on the weapons and on the tubes so the geth wouldn't look too monochromatic and dull.

Of course, coloring books don't need to be about making masterpieces so it's really up to you what you want to do. I'm a perfectionist and I strive for the feeling of success so coloring books are serious business for me 😂 Of course there's also the matter of making my own art. Coloring these books is great practice for my own artwork.

Blending

Blending colored pencils comes up a lot at several forums. Simply about how to do it. There are several methods and each artist has their own preference. It also depends on the type of pencils you are using as some may be softer than others or the binder could be different: it could be an oil based pencil or wax based. Oil based pencils (Polychromos) tend to be harder and more 'dry' so they favor layering and blending with stuff like cotton swabs. Wax based pencils (Luminance, Prismacolor) tend to lean more towards burnishing techniques as the pigment might not move around so freely. Notice that I said 'might'. I have never used Prismacolor.

The most important thing is to start very lightly. Use circular hand movements or cross hatching movement to get an even layer of color. Do not rush or press too hard. It's also a good idea to try and follow the shape of the thing that you're coloring.  If you rush and just scrape on color using zig zag movements and making pencil lines on the paper, it won't blend. The pigment on colored pencils is not the same as graphite or soft pastel. It won't magically move and blend by itself. Colored pencil is NOT a fast medium.

Once you're done with the first, even layer grab a regular cotton swab and gently start rubbing over the area. Don't press too hard and again, do not rush. Go over the area gently as you would with another pencil. With practice you will start to feel the right amount of pressure. Always switch to a new swab when switching to another color. Otherwise you will make a mess.

Here is a lineart originally made by MelitaGermaine on DeviantArt. I chose to color her lines traditionally by transferring them onto Hahnemühle Nostalgie paper and coloring them with colored pencils. Here I've laid down the flat colors on all the different elements. I never really do this. Usually I color one area at a time but I was playing around with progress shots.

Here are the flat colors after blending with a cotton swab. No other alterations were made to the picture. As you can see, everything looks smoother and a tad darker. The swab pushes the pigment more into the paper tooth while closing the teeny tiny gaps between pencil strokes. If you rush and use uneven strokes when laying down your colors, this will not happen.

I continue to use this method during the first few layers. Once I start to feel more confident about my layering and the final colors, I start to burnish lightly. Burnishing means polishing the pencil layers with varying pressure by using either a colorless blender or a light colored pencil. I use my Caran D'Ache Luminance White the most. However it lightens the colors so you will have to go over them again unless you're aiming for a lighter, milky look.

This image from Lena Furberg's Måla Hästar is a great example of where I didn't feel the need to adjust the colors too much after blending them with Luminance White.

If I don't want my colors to lighten then I might use Caran D'Ache Full Blender Bright instead. But it's rather hard since it's pretty much just a wax stick so it tends to hurt my wrist because I have to press down more.

With burnishing it's also important to use patient, circular movements in order to cover the area equally.

My wrists aren't the strongest tools on the planet so I really don't like burnishing. Layering does take a while and requires patience but I often find it a far better choice than blindly grinding everything into the paper. With enough practice you will learn to vary your pencil pressure to get the results that you desire without crippling your arm.

You might also come across people talking about solvents. Some people swear by them but I'm one of the people who never got use out of them. For starters most of those things tend to be toxic and just plain unpleasant. I have a migraine tendency and can react to strong smells with a booming head ache. Not to mention my fiancé has asthma. We also have an indoor kitty so I'm not going to bring any odorless turpentine into the house. I did try Zest-It which smelled utterly horrible. I also tried the citrus-free version which didn't smell so bad but it still had obnoxiousness written all over it. People often recommend baby oil but that's not an art supply. Always be vary of non-archival materials.

I also find solvents to be very unpredictable and I prefer the traditional look of colored pencil works. Besides, majority of coloring books can't even handle solvents. So I just don't.

Fixing

This is a matter of a lot of debate and I was surprised to read online how negative people are towards fixative. I've always fixed my works at the end since I'm a bit neurotic about them getting smudged. The fixative I use also darkens the colors a little bit which often gives my work that one final pow. It's important to use fixative correctly however since they are toxic and come in spray form. Always use them outdoors or in a well ventilated area. Do not inhale the spray.

Winsor & Newton Professional fixative.

There is also a non-toxic, natural fixative called Spectrafix. However the pre-mixed fixative is too wet for coloring books and other thin papers. I plan to order a can of concentrate from the US in the spring and try mixing it with 60% alcohol and spraying it with a fine mister to see if it's any better. I will post the results of this test here on this blog once I get around to it.

Spectrafix non-toxic and natural fixative.

Please don't use hair spray. I don't care what multiple people say online. Just as baby oil, hair spray is not an archival quality art supply. Imagine spending days on a piece, spraying it with hair spray, and then after a month discover your work of art ruined by yellowed paper. Not fun.

You can always simply decide not to fix your works. It seems that most people don't. Colored pencil doesn't smear like graphite or soft pastel so the artwork won't smudge barely at all unless someone intentionally goes rubbing on it.

Now that we're done with the basics, we will move on to the coloring project itself.