HOW I COLOUR: BRINGING PAGES TO LIFE - THE MAGIC OF LAYERING | Adult Colouring

[@Colors_in_the_attick]

At first I did not like layering. But when you are patient it is like magic is happening when the colors start to become alive. Thank you for all your tutorials. I learn a lot. 💙💜🌷

[@shelscolouringjourney]

Thank you, glad you liked it 🤗💗

[@phyllisareilly6681]

I am learning so much from you and I just love watching your videos! I am hooked!! Keep up the great work🎨

[@shelscolouringjourney]

I'm so glad! Thank you so much and thanks for taking time to watch my videos 🤗💗

[@sharonmeek1034]

Thank you..I really enjoyed watching & listening to you explain your process. Your colouring is beautiful.

[@shelscolouringjourney]

I am so glad you enjoyed this, thank you 🤗💗

[@lhasalynn2091]

FASCINATING! I realize how my lack of patience comes between my end results--and what I would LIKE my pages to look like! As I watch you layering, I see that flower come to life. These Beginner Tutorials are so helpful towards teaching me just how to move out of 'Beginner Mode'. Thank you so much for taking the time you do. It really does help! Lynn in NYC

[@shelscolouringjourney]

Thank you so much Lynn, glad you like it. It definitely needs a lot of patience to do all the layering....I do enjoy it though 🤗💗

[@waymire01]

You also have an excellent grasp of light and shadow. It comes naturally to some people, while for others it's a real challenge, it really depends on how your brain is wired (right/left side dominance). I would suggest anyone struggling to try some monochrome (single color) projects. It doesn't have to be a full picture, even a single element printed out is useful, but it is helpful to do multiple images on a page because learning how they relate to each other is just as important as learning how to shade and highlight a single object. I suggest greytone as it takes color completely out of the equation and forces you to use only light and dark. Once you get comfortable start to use color. Traditional art classes force this by restricting students to only monochrome first, then allowing two complementary colors, then CYM, then a full palette. If you don't even know where to start find some black and white photos of that object for reference. Another thing that can help is organizing your colors from light to dark.. literally pull out some your pencils and sort them, then test yourself by comparing them side by side on neutral grey paper. Often color can be deceiving, and it can be hard to determine which is actually darker than the other, when they are actually just a different tone. This can be really important when you are trying to put one object in front of the other and they are two different colors. Another thing I find helpful is to use a white and black (or other very dark shade if you prefer to avoid black) on my image after I think I'm done. 90% of the time.. I'm not lol, and there is plenty of room for more contrast.

[@silvers_ink]

Yea, shadows have always come naturally to me. I think the key is choosing which direction you want the light source coming from and being able to picture it in your mind. If you can't picture it in your mind, you can always look for reference photos to help put it in perspective for you and help you to see where the shadows are

[@amberlesilencia3728]

A beautiful video! I loved listening to your explanations and watching how this flower comes to life! 💕

[@shelscolouringjourney]

Thank you so much 🤗💗

[@MelindaBerney-eg5tb]

Great video, Shelly. I can feel the love and life with each layer! 💗💗

[@shelscolouringjourney]

Thank you so much 🤗💗

[@itsmariaa18]

Just wanted to say thank you so much for all of your beginner videos and please keep making them! I'm just at the beginning at its overwhelming for me sometimes to color bc I don't know how to pick the colors what well, or creating lights and shadows. But all your tips are so helpful and I can only aspire to be able to color smth so beautifully ❤

[@shelscolouringjourney]

I am so happy that you enjoy my videos, thank you! I hope you are enjoying your colouring journey 🤗💗

[@cherylforde8405]

Beautiful. Thank you for the demonstration.

[@shelscolouringjourney]

You're welcome, glad you liked it 🤗💗

[@JordyColours]

Beautiful and so informative. I don't have much patience, but every time I watch your videos and see your end results, I feel like I should slow down and take more time 😂. I would love to have more of your favourite colour comibinations for the Albrecht Durer pencils. Thanks for sharing!

[@shelscolouringjourney]

Thank you so much, so glad you liked this. Definitely takes a lot of patience layering up. I will definitely try and share combos for ADs 🤗💗

[@minazjivani3772]

Shel, definitely the layering is magical! I have to try doing that. Thanks this was very helpful. ❤😊

[@shelscolouringjourney]

You're most welcome! Thanks for watching 🤗💗

[@silvers_ink]

I'm a super slow colorist too! I'm a perfectionist and I often find myself going back over parts that I've already colored to "fix" it but I'm the only one who can see the difference. It's such small detail that no one else would notice except for me, but my ocd won't allow me to call a page finished if I feel like I can make it better, even if it's something that only I will notice! A perfectionist who has OCD makes a crazy colorist! 😂

[@raggedblossom508]

I know what you mean! Sometimes I have to tell myself "Enough!" just so I don't get stuck on one detail while the rest of the page is waiting.

[@silvers_ink]

@@raggedblossom508 Yes! I can totally relate because I am the same way! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one 😊

[@silvers_ink]

I definitely feel like having a big contrast between your light and dark colors makes a big difference. I always like to use colors like indigo for shadow areas. And I think another key is choosing which direction you want your light source coming from and picturing where the lifht will hit objects and where the shadows will be. If you find it hard to picture that in your mind, you can always look up some reference photos. I still use reference photos from time to time, especially if I have more than one light source or light coming in from different angles.

[@suzanneoffer3577]

Gorgeous pink flowers..am going to adapt for apple blossoms. Thank you

[@shelscolouringjourney]

It was a pleasure 🤗💗

[@maureenmorley9555]

Thank you so much for sharing this, I like your technique one I am working on myself! I have learned a good deal from your process and am trying to mimic it! Your coloring is beautiful and your snake is beautiful! Have a wonderful weekend…..

