Sometimes I get inspiration from a color. I was looking through my colored pencil set and noticed a beautiful Red-Violet that I have never used and I wanted to use it!
I chose a sketch of an origami crane, a subject that allowed flexibility with my color choice. The reference photo showed a light pink colored crane, but with this technique I could probably choose any color.
I took the pencil I wanted to feature and added it to a value scale worksheet, where I determined the range of values that I would like in my drawing. I created a spectrum of five distinct values from light to dark.
How to Create a Color Value Scale
- Choose a base color that isn’t too light or too dark. Create 5 boxes.
- Fill each box as follows:
- Slot 1: Lightly layer the base color with white or another very light shade.
- Slot 2: Base color.
- Slot 3: Layer the base color with a darker analogous color.
- Slot 4: Use the darker analogous color by itself.
- Slot 5: Using Slot 4 color, darken by layering it with an even darker analogous color, a dark complementary color, dark brown, or black.
Your finished scale should show a clear progression from light to dark. If the values are too close together, try again.
My base color is darker (red-violet), so I used Slot 4 instead of Slot 2 and chose a lighter analogous color for Slot 2 (light pink). For the darkest value I darkened with a darker analogous color (dark purple-blue).
You can create values using pencil pressure alone, but layering lighter and darker colors usually produces richer, more natural-looking results.
As I worked through each segment I carefully considered whether is was lighter or darker than the segment beside it and how the colors would naturally transition from dark to light.
Taking note of areas of lightness and highlights. To brighten up the highlights I used a ceramic knife at the end.
This exercise showed that color does not matter as much as having the right values for realism.
As a beginner we often stress about finding the right color, but value is what really makes are illustrations believable. Knowing how to substitute color also allows us to create more artistic composition using colors intentionally to create something even more interesting than the original reference.
The Origami Crane sketch is from my Colored Pencil Practice Coloring Book. Which includes 36 hand drawn sketches and reference photos. It also includes a swatch and blending charts, and tips to get you started.
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