Colour Before You Draw

About

You Will Need (3 things)

Steps (2 steps, 15 minutes)

1. 1

   If the blank white page feels intimidating, one exercise that can help is to add colour first.
   As you apply the colour, it will help dictate the mood of the sketch. This is also a really good
   loosening-up exercise, and some experienced sketchers use it to excellent effect.

2. 2

   Happy colour, happy sketch!
   For this sketch of a courtyard area at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry (below), Adelina Pintea applied the colour first. She splashed on big splodges of red paint, some blue in the approximate location of the sky, and some yellow highlights. This gave her a textured backdrop for her sketch, and made her less precise when drawing. It gives the finished sketch an upbeat, quirky feel. You can tell that Adelina is an accomplished children’s book illustrator, with such interesting and fun touches as the birds flying overhead and the details of pebbles and railings. What I like so much about this is that it really tells the story of its location, and in such a happy way.