[@shelscolouringjourney]

I am so glad you got some ideas to play with. Thanks for watching 🤗💗

[@raggedblossom508]

Beautiful flower, Shel!❤

[@shelscolouringjourney]

Thank you 🤗💗

[@DanahsColoringObsession]

Thank you for this video Shelly! I need to layer more for sure. I also need to be more patient lol

[@shelscolouringjourney]

You're welcome....yes, patience is definitely necessary for all the layering lol!! 🤗💗

[@lindaverkade438]

Hi Shelly! Your flower is beautifull!!! I do think you can make a lot of layers with Prisma Colors. I don’t have these pencils but Chris Cheng used them all the time and she used at least 15 layers, maybe more…..offcourse the paper makes a lot of difference.

[@shelscolouringjourney]

Hi Linda, yes you are right! Chris Cheng does do a lot of layers with her prismas and works magic with them!! 🤗💗

[@BlueBirdsSong]

I love layering, but I’m horrible at it, lol. Well not horrible but with Amazon paper it’s hard. What do you think are the most fun and get the best result (colored pencils), so I can really enjoy coloring. I have Prismacolor, Faber Castell Polychromos and so many others but notwhat you are using in this video. Like you I’m a slow colorist but I don’t mind, it’s relaxing. Thank you for this video, I really like watching you color and I learn so much. 😊

[@shelscolouringjourney]

Thank you so much! You can work magic with the pencils you have....if you have something for basing, such as markers, especially in Amazon books, then you could base with them and work with pencils over the top to get beautiful results. 🤗💗

[@pritigorgeous]

You are very talented! Love your videos. Shelly what sharpener do you recommend? ❤

[@shelscolouringjourney]

Thank you so much! I tend to use an electric Tenwin sharpener first to a certain point and then a handheld staedler sharpener. Works great for me and I no longer get any breakages, which I used to get a lot of when I first started using ADs. hope this helps 🤗💗

[@Ninjamom_colours]

Great video! I’m struggling to find a pencil extender for my Albrecht Durer‘s - can you please share the brand you are using with the dark indigo?

[@shelscolouringjourney]

The pencil extender that has worked best for me is the Derwent silver one due to the size of the ADs, hope this helps 🤗💗

[@diamondslashranch]

Enjoyed very much thank you!

[@shelscolouringjourney]

You're most welcome 🤗💗

[@elizabethnaisbitt1795]

This is magical to watch, however, no matter how I try I just can't achieve this depth of colour and all my pencil lines show even if I do them in a circle, or sometimes I find it works in some areas but not others. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the paper, for some reason I hate the Hannah Karlzon Seasons book, yet I love Kerby's books and never seem to have such an issue with those. Oh well, back to the colouring board lol. Tfs xo

[@shelscolouringjourney]

Thank you 🤗💗 I think paper definitely makes a difference to colouring and the results you get for sure!

[@waymire01]

AD's layer really well, I've been doing a bunch of test coloring recently comparing them to Supracolor, coloring exactly the same object with the same colors... as I am seriously considering buying the full set of the Supras (and they are $$$). The AD's are hard and they build slowly.. but they just keep on going for a surprising amount of time, very reminiscent in fact to the Polychromos. I think that was a purposeful decision of Faber Castell, it makes perfect sense to give the two a similar attribute. I've heard some complain about the hardness and a "stickiness" when used dry.. and the Supras are indeed softer and smoother.. but I think that "stickiness" is what makes the AD's keep going layer after layer. In case anyone is curious: the color selection is actually quite similar, and finished items look almost identical either wet on dry or dry on wet. I have three olive greens and two pinks of the Supras and had no problem matching them with my AD set. I feel like the Supras have a few more pastels, and more red bias ochre/earth colors, and more olive/ochre green. The AD's liquefy more, which is either a pro or a con depending on what you want...on one hand they do smoother transitions and color moves further, on the other they show less definition after wetting and are more likely to need additional layers after. The Supras don't leave lines etc, they just don't move as much. Dry, the AD's are harder, stickier, and take longer to layer.. but in the end less likely to show texture on the paper. Supra's tend to lay down faster and have a softer feel on the hand (kind of like how Polys are hard but smooth), but I found they filled tooth faster and I had to be more careful when layering. Neither blend terribly well, if trying to smoosh colors together, definitely layering pencils. I find them equally opaque. The Supras are also thinner in diameter, I actually find them more comfortable to hold, but I have small hands. Both keep points and sharpen equally. AD's are less expensive and easier to find open stock. I'm still undecided on adding the Supras to my collection, I really feel like they aren't different enough to justify the cost when I already own the AD's.. I was hoping for an amazing holiday sale but no luck so far.. Carad'ache just doesn't go on sale much. I think my next experiment will be to combine them and see how they play together, I've considered adding those luscious greens to my AD's but I have a "thing" about mixing pencils lol.. it's weird but while I have no problem changing brands between pictures, and actually enjoy it because I get bored and tend to flip from one set to another almost every picture... I just find it hard to change from one texture and feel to another mid picture.

[@KarenHavenaar]

Thank you for sharing. Question (maybe I missed it, sorry about that), do you do one layer first with all your colours and activate them or do you do just one layer and activate that?

[@shelscolouringjourney]

Hmm....I tend to work both ways in different situations to be honest, which I am sure you may have seen in some of my colouralongs. A lot of times it depends on my mood or the effect I want 🤗💗

[@pamcarr4963]

Q - Did you activate any of the layers, with exception of the first layer?

[@shelscolouringjourney]

I don’t think I did on this page 🤗