I'm so excited to bring you two more grayscale painting video tutorials from the very talented Julie Flores!

In these tutorials Julie Flores shows us how to paint the ocean wave and the orchid from Beautiful Nature using acrylic paints. Julie takes us step-by-step through the painting process to achieve the gorgeous results you see above! Both of these video tutorial are based on the painting techniques provided by Julie and outlined in a previous blog post.
​​
Click each of the videos below to start watching. I hope you find them helpful!

In this three part video tutorial series with accompanying practice coloring worksheet, Jones Flores teaches us about the color wheel, color schemes and how to apply those color schemes to our coloring. She presents the guidance in separate and dedicated videos for Prismacolor Premiers and Faber Castell Polychromos. Therefore, whether you prefer wax-based or oil-based pencils you can get the specific color guidance from Jones. In addition, she provides us with guidance on using chalk pastels for backgrounds.

​The specific tutorials are as follows: 

• Part 1 (Prismacolor Premiers): Understanding the Color Wheel & Color Schemes Using Prismacolor Premiers
• Part 1 (Faber Castell Polychromos): Understanding the Color Wheel & Color Schemes Using Faber Castell Polychromos
• Part 2 (Prismacolor Premiers): Applying Color Schemes Using Prismacolor Premiers
• Part 2 (Faber Castell Polychromos): Applying Color Schemes Using Faber Castell Polychromos
• Part 3: Coloring Backgrounds with Chalk Pastels

Let's get started...

To date there have been a lot coloring tips & tutorials using all kinds of techniques and mediums for the pages of Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Nature. I thought it would be helpful for you to have a summary of those tips & tutorials sorted by coloring medium as well as by coloring book. This way if you are working on a specific page in one of the books you can refer to this list to find guidance tailored to that coloring page. 

​You'll notice that some tips & tutorials show up in multiple categories. This is because multiple mediums are used in some of the tips & tutorials. 

Previously we showed you how to color the two pictures above using colored pencils with a specific focus on coloring fur (Short Fur - the Basenji and Long Fur - the Monkey). In this blog post we provide you with a tutorial for each picture on how to color grayscale using watercolors. A coloring practice page is provided so that you can color along with Jones Flores for both pictures.

Coloring/painting with watercolors is less precise and a lot faster than colored pencils. The result is very different from that of colored pencils. It produces a wonderful result and you'll find that the grayscale is an excellent guide when determining where to apply your light and dark watercolors.

Let's get started...

​In this two part video tutorial series Jones Flores walks you through the key techniques for coloring both long and short fur with colored pencils.

Last week we focused on how to color long fur with colored pencils while coloring the monkey from Beautiful Creatures. This week we will be showing you how to color short fur with the Basenji from Beautiful Creatures.

A practice coloring page is provided to support both parts of this video tutorial series and to give you an opportunity to color along with Jones. A full color list is also provided.

Let's get started...
​​

​In this two part video tutorial series Jones Flores walks you through the key techniques for coloring both long and short fur with colored pencils.

This week we are focusing on long fur while coloring the monkey from Beautiful Creatures. Next week we will be showing you how to color short fur with the Basenji from Beautiful Creatures.

A practice coloring page is provided to support both parts of this video tutorial series and to give you an opportunity to color along with Jones. A full color list is also provided.

Let's get started...
​

Full length coloring tutorials and color-alongs
These tutorials walk you through the coloring of a picture from start to finish with the video at normal speed. These videos vary in length from 30 minutes to 2+ hours.

1. Learn How to Color a Cat.
2. Learn How to Color a Landscape.
3. Learn How to Color Flower Buds.
4. Learn How to Color Flamingos. 
5. Essential Coloring Techniques for Increasing Contrast & Impact: Highlights, Shadows & Outlines - Tulip Field Color-Along. 
6. Essential Coloring Techniques for Increasing Contrast & Impact: Highlights, Shadows & Outlines - Rhino Color-Along.
7. How to Color Grayscale Water: Small Waves Color-Along.
8. How to Color Grayscale Water: Big Waves Color-Along.
9. How to Color Grayscale with Colored Pencils: The Basics - Bee Color-Along.
10. How to Color Grayscale with Colored Pencils: The Basics - Tulip Color-Along.
11. Grayscale Coloring Tutorial: Step-by-Step to Realistic Results - Iguana Color-Along.
12. Tulip Field Background (Part 1) with Prismacolor Premiers (by DKdesign).
13. Tulip Field Tulips (Part 2) with Prismacolor Premiers (by DKdesign).
14. Poppy Field Ominous Sky (Part 1) with Prismacolor Premiers (by DKdesign).
15. Poppy Field Hillside (Part 2) with Prismacolor Premiers (by DKdesign).

Speed coloring tutorials
These tutorials include instructions to go along with the speed coloring. These videos vary in length from 1 minute to 20 minutes.

Pages from Beautiful Nature

1. Leaf: coloring water drops with colored pencils and ink pens.
2. Mountain & water landscape: how to paint a sunset and reflection with acrylic paints.
3. Dahlia: layering and burnishing with colored pencils.
4. Peony buds: painting grayscale with acrylics.
5. Magnolia tree flowers: Prismacolor Premiers for vibrant color.
6. Succulent: soft pastels blended with baby oil.
7. Lotus Flower: step-by-step grayscale painting with acrylics.
8. ​Gerbera Daisy: step-by-step grayscale painting with acrylics.
9. Tulip Field: with Prismacolor Premiers (by DKdesign).
10. Poppy Field: with Prismacolor Premiers (by DKdesign).
11. Petunias: Prismacolor Premier colored pencils.

