Layering

Guide to Coloring~ Layering Colors 

Why color a picture with just one color when you can use three or more colors and tools to create a great layer effect! Layering is a way to artistically combine different media on top of one another to create a mixed-media piece. Layering incorporates different tools like markers, pencils and pens into one single picture. One thing to keep in mind when layering is that it is all about experimenting, all brands of markers, pencils and pens are slightly different in their colors and quality, so this is where you would experiment what color best layers with the other (Couch 77). Only by experimenting can you determine what different layering combinations work and which you like.

Before starting to layer on your picture you should do some test experiments. Some things that work best when layering include gel pen on colored pencils, gel pen on markers or colored pencils on markers. Here are some examples from the book...

Here are some that I did. Both 1 and 2 are gel pens layered on markers and 3 and 4 are gel pens layered on colored pencils. For my colors, the gel pens worked best on the colored pencils but still have a nice and dark impact on the markers. It brings a tint and shade sort of layering on the markers.

One last thing to consider, "...is whether the entire piece will include layering or whether just a specific area will and are you going to use a combination of markers and colored pencils over the entire piece..." (Couch 79). You should always know exactly what colors you are going to use to layer and where because if you decide to layer some colors on the spot, some just simply will not look layered due to the colors not quite fitting together.

Step 1

Step 2

For my picture here I decided to use colored pencils on a marker. First you would use your lighter color (my marker) and color in the picture lightly. Next you shade with the darker color (for me this was my colored pencil). As you see the picture in step 2 got a bit more darker and you can see the layers.


Lastly you can add a third layer with a nice alternative or corresponding color. I did this with the use of a dark blue metallic gel pen. This gave the drawing a nice shiny layer.

Step 3 is the last and optional step.

Here is another example I did. I used the same tings as before. First a light marker and then a darker colored pencil. Lastly the optional step by adding some dots with a gel pen. The gel pen accents create highlights and more dimension to the picture (Couch 80). Gel pens or even a third layer are not required at all, but to give your drawing a more lively image you can add them in small parts where necessary to create the little layered illusion.

Do you think layering adds another dimension to a picture? Do you prefer any ways  to layer your colors or coloring tools?


Couch, Peg. New Guide to Coloring for Crafts, Adult Coloring Books, and Other Coloristas!: Tips, Tricks, and      Techniques for All Skill Levels! Fox Chapel Pub Co Inc, 2016.

Drawing: Body

            For my last and final blog of drawing, I decided to go with the idea of my first drawing and draw another person. This time I decided to draw the body and not the face. I draw faces all the time, so i took it up a notch and drew a young girl who with our perspective has her back turned to us. The book The Usborne Complete Book of Drawing by Alastair Smith and Judy Tatchell, accompanied and navigated me throughout my process and journey of the piece I drew.
          The first thing I obviously need to draw is the outline of the body. In the book it states, "Begin your drawings of whole figures by marking a sketch of the body, using pencil. Start your sketch by drawing the rough shapes of the main body parts" (smith, Tatchell 10). In the drawing I first started with the basic shape of a head which is not circle but kind of like an oval. As I went along I drew the neck which will eventually be covered up and the the shoulders. The arms that I drew were not straight but they were slightly tilted inward as if she were holding her hands together. At first I drew her main body as a rectangle, lightly with a pencil before I added curves. The book gives very critical advice. Before i drew this piece I tried drawing a body before but it didn't turn out the way I expected because I tried drawing the clothes and everything, I didn't start out with the basics.
         The second and most important thing in my opinion is the stance or pose the body has. The stance of the girl I drew is with her back towards us as i mentioned before. The great tip that the book gave was that when they said, illustrating poses and proportions is exaggerating the drawing of the body. To emphasize the drawing, there can be different styles of clothes such as ones that are elegant  or comfortable (Smith, Tatchell 18). I took the advice from the book and gave a girl a pretty and flowing dress with an intricate design. I drew a dress that was strapless and her hair was down so you couldn't see her whole back. I drew a band around her upper waist and then the design below that.
       All in all I think the drawing turned out superb. This was the first time I drew a person without the face showing and I am glad i took the risk and learned how to draw more. I would like to say that drawing is not always my forte. I only draw good when i'm in the mood to draw and I can't be forced to draw. Over this 3 moth period, I found time when I was in the mood to draw, and drew these pictures with all my effort and focus. Hopefully to your eyes they turned out good.

How would you say this drawing turned out?
Do you like the drawing without the face or would you have preferred it with the face?
If there is anything i can change, fix, and add what would it be?

Smith, Alastair, and Judy Tatchel. The Usborne Complete Book of Drawing. Usborne Pub., 2009.

Drawing - Emphasis/ Focal Point

Ever since I was a kid, I remember loving to create art, even if it was just scribbles with some crayons.  Drawing has never come easy for me, and I’ve never been the best at it, but it was always a fun way for me to pass time when I was bored. Everywhere I would go I would run into different forms of art, and I would always wonder how people created such beautiful pieces. I hope that this small hobby may soon turn into a larger passion as I improve my skills and expand my creativity. 

As I’ve been reading the book Design Basics by David A. Lauer, I’ve learned so much more about art already. Lauer teachers you how to improve your art skills using different techniques.When putting time and creating a piece of artwork, you don't want the audience to just walk past it without even a glance.  There are countless ways to draw the audience into a piece, similarly to how a hook draws a reader into an essay.  The first technique I chose to try out was emphasis / focal point. The point of this technique is that it “attracts attention and encourages the viewer to look further” (Lauer 40). I drew a picture using emphasis by isolation. This means that I isolated an item and set it apart from the others, drawing the eye toward it. (Lauer 44). In this drawing, the solid black square is larger and father away from the other squares causing it to be slightly different and become the focal point. I didn't make it in the very center of the paper, so that it didn't appear to obvious. I also didn't make it a different shape so that it didn't appear out of place. 

This picture appears very simple, but it actually took quite some time to make. First, I started by using a ruler and a pencil to sketch the squares. Then I drew on the patterns I wanted, and lastly, I outlined and colored them all in with a sharpie to make it stand out more. When using this technique, you must be careful because too many focal points can cause confusion. (Lauer 40). I’m happy with how this came out, however I’m excited to see how I will improve as I keep practicing.

Do you agree that the square is the focal point, or do you think it’s something else?

Do you enjoy drawing, and if you do, what are your favorite techniques to use?

What do you consider as “art”?

Lauer, David A. Design Basics. third ed., Thomson Learning, 1990.