Reds... a dreaded hue for some color artists. I always tell my students that red is stubborn and needs a little extra lovin' to behave. LOL
The challenge at Make It Crafty for the next two weeks is to COLOR RED! Pick your medium... pick your image... pick your shade... just pick red. Just in time for Valentines Day!
I colored up this simple card for the challenge (simple layout... more challenging coloring). I merged Sophie Daydreaming and Park Bench for Two digis to create the scene.
There are a LOT of different ways to tackle coloring red, so I decided to share a photo tutorial of how I colored her sweater - to give you an idea of my coloring process.
Colors Used:
Step 1: Apply a base coat of the lightest shade. (R22) Leave any highlights white.
Step 2: Add shading with a medium/medium dark maker. (R46)
Step 3: Add a bit of lighter marker (R24) and blend out slightly.
Step 4: Add darker shading (R39) and then blend backwards with lighter markers (R46/R24). I don't ever come back in with the very lightest until the very last step.
Step 5: Add more shadows with darker R59.
Step 6: Blend backwards (R39/R46/R24) Using very little ink and letting layers dry a bit in between to avoid over-saturating the paper.
Step 7: Using the lightest color (R22) very gently go over the white highlighted areas. Do not go over multiple times or try to blend. Keep these very light.
Step 8: Add cast shadows with RV99 and a tiny bit of B39. Do NOT blend out.
Step 9: Here I added texture to her sweater by spritzing a dish towel with colorless blender and holding it onto the colored image. (Notice I colored her skin already... if other areas are colored, be VERY careful so as not to texturize an area you want smooth.) I also have a tiny bit of bleeding in between her arms. I am not going to try to fix this with the colorless blender as it will only make it worse. I am going to be coloring the bench dark browns, so that should cover up the stray red marks.
And then... I colored up her skirt and hair...
And then I gave her somewhere to sit...
And finished off by airbrushing in a sky.
There you have it... it's not as hard as you might think... just give it a try! Head on over to the Make It Crafty Gallery for other "coloring red" samples from the DT and to upload your own! I wanna see...
Have a Colorful day!