Pages from Beautiful Creatures

1. Butterfly: Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils (by Peta Hewitt).
2. Ladybug: Prismacolor Premier colored pencils.
3. Horse: Prismacolor Premier colored pencils.
4. Giraffe: Faber Castell Classic Colors colored pencils & soft pastels. 
5. Cat: Derwent Inktense pencils.  
6. Squirrel: colored pencils, ink pens and soft pastels. 
7. Cow: oil pastels and baby oil.
8. Three Horses: Prismacolors and Berkley turpentine for blending.
9. Crocodile: colored pencils and gel pens.
10. Cat: colored pencils and gel pens.
11. Basenji dog: Faber Castell classic colored pencils over soft pastels.
12. Lion: coloring a grayscale background with soft chalk pastels.
13. Iguana: step-by-step to realistic results.

Written Coloring Tips:

1. 5 Essential Steps for Grayscale Coloring Success.
2. Making your subject stand out.
3. Coloring water droplets.
4. The one color technique.
5. Using Ink or gel pens over colored pencils for details.
6. Outlining with ink or gel pens for a finished look.
7. Soft pastels and pointillism for texture.
8. Cloud coloring technique.
9. Creating the effect of a water background.
10. The "erase with tape" trick.
11. Getting a smooth background.
12. Getting creative with color.
13. ​Using an eraser to achieve softness (e.g. for hair & fur). 
14. Using soft pastels mixed with oil.
15. How to achieve vibrant color.
16. Using pointillism to enhance detail. 
17. Blending with hair coat oil & Berkeley rectified turpentine.
18. Colored pencils over water-based markers.
19. Prismacolor Premiers vs. Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils.

Step-by-Step Grayscale Coloring Process of Four Incredible Colorists

1. Jones Flores: learn her key steps for a gorgeous and vibrant result.
2. Julie Flores: learn how to paint a grayscale picture with acrylics.
3. Ann Reid: learn how Ann gets incredibly realistic results when coloring an animal. 
4. Christine Kowbuz: learn her method for a unique and visually stunning result.

Downloadable Coloring Guides

1. The Owl: Coloring Feathers & Eyes
2. The Leaf: Coloring Water Drops
3. The Hillside: How to Paint Grayscale

Downloadable Grayscale Coloring Pages: 
Here are some grayscale pages for you to download and print so you can practice some of the techniques listed above. These come from Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Nature. Some are full pages and some are practice pages containing parts of images for practice.

1. Eyes
2. Cat
3. Landscape
4. Lotus Flower Buds
5. Flamingos
6. Eyes and Feathers
7. Water Drops
8. Hillside
9. Peony Buds
10. Gerbera Daisy
11. Ocean Wave
12. Sunset
13. Rhino
14. Tulip Field
15. Bee
16. Tulips
17. Succulent

I hope this collection of resources is helpful.

Happy Coloring! 

I'm excited to provide you with the latest coloring tutorial taught by Jones Flores. The coloring techniques you will learn in this tutorial are wonderful for helping you achieve a stunning & impactful result.

In this two part video tutorial series Jones focuses on three essential coloring techniques for increasing contrast and impact: highlights, shadows & outlines. A practice coloring page is provided to support both parts of this tutorial series and to give you an opportunity to color along with Jones. A full color list is also provided.

The tutorials are as follows:

Part 1: Tulip Field Color-Along - using the tulip field picture from Beautiful Nature, learn the key coloring techniques for shadows, highlights and outlines in order to increase contrast and impact in your colored picture. By doing this your picture will have greater shape and depth. Jones uses Prismacolor Premier pencils, fineliners and a water-based marker for this tutorial. 

Part 2: Rhino Color-Along - using the rhino picture from Beautiful Creatures, continue learning about how to increase contrast and impact with shadows, highlights and outlines, including how to use gel pen for deepening contrast to build great depth and shape. Jones uses Faber Castell Polychromos pencils, a Caran D'Ache Luminance white pencil and a black gel pen for this tutorial.​

If you are new to grayscale coloring, be sure to check out our Grayscale Coloring Basics tutorial series as well. 

Let's get started...

I started this blog over two years ago! Over the past two years I have built quite a robust collection of grayscale coloring guidance. Due to the nature of a blog, it isn't always the easiest to find what you are looking for or to progress through the techniques and tutorials in a logical order. That is why I created the Grayscale Coloring Guide.

The Grayscale Coloring Guide is over 100 pages of grayscale coloring tips, techniques, tutorials and practice coloring pages from my blog organized in a logical order that is easy to find your way through. 

If grayscale coloring is new to you, this guide will give you the information and tools you need to tackle and enjoy grayscale coloring. If you are a seasoned grayscale colorist then it will enable you to take your grayscale coloring (or painting!) to the next level.

​I hope you find this guide really helpful! Happy Coloring! :-) 

1. Choosing Colors
2. Layering
3. Increasing Contrast
4. Blending
5. Finishing Touches

These steps can be followed for any grayscale image you color. In order for you to see these steps in action, in this post Jones Flores has outlined how she followed these steps for the succulent you see above. Below you will find a coloring worksheet for the succulent as well as a color chart and an image progression of Jones' coloring process from start to finish so that you can try out the steps and follow along with Jones' process.