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10 Brilliant Coloring Hacks to Elevate Your Artwork
Coloring is an incredibly fun activity to get into as an adult. Having distanced ourselves from this great creative outlet since we grew up leaves a void for self-expression that finally feels as if it is filling up. It’s also really nice to see the progress that one is able to make with coloring over time, and this serves to encourage us even further to work harder and create more. Once you’ve hammered down the basics of coloring, it’s only natural that you want to spice things up a bit.
A great way to further enhance your coloring journey as you’ve taken up adult coloring books is to try a few tips and hacks that require little effort but create stunning results. Brilliant coloring does not depend on complicated and advanced techniques that require hours upon hours. In fact, good coloring is all about knowing the right hacks and putting them together in a way that depicts a lot more effort than has been put in! We’re sharing a few of these essential coloring hacks below.
Table of Contents
Coloring Hacks and Tips
Test the colors of all your supplies
A big rookie mistake that costs a lot of pages in adult coloring books is assuming that colors will turn out the same shade as their packaging. Regardless of their type, supplies like pencils, markers, and crayons often look drastically different than how we thought they’d be. Simply putting pen to page on your coloring books is not a wise way to get started on your coloring journey. Instead, always make sure to test each color out on a separate scrap of paper.
This will give a clearer idea about what colors you’re really working with, whether they have any different undertones to them, and, hence, what other colors they could go well with. This is a great and simple coloring hack that can help you devise a quick strategy in terms of color selection and picking good color combinations. Basing out coloring choices on whims doesn’t often give the best results. Also, panning out the color schemes that we have at our disposal can help you navigate according to the color theory, which is a pretty brilliant coloring hack in itself!
Make use of patterns
One of the reasons coloring can get monotonous is that people assume it is solely about filling the pages as straightforwardly as possible. But as an adult, there are no strict rules or regulations, and really, you can also move beyond the lines. A fun hack to make your coloring look hypnotic and attractive is to create patterns within figures and replicate them on various parts. This creates somewhat of an optical illusion and makes your coloring look a lot more advanced than it actually is.
From stripes to polka dots and even zigzags, your coloring book pages will end up looking like bursts of creativity. Where art is concerned, an out-of-the-box approach is really appreciated. This is a brilliant coloring hack because it gives the impression that you’ve made use of some complicated methods to render your coloring, while the trick is really all about experimenting a bit with creativity and then duplicating it again and again!
Focus on backgrounds
While the background of your adult coloring book figures might just seem unimportant, it can play quite a role in helping the main work pop. Backgrounds can be creative or made using colors that specifically complement the colors you’ve used in the central pieces. If both the background and the outlined figures are based on the same palette, then they might blend with each other. This could result in a page that looks nice overall, but nothing can really be told apart from another.
Adult coloring books are about fun, and color renditions on them should be creative and a reflection of that. To really elevate the artwork in your coloring books, devising ways to make the central figures on the page stand out by working on the background is a brilliant hack. The background plays a major role in how the artwork is perceived, and even if you put in the best of your work in coloring but don’t really take the backdrop into consideration during it, the results might be either bland or mismatched.
Have lots of variety
When coloring, a lot of people like to aim for even and homogenous results. While this is safe, it could also be the reason why your artwork looks okay-ish at best. Artists aren’t afraid to experiment, and one of the easiest coloring hacks to bring about marvelous results is to use a variety of supplies. Don’t just stick to coloring pencils, but also grab markers, crayons, and even paints if you’re feeling extra adventurous. Your artwork will end up looking unique and catch the eye in ways you could not have imagined.
Different textures and mediums can create a visual of depth and motion in your work. This is especially great for coloring books because it will really bring the figures on the pages to life. This coloring hack will also make it look like you put a lot more work and technique into your rendition than you actually have. You will see that your coloring book pages will scream at observers, and they won’t help but be drawn to them. This coloring hack is especially effective if you’ve taken up coloring in a class and want your work to really make the rounds.
Practice makes for amazing results
One coloring hack that there is no substitute for is practice. Nothing brings flare to artwork more than a hand that’s adapted to doing it over and over. You’ll find that over time, the same coloring techniques bring results that seem evidently different than those of when you just started out. Practice does not mean putting down endless hours to master difficult coloring methods, but instead, just consistently taking time to get your fingers used to the motion of coloring.
While on the topic of practice, practicing patience is also a little coloring hack that not many will tell you about. Getting frustrated over not seeing the kind of outcome that you’d been for as you started your coloring journey keeps you from attaining your potential. With time, you’ll see that your penchant for creativity and artwork will come to the surface. So, if you’re looking for a coloring hack that is bound to give results, then make sure to practice in all its various forms.
Mix and blend
Mixing colors, techniques, and textures is a serious game-changer. Make use of blending pencils to bring about seamless transitions to your coloring. This creates effects like spectrums and hidden patterns that really elevate the look of artwork without being immediately noticeable. Keeping colors from touching one another or only playing it safe just makes the results of your coloring look basic and sometimes even boring. Blending can give rise to a whole new world of variety, patterns, and depth.
Mixing colors can create new shades that are visually appealing and make a great pairing with a lot of other hues on your color wheel or palette. The coloring hack of putting things together and creating unexpected things creates some stunning artwork! It all comes down to understanding that taking great risks is a very powerful coloring hack. Since coloring books can sometimes create monotonous results if not attended to creatively, trial and error with colors is a hack on its own.
Master shading
Shading is the technique behind why certain sketches and portraits appear so life-like and advanced. The good news is that it is not hard to get the hang of and works marvelously in coloring, too. If your coloring appears flat and lifeless even after you’ve spent quite a bit of time filling coloring book pages and staying in the lines, then what it lacks is depth and dimension. Shading, fortunately, adds both these aspects to figures and is a great way to distinguish figures from background, too.
Using shading as a coloring hack is especially useful if you’re tired of seeing your work and that of others look eerily similar. This can demotivate you and take you away from pursuing coloring as a hobby, even though it’s something that you happen to enjoy. Making use of shading as a coloring hack will help your work come out strong and also encourage you to keep at it and practice your hand at even more fun techniques that make simple coloring look incredibly artful.
Make use of color theory
If you feel lost during coloring and are done with your work looking basic, then simply following the major teachings of the color theory can really help inspire you and guide your vision. The color theory works as a great coloring hack and is proven to be effective since it’s a foundational practice for artists. Simple methods like picking a focal point in your coloring figures and using progressions outward from it can create stunning effects and make your coloring look incredibly complex.
Other elements, like figuring out color schemes, making use of contrasts, and remaining conscious of warm and cool-toned hues, are always proven ways of giving extra life to your artwork. The best coloring hack is to practice the principles that real artists make use of, and color theory is an easy-to-follow but effective way of doing that. With the color theory hack, you’ll not only make better color choices that go well together but also base your coloring on certain patterns that add depth and life.
Want to know what colors look good together?
Which colors work together, and why? How can you creatively explore different moods or directions? Color calculator can help you to pick best color. I can’t imagine working with colors without a similar tool at hand. Do you want know more about color theory – check this tool too.
Use attention-grabbing material
When pursuing adult coloring, a lot of individuals think that the hobby is a practice of discipline and structure, when in fact, it is more of a creative outlet and a great way to spend quality time with yourself. This means that anything that makes you more interested and happy with respect to your coloring is on the table. If you’re all for making your coloring pop, then using materials like glitter pens and markers is a great coloring hack to do just that.
Metallic pens and other material that adds sparkle and glitter to your work are absolutely allowed in coloring. White gel pens are a great coloring hack to outline aspects of a drawing that you want to stand out more than others. You’d be surprised at just how much of a hack using the color white in the right places is. Glitters, metallic gels, flashy paints, and all other mediums of the sort that can make your coloring look like an expression of your creativity are coloring hacks worth trying!
Protect subsequent pages
While using various materials and mediums, a lot of first-time artists or those who have just taken up coloring tend to forget that ink and hard-pressing tips affect subsequent pages. It is important to have some sort of a page break in between to ensure that the upcoming pages of the coloring book are not compromised. This is a very common mistake that often costs a lot of really good coloring pages and demotivates those who have put in lots of effort in filling their adult coloring books.
This coloring hack teaches you to be protective of your artwork and then also make sure to keep it wrapped and secure after you’re done with coloring. This is a very important practice to incorporate into coloring because coloring books are at risk of being ruined if not taken care of adequately.
Quiz: Brilliant Coloring Hacks
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Here’s the takeaway:
There are so many brilliant coloring hacks that can take your artwork from basic to phenomenal and also help improve it consistently and protect its integrity. Keeping these hacks in the back of your mind as a first-timer can really elevate your coloring experience, too.
Another bonus hack is to always opt for great quality adult coloring books that are unique and really pique your interest. KawaiiDusk has a stunning selection of coloring books that have a little something for everyone who’s looking to get into coloring as an adult.
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