Thursday, January 27, 2011

Coloring Sky With Prismacolors


Hi Guys!
Well for a long time now I have admired artists such as Annika who create such lovely sky backgrounds to their images and have wanted to try it for myself. I don't know why but it really intimidated me. Which is strange cos I have painted sky and clouds on several ceilings in our house, 10 feet up in the air! But to color sky on my cards....well now, the butterflies in my stomach get fluttering.
Now if you're a copic artist you'll want to check out Annika's FAB tutorial here . You really can't beat it.
But if you're like me and prefer to use pencils, you can follow my very simple steps outlined below:

First of all I am using only one pencil which is:
Prismacolor Non Photo Blue
I am also using goo gone and a blending stump. That's it.
(You can see the supplies above)
I start off by making random circular strokes with my pencil where I want my clouds to be. You can see that it's pretty rustic at this point.


here's a closer look below so you can see the pencil movements


Then I get my blending stump, dampen it with a touch of goo gone (you can also use baby oil if you prefer), and softly blend in circular motions until you've softened the blue shapes.


It will look something like this when you're done with this step:


It's looking pretty nice but it can look even more realistic if we go back in and add just a touch of blue pencil at random spots. This suggests depth. Have a look and see what I mean:


Now soften these darker spots with just a feather light touch to the blending stump. You're not blending per se now, you're just touching the spots with the dampened end of your stump.
See?

And that's it!
You can make your day as cloudy or as blue as you want and you can even make it a bit stormy by adding a bit of grey to your blue when you blend.
I hope this helps someone!

*If you are looking for ideas for coloring AA Hair and a multicultural skintone, (mine is only one of many out there!) please see the tutorial section of my blog.




37 comments:

Stacey G.-2 Craf-t-4u said...

This awesome! You make it look so easy! I want to try though! Looks just like your ceiling!

The Wired Angel said...

Great job, Dorcas! We love our pencils, don't we. Thanks for doing this. Peggy x

Yenni Natalia said...

whata a great tutorial dorcas :) you tease me to create one..but i hope i do have time :) will be going for job interview and classes these day :)
psst...i even havent created card for next week dutch dare challenge..ohh..better be hurry! :)

Arlene said...

Great tutorial. I love your clouds, so cloud-like... now that sounds dumb to say, but true.

Shirl said...

Thanks for the tutorial, Dorcas. I'm gonna give that a try soon!

Femmy said...

thanks Dorcas!!

Annemaritta said...

Thank you! I linked think on my blog, I hope you don't mind :)

Annemaritta said...

Eh? Linked think...? :D You know what I mean :)

Linda Wescott said...

Great, it's something (amongst many) that intimidate me too. Think I'd rather try with pencils before trying pens but even so I'd follow your steps with both because it makes sense to me. Hugs lin

Nannieflash said...

Hi Dorcas, I know when I was at college we were given sky landscape colouring techniques and with colour pencils we were told to cross hatch the colours, and to use not only blue but yellow and pink as the sky doesnt just have blue in it. Your tuturiol is fabulous and very easy to follow. With love and hugs Shirleyxxxxx

Ann English said...

Fabulous, Dorcas! I am so thrilled that you are on Phindy's team, but, oh, the pressure! You are one of my idols in the card making world-extraordinary!

Lindsey said...

Fabulous! Thanks for this!
Linds x

Jane said...

Great tip Dorcas, I'll have to try this technique next time I have my pencils out!

Tine said...

Hi Dorcas. Really clearly explained. Great tutorial!
Tine :)

KimCreate said...

thanks for sharing. You are a fabulous color artist! Congrats on the Phindy design team win.
Kim

Anita said...

Dorcas, that was a wonderful tutorial. Thank you so much for sharing. I'll have to give it a try as I really love the way it looks on your card.

Jovita @ Inky Impressions said...

Great tutorial, you make it look easy. I'm sure I'll have a scribbled mess.

Julie said...

