How to Color Grayscale with Colored Pencils: the Basics

7/19/2017

The completed practice coloring page as colored by Jones Flores.

In this three part video tutorial series, hosted by Jones Flores, we focus on the basics of grayscale coloring. A practice coloring page is provided to support all three parts of this tutorial series and to give you an opportunity to color along with Jones.

The tutorials are as follows:

Part 1: The 3-Tone Rule - learn about how to choose your colors using the "3-Tone Rule"
Part 2: Color Along #1 - using the bee picture from Beautiful Creatures, color along with Jones Flores as she shows you how to match your color tones to the lights and darks of the grayscale to produce a beautiful & realistic result.
Part 3: Color Along #2 - using the tulip picture from Beautiful Nature, color along with Jones Flores as she provides you with more practice, tips & techniques for coloring grayscale.

If you are new to grayscale coloring then this is the place to start! If you are an experienced grayscale colorist you will still find the tutorials are full of great tips and techniques that will further enhance your grayscale coloring skillset.

Let's get started...

Download the Practice Coloring Page

Click the "Download File" link to download the grayscale basics practice coloring page.

grayscale-basics-tutorial.pdf
File Size:	2591 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Part 1: The 3-Tone Rule

The 3-Tone Rule is a simple technique for choosing colors when coloring grayscale. For every color you will use on a subject, have a variety of 3 tones. This is to apply on the light, medium and dark areas of grayscale.

On the practice coloring page that you downloaded in Step 1 (above) you will find a 3-Tone Rule chart where you can practice your color selection with Jones during the video.

Part 2: Color Along #1, the Bee

In this video, color along with Jones as she colors the bee from Beautiful Creatures. You will find the bee in the practice coloring page you downloaded in Step 1 (above).

The Faber Castell Polychromos colors used for this tutorial video are:

Blue
Bluish Turquoise 149
Cobalt Turquoise 153
Cobalt Green 156

Brown
Burnt Ochre 187
Burnt Sienna 283
Walnut Brown 177

Yellow
Light Cadmium Yellow 105
Cadmium Orange 111
Dark Cadmium Orange 115

Pink
Pink Madder Lake 129
Middle Purple Pink 125
Magenta 133

Shadows, Outlines & Highlights
Black 199
White 101

Part 3: Color Along #2, the Tulips

In this video, color along with Jones as she colors the tulips from Beautiful Nature. You will find the tulips in the practice coloring page you downloaded in Step 1 (above).

The Faber Castell Polychromos colors used for this tutorial video are:

Pink
Pink Madder Lake 129
Rose Carmine 124
Dark Cadmium Orange 115

Green
Light Green 171
Leaf Green 112
Emerald Green 163

Yellow
Cream 102
Light Yellow Glaze 104
Naples Yellow 185

Highlight, Shadows & Outlines
White 101
Warm Grey II 271
Black 199

Upcoming Tutorials

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More Video Tutorials

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Tutorial & Color-Along #4: Flamingos
Tutorial & Color-Along #3: Lotus Flower Buds
Tutorial & Color-Along #2: a Grayscale Landscape
Tutorial & Color-Along #1: a Grayscale Cat
Coloring Water Drops
How to Paint a Sunset and Reflection
Layering and Burnishing
Painting Peony Buds with Acrylics
Using Prismacolor Premiers to Color Magnolia Tree Flowers
Using Soft Pastels Blended with Baby Oil to Color the Succulent

Martie Gunko

7/19/2017 10:39:15 pm

Thank you!!!! I shall practice to perfection.

Teri

7/20/2017 10:07:00 am

Oh my! Jones, you sound like you have a dreadful summer cold!
Hope you're feeling better by now! Thank you a thousand times over for the wonderful color-alongs. Please don't ever stop......

Jones Flores

7/21/2017 08:23:11 am

Thanks so much Teri! Yes unfortunately I had a nasty cold when I recorded the tutorials but no worries, I am feeling a lot better. Glad that you loved the color-alongs! <3

8/16/2017 07:43:20 pm

I am soooooooo loving these tutorials. Can't get enough of them.

I need some advice. I like to photocopy the pages from the books because I often color the same thing more than once and I also like to have a copy for testing colors because they turn out so differently on the different shades of gray.

I've noticed that my paper doesn't absorb the pencil as well where there's more ink on the paper (the darker shades of gray) It seems like that might be because it's already absorbed more ink than other areas, and so I can't get the needed layers to 'take'. What is everyone using to do this and get the best possible results ?

Nicole Stocker link

8/17/2017 10:04:50 am

Thank you, Teri! I'm so happy to hear how much you are enjoying the tutorials.

Regarding the issue you are having when you photocopy the pictures...any chance you are using a laser copier/printer? I find that laser printers layer the ink on the paper vs. an inkjet where it seems to get absorbed more by the paper so your pencil color isn't being "blocked" by printer ink from being absorbed by the paper. This is just my personal experience. Perhaps there are others that can weigh in with their experience?

If you are using an inkjet printer and you are having this issue then I would recommend trying a paper that is of a good weight (80lb or more) and has a bit of tooth. Hopefully this will help.

8/17/2017 01:46:45 pm

Nicole,
Thanks for the response..
I'm using an Epson inkjet printer and neenah 65lb cardstock that's rated 176gsm. I've tried several other papers with pretty much the same results. Remember the problem I had with the flamingo layers turning green? (although that happened with the original page from the book too).

I do prefer the polychromos pencils by far, although this seems to be happening no matter which set of pencils I use. Is it possible this is happening because I copy at 'best' quality? I've tried copying at standard quality, but then it seems a bit fuzzy, and it's difficult for me to delineate the lines in the image.

8/17/2017 08:33:06 pm

I would expect things to work with your printer and paper set up, Teri. It's very possible that there is more ink for the higher quality print and that could be impacting how much color you can lay down on top of it. Unfortunately, I just don't know very much about at home printers so I can't say definitively what is causing the problem. I'm sorry :-(.

8/18/2017 05:41:11 am

it's ok. The problem could be me. :) After all, I've only been coloring since early this year. I'll keep plugging along, trying different techniques and papers. I'm not one to let things like this beat me.

I have both books. .... waiting for another, and absolutely LOVE them, as well as the tutorials from Jones. Always looking for more tutorials from her.

8/18/2017 08:42:59 am

Are you part of our Facebook coloring group for Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Nature (https://www.facebook.com/groups/427491640779965/)? That would be a good place for you to ask the printing question since others in the group likely photocopy pages as well as print the sample pages I provide in the group. There will likely be someone who has come across the same issue and has hopefully found a solution.

Thank you so much for your kind words about the books. I'm so happy you like them!

There are definitely more tutorials from Jones on the way. The next set will likely be on coloring water!

8/18/2017 10:35:00 am

I can't wait! I really love the live tutorials. It's a lot of fun to listen to the banter going back and forth while you're coloring along. I know that's probably more difficult for you both. Maybe you could take a poll on the blog?

8/19/2017 08:21:56 am

I have a series of recorded "mini-tutorials" coming out that Jones and I are working on after getting feedback from lots of people in the Facebook coloring group. Once we have worked through all the mini-tutorial topics then I will look at doing more live tutorials. They are fun!

Angela

1/14/2018 09:10:46 pm

Thanks this was fantastic. I love the co like color along and it really helped me understand greyscale.

Comments are closed.

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