Compare Coloring Styles and Get Creative

As a coloring book designer I have the privilege to see many talented colorists use many different styles in my books.

When I design a coloring page I have an idea of what it will look like completely colored...well, I have an idea of my version anyway.

I have drawn hundreds of images, and I am still surprised on a regular basis at some of the styles and color schemes used on my images--and I have to say I love them.

Here are some examples of the exciting ways my images have been colored:

Penelope's Pumpkins, uncolored.

Colored by Karikaribik on Instagram:

This was colored with Ploychromos pencils and Posca Markers. The colors are very earthy and rich, and very similar to what you would see in real life. Pumpkins are (for the most part) orange, and leaves are green. The flowers of a pumpkin plant are yellow. There is white highlighting throughout the picture done with a Posca marker, and the shading is done realistically, too. The ground looks dimensional and rolling because the shadows surround the objects on almost all sides. Love this.

Colored by colouring_inner on Instagram:

This was only marked as "colored pencils" so I can't even be specific which ones! It is very soft and pastel, and very original for a Halloween image. The sky is black, the ground is grey, and the pumpkins are periwinkle! Love!

Colored by me:

This was colored with Poychromos pencils, and blended with a Faber-Castell blender. The shadows fall in the direction the light of the moon would cast them, and the highlights are done by leaving them white, and not coloring there. The depth of this one is somewhere between the previous images.

Colored by Kimberley Calaminici:

This was colored with Derwent Inktense pencils, activated by water. It gives the impression of watercolor, and allows the colors to be very bright. She also used a white gel pen for highlights which is a lovely touch. She used a deep aqua blue for the sky which gives the impression of early evening. Very lovely.

It is interesting to me that we all made the mice the same color, and we also made the cat black.

This has inspired me to try and change up what I think a picture should look like, and make it into something new and different. I also want to try water-activated pencils, or maybe even paint.

I hope this inspires you to try new things while coloring. You can always make a copy of the images that you have, so you can do them in more than one way.

Show me your finished work! I'd love to see.

You can buy PENELOPE'S GARDEN HERE on Amazon or at my ETSY Store.

xo

A Cute Halloween Coloring Book Witch for Kids and Adults

Penelope the witch made her debut last Halloween as a #1 New Release on Amazon.

This year, I will be adding several new Penelope pictures to my Etsy store.

Here is a glimpse of the first greyscale image:

INK on ETSY

                                        Greyscale on ETSY

This image and more will be available soon on YouTube, with instructional videos. Ronda Francis, my coloring partner in crime, will be doing the coloring, and there will be tips and trends galore.

The full PENELOPE'S GARDEN coloring book is also available at my Etsy shop and on AMAZON.

I am looking forward to this endeavor--I hope you are too!

xo

Penelope's Garden Halloween Giveaway

Penelope's Garden will be on sale October 1, but until then I am offering a glow in the dark giveaway.

I will give three copies of the coloring book along with black light markers to make the images glow!

Check it out here.

Enter the giveaway here! If you click the little YouTube sign at the bottom of the video as your watching it will take you over to YouTube and you can subscribe there.

Thank you and good luck!!

xo

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here Comes Halloween and Penelope the Witch

Jack o'lanterns, ghosts and ghoulies, and things that go bump in the night! 

We are entering that delightfully shivery time of year when the days grow shorter and darker, and the veil between the worlds thins. The perfect time of year for Penelope the witch to make her debut!

Cute enough for even the most faint of heart, but still surrounded by pumpkins, bats, and even a Venus fly trap or two, this little witch may steal your heart.

Working diligently to get her done for you by October 1st so you can light your pumpkin scented candles and drink your Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte while you color.

Penelope picking Love Heart Daisies for a potion

 Please tell me if you like her, or if you can think of anything you would like to see growing in her midnight garden.

xo

Painting a Cute Halloween Charm

It is almost September!

For many it is back to school time, for me it is one day closer to Halloween!

My next coloring book is Penelope's Garden, out in a few weeks, and in celebration I made a cute witchy Penelope charm.

I drew her on a three inch Shrinky Dink circle with Sharpies, put her in a 325 degree preheated toaster oven and cooked til flat.

Very important! I punched the hole in the top before toasting.

She looked a bit muddy so I added some acrylic paint highlights.

Here is a quick vid of the highlights at the end.

Enjoy and Happy (getting close to) Halloween!