Wow,I love the look the Prisma's give,I'm still working on my Copic techniques at the mo but the pencils are definately on my wish list. Thanks for calling by a short while ago,I'm so sorry,I forgot to link the crochet flowers to you too,I'm off to put that right. Have a great weekend,Julie.x

Tammy said...

Thank you for the fabby tutorial girl!! I love the look of it and will have to give this a try. Always searching for new sky ideas!! Welcome to the Phindy's Place team! You are a great addition!

Autumn Mist said...

Thanks so much for your comment on my blog. Can you send me your email address so I can send you something for Pay It Forward. please email squigglypigs@live.com Thanks.

Autumn said...

This looks great! Thanks for the copic link, i've been wondering about this.
xxAutumn

Chris Olsen, Glowbug said...

What a great job with the sky tutorial Dorcas!! I love to color in sky scenes. I usually use gamsol though. I will have to try goo gone to see if it gives a different effect.
hugs,
Chris

Linda McClain said...

Oooo, I've used Gamsol, never thought to use Goo Gone. Good to know. Thanks for the great toot.

Gerrittina said...

Thanks for sharing this!!! I really love it.

Gerrittina

CanadianScraps43 said...

Wow this is amazing! I so love this, but then again all your tutorials are just wonderful. I love how to the point you are and no fuss. Thanks sweetie for this. Hugs.

Annemaritta said...

First attempt: Not so great, but thank you so much!!! I'm getting ready for Mo's challenge :)

Theresa said...

Fabulous tutorial Dorcas! Thanks for sharing!

Ms. Jen said...

Fantastic! I'm gonna try it out today. Thanks for doing this. We oth know how hard it is to find a good tutorial on Prisma's! By the way I've been working on your Pay it stuff and I think you're gonna like it - tee hee

Sheree said...

Wow!! You make it look sooooo easy! Beautiful work!

Janie Printz said...

This must be my lucky day to have found your amazing blog AND this wonderful tutorial... I've always admired this look on cards but mostly it's been done with a scalloped template & looks pretty uniform. Yours looks like REAL sky !!! Thanks so much for the inspiration & I'd love to link this on my blog if you don't mind.
Hugs, Janie

Sarn said...

Yup . . . I am in total agreement with Janie above!

Def gonna have a go at this with my Derwent Coloursoft pencils and some Sansodo and see what happens!

Thanks so much.
Hugs, Sandra

karen irvine said...

WOW! How realistic that looks. I think I'll have to practice awhile. You make it look so easy! Thanks for sharing! Karen

Unknown said...

Thank you Dorcas!! I love it and will be trying it real soon!

Carole of Brum said...

Thanks Dorcas, that was nice and clear and really helps in thinking about how to colour the background. CoB

Darnell said...

I've recently invested in the big set of Prismas and love them. Then I heard about this Goo Gon and Googled it and found you. Thank you so much for this very straightforward and easy to understand instruction! I can't wait to try it!

littlesavedgirl said...

Funny , I have purchased only the best art supplies..including a extensive Prisim color pencil set, Winsor &Newton watercolor paints and Liqitex acrylics. (Not to mention a small fortune of Series seven kolinsky sable brushes).
I'm not wealthy, to the contrary, I'm permanently disabled since 2009 with Multiple Sclerosis. That being said, I have received the blessing of time to explore my artistic tendencies. Did I mention my Dremel 4000 and Craftsman scroll saw?
With all the tools in place , my mind keeps running in circles, like a dog after its tale. I can't focus on how to use these tools ..... Until now.
Thank you for sharing with me these tips and techniques , you've started me back on the right direction.
If anyone has any guidance or ideas for me to practice, create or experiment with, please feel free to share with me since I am slowly loosing my mind.

Tears well up in my eyes as I read my own revelation.

Thank you, with love
Tracy

?-G-? said...

You are an amazingly talented young lady. THANK YOU for sharing your talent with us.

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