I usually don’t do adult coloring books – the popular ones have so much detail it actually freaks me out more than it relaxes me, but I recently received the Paige Tate coloring book which is just enough detail to be calming and really cute, to boot!  Along with the book, I got a set of Tombow colored pencils for my birthday.
Finally, a coloring book that marries my love for lettering and an un-overwhelming amount of detail! // http://www.prettyprintsandpaper.com
It’s as if I was a child and an adult all over again with this set up! This brought me to lettering. Â Inspired by the way Tombow dual brush pens have a sort of gradient to them, IÂ wanted to do something similar with colored pencils. Â It’s quick and easy and you’ll be doing it in no time!
Creating gradient in lettering with colored pencils – just a few quick steps! // http://www.prettyprintsandpaper.com
First, choose your colors. This actually takes me the longest – but choose 3-5 colors that are really close to each other. Â I am a huge blue and purple fan, but I’ve also done reds, oranges, and yellows.
When you write out your phrase in script with your lightest color, make it a wider than usual so you have room for thicker downstrokes (aka, more color!).
Blending colored pencils gives lettering a beautiful gradient look // http://www.prettyprintsandpaper.com
Now, work your way to the darker shades of your palette. I like to do a little test patch on a scrap piece of paper to get a smooth coloring surface before I start shading to avoid that one really intense colored streak. Â Just start shading your letters, beginning from the bottom and reaching not quite to the top. Â It’ll be harder to notice until you get to the third color when the gradient becomes much more obvious.
Voila! Add a few finishing touches – at the end I added just a touch of black at the very bottoms of each letter and sharpened up the thin strokes with the lightest shade.
The key is to get your letter forms right – the shading is the easy part.
Have fun!
Jessica
6 Comments
Love it! So easy, but so visually effective.
Thank you Andi! 🙂 I hope you can use it in your own work!
Reblogged this on T~O~C TOWN.
You were right. I have to try it right now! *.*
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