I don’t do usually do a lot of shading when I color. Even though I love coloring in itty bitty spaces, there’s something about applying multiple layers of color to the same space that gets to be a bit much for me after a while.
Still, I do love the look of shading – so I’m giving it another try today with this picture from Cool. Instead of going too overboard and trying to get fancy with my shading, I’m taking a simpler approach – just edging the shape with a dark application of color and using the same pencil to lightly color the center area.
It’s really not all that different than unshaded coloring. I often color around the edges of a shape first anyway. That’s the way I learned to color as a child – coloring around the edges first made it easier to stay inside the lines.
The main thing that makes shading more approachable for me is to not go into the picture with a commitment to shade every single little shape. It’s perfectly OK if I shade a spot here and there and do the rest of the drawing with a basic “fill in the shape” solid color application.
Once the pressure of the big expectations is set aside, shading is a whole lot more enjoyable to me. I’m always happiest when I’m fully in the coloring moment – not thinking ahead to how a picture might or should develop. And of course, that means not starting to wonder what anyone else may think if I decide to shade some and solid color some.
The joy of coloring comes from being content in your own unique coloring moments as you follow your own coloring path. It’s so important to be able to express your creativity freely, and I think it’s a valuable form of self care and self respect to learn to treasure your own artistry.
Today’s coloring is from Cool (Angie’s Extreme Coloring Books – Volume Two) colored with Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils.