My Wife ;he's Literally The Worst

My wife ;he's literally the worst <3

U use colors in such a enrichening way, how do you do that may I ask??

thank you so much! 💕

this answer is going to be a little long.

the first thing, i think, is that it's very common to think of color as a means to an end, as just another type of information about a drawing: i'm using brown on the hair to show that the hair is brown, i'm using green to show that the characters are standing in grass.

but if color is information, then we can use it to say a lot more than just the basic facts of a drawing!

if you love drawing but want to get better with color, you have to learn to love color, too.

to want to know everything about how color works, to explore what different colors mean to you, to try and try and try again.

because, and this is the kicker:

ALL COLORS ARE RELATED TO EACH OTHER!

[from this post about how to use a color wheel]

i think it's common for people to talk about complementary colors and that's helpful when you're starting out with coloring, but i feel that it can become very limiting when it's treated like a rule and can obscure the fact that all colors are related to each other. it's called a color wheel because there is no beginning or end!

for example, take this drawing:

in this drawing, i'm using colors from all over:

but by just rearranging them slightly and throwing them against a black background like in the drawing, you can see how they're actually relating to each other and not nearly as random as they may seem at first glance!

[these notes are from this post where i break down how muted or "ugly" colors pull an image together] all colors are related to each other in some way, and that means that

YOU MUST DETERMINE WHAT EACH COLOR MEANS TO YOU, AND IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CONVEY THAT MEANING TO YOUR AUDIENCE.

for example, to me green can be uncomfortable and overwhelming, energetic and edgy, calm and natural, or fearful and tense. but no matter how it makes me feel, it's my responsibility to convey my relationship to green to whoever even glances at my drawing.

sure you can use commonly held ideas about colors [red = angry, blue = sad], but this shorthand is also limiting. if everyone used these commonly held ideas about color, there would be no room for experimentation or interesting, wild color choices! and colors mean different things to everyone-- that's what makes everyone's colorful art so different and so cool!!

another thing to note about those green drawings: each one is using a specific type of green.

the one with reigen leans blue-green, which creates a cool-colored image. meanwhile, reigen is warmer tones, which almost makes it seem like he's overheating when he's thrown against such a cool-toned background, which further expresses his discomfort!

the dimple!mob drawing is like a sprite or mountain dew-green, which encourages the feeling of electricity or energy. it's a cool yellowish-green.

the one of mob floating is a warmer yellowish-green, to suggest sunny warmth without drawing sun rays.

the divine tree arc drawing is a lot of reddish-greens, which can suggest a sickliness.

experiment with color combinations and different shades and hues! explore what these different types of colors mean to you!

so now let's get into the nitty gritty of color choice. the following images are from my free pdf about color, composition, and intuitive drawing:

the main takeaways from these pages are:

consider simplifying your colors! more colors does not necessarily equal a better drawing.

see how much a single color can do! can you use it in multiple places on your drawing? what meaning can you ascribe to the colors you're using?

consider creating a concept for your colors and a few rules to guide your piece! a lot of great drawings can fall apart because the coloring concept was too vague or because there weren't enough rules or guidelines to keep the image coherent.

are your colors saturated enough? are the different colors you're using fighting for the viewer's attention? do you have focal points in your art, and if so, are the colors you're using reinforcing those focal points?

use the tools at your disposal! color-picking, color balance, overlay layers. it can feel important to try to prove something by hand-picking every color, but even when i hand-pick my colors i almost always check them with color balance anyway to make sure i'm picking the best colors possible.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER FOR ART. PLEASE use everything that is available to you, and make sure that you are aligned with what brings you joy when you're making art!

i wanted to show an example of a drawing i've done that is doing way too much vs a drawing that is simpler but more balanced:

on the left, the colors are interesting but the background is too strong and is competing with the actual drawing for attention. on the right, the clear background and simple coloring create a cute, easy to read, successful image! this is what i mean when i say that colors can fight for the viewer's attention and mess up a good drawing.

my final secret is that i rarely shade with or use white, black, or grays. i don't think this is a rule that you have to follow, but i like it because it pushes me to figure out what colors will go best with each other, and i think this single tip has strengthened my understanding of color immensely. however, there are a lot of beautiful art styles that shade with and use pure white, black, and gray. you have to decide what you love!

and

STUDY!!!

look at other people's art, color pick it, and make a palette based on their art! look at how they represent values through color, how they shade, etc. study your favorite artists' work!! you will learn so much!!

i hope this was helpful! if you have any more follow-up questions or if there's something that you want to know that i didn't explain here, please don't hesitate to ask!

for simplicity's sake this is only including characters listed by name on the sanrio website, so plz forgive any seemingly-obvious oversights <3

I hate gay people

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