We’re so excited to have the talented colorist Brittany Stephenson help us with this Gem Coloring Tutorial. I met Brittany through Tracy Beattie who are co-admins (along with Cindy Sanders Somerville) of the sweet Facebook group Adults Only Coloring Bunch.
A couple of the pages that Brittany has colored from our Color My Moods Day and Night Coloring Books for Adults series had lovely gem-like effects and we thought our dear colorists would appreciate this step-by-step tutorial.
The coloring page in this tutorial is a bonus page from Color My Moods for BEGINNERS: http://amzn.to/1XpSIDJ. There are 62 easy yet sophisticated coloring pages in this adult coloring book (42 mandalas with 20 bonus pages of simple patterns and even inspirational and grayscale).
Open areas are ideal for those who have visual or dexterity issues or even for more experienced colorists like Brittany who experiment with different coloring techniques. The mandalas are on both white and black background to give you a unique creative experience.
For more of this, including a free sample pack of Color My Moods (Volumes 1-3), sign up for our enews: https://www.scribocreative.com/enews/.
COLORING GEMS TUTORIAL:
Materials: White gel pen (Gelly Rolls brand), Prismacolor colorless blending pencil, and four Prismacolor pencils: Hot Pink, Process Red, Crimson Red, and White.
Your three colors can be different than the ones shown but the key is to pick three similar ones that will give you a light, medium/middle, and dark shade.
1. Decide where you want your main highlight (the lighter looking part of the gem). Color that area with your white PENCIL. You want a thick coat of white here, so bare down a bit and cover that area well.
2. Take your lightest color (Hot Pink, for Brittany) and fill in the rest of your gem, blending the color into your white highlight just a bit. You want this layer to be light – it should have some paper showing through after you’ve colored.
3. With your ‘middle’, or second lightest color (Brittany chose Process Red), go back over your gem, leaving just a little of the lighter color showing closest to your white area.
4. Take your darkest color (Crimson Red, here) and again go over your gem, letting just a little of the middle color next to it show. You want a nice gradient effect when you are finished.
5. Go around the outside of your gem with your darkest color (Crimson Red, here), as shown. You can also use your middle color to go around your gem, just under your darkest color to add a bit more depth, like what Brittany did here.
6. Now, blend everything together, using a blending pencil. Brittany started with the lightest area and blended out into the darkest area. Be careful to leave enough white in the area where the light hits your gem or it will look dull and not shiny when you are finished.
7. Now, Brittany took the darkest shade and added more color, blending colors carefully so that she doesn’t cover up too much of the lighter colors that she laid down before.
8. Shade/blend a little more with your middle color, again being careful not to completely cover your previously laid down lightest color.
9. Use your lightest color again to add a little more color/blend. Be careful not to cover up too much of your white area or again, your gem will end up looking dull instead of shiny.
10. Using white PENCIL again, go over your white area of the gem again to brighten it up just a little and blend the edge of your lightest color a little bit.
11. Use a gel pen to add a bright white highlight to your gem inside the darkest colored area, opposite your first white highlight. Try to follow the curve/shape of your gem but don’t make your highlight too straight or “boxy” looking. You want curved edges on the highlight, not straight lines.
12. Your gem should look something like this when you are finished!
13. Voila! Here’s the finished color page from Color My Moods for BEGINNERS: http://amzn.to/1XpSIDJ.
Thank you Brittany for this gorgeous colored page and for sharing with us how to achieve the same effect.
Go ahead and try it. Share your results on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ScriboCreative. We would love to see your Color My Moods gems!
Visit Brittany and a great group of colorists at Adults Only Coloring Bunch.
Products used in this tutorial:
Grand Prize Package includes:
