Coloring for Grownups

[iweartanktops]

Here's how it's progressed. I'll hopefully post the finished product on the blog this evening. The tassel/bed part is a little fucky, but.... 

[Fascinated]

Love it!!

Crap!!!  Two word post!  Never thought I would do that. 

[Alisamer]

That looks really nice! I like the color combo, especially the little touches of yellow.

I have the Enchanted Garden book, and work on it in spurts. Every night for a while, then nothing at all for weeks. I'll get through it eventually, it is meant to be relaxing after all. I just got some gel pens but I think I'll use them only for accents (the glitter ones!). Other than that I use Prismacolor pencils, because they blend so well. I tend to color lots of gradients, and those work well for that. I wish I could have found mine from college illustration classes, I could only find a couple so I had to invest in a new set.

Last night I started drawing myself a coloring page. Drawing is NOT my best skill, but simple flowers I can do. Then I dripped a bit of water on it somehow, sadly. I'm still going to finish it and probably scan it to 'Shop out that smudge.

[PraiseDog]

I probably should have read this whole thread, but I'm just jumping in to ask advice.  I need some really good markers, or pencils, or whatever is the best.
I bought this coloring book of classic horse paintings, most of which I know and love, and I want to know what colors to get so I don't mess them up.
In general, when I draw I like fine points but smooth - mechanical pencils with softer leads.  Not sure if I should get markers, pencils, or just go with crayola and hope for the best... 
Any advice ?

[catlady]

others will offer better advice, but as a complete novice, I'd say go with pencils, but get a good brand; if not Crayola, then something from a craft or art store.  very cheap products are exactly that.  i prefer wood pencils, but the Crayola twistables are pretty good.  whether you use markers will depend on the paper quality of your book, to avoid bleed-through in particular.  if you have thicker paper, markers will be fine. 

[Alisamer]

I'd go with Prismacolor pencils - the softcolors, not the verithins, if they're in your budget. They blend well into gradients, and you can get a colorless "blender pencil" to blend them further, though I found that required heavier color on the paper than I liked. The colors are good and strong, and they're soft. They're professional-grade (I used to know a couple illustrators who used them regularly) which is nice. There may be other equally good brands, but I know and trust Prismacolor best myself. The smaller sets aren't prohibitively expensive, generally speaking (especially with one of those Michaels coupons they always have going), and you can get singles at art stores if you need a color you didn't get in the set.

Markers are good (assuming the paper's thick enough to avoid bleed-through) if you want solid colors without the bit of "tooth" from the paper that pencils leave showing, but you'll want good ones so you don't get obvious lines. Copics seem to be most common these days, Prismacolors are nice and what I used ages ago in my college art classes (it's been over 20 years and many of mine are still working, after being in storage over a decade).

I haven't yet tried it, but if the paper is REALLY good, you could try watercolor pencils, and then go over them carefully with a damp brush to get a more painterly look.

[PraiseDog]

Thanks so much to you both, 
@catlady and @Alisamer!  I don't have to worry too much about bleed-through, since each page of my new book is separate, with nothing on the reverse side, and decent paper.

I also graduated with a BFA  from art school in 1990, and still have some supplies left over - a few colors of oils and acrylics that haven't yet dried up, a few pencils - I was hoping some new magical color medium had since been developed in recent years, but it kind of makes me happy that the tried-and-true paints and pencils are still the best.
I think I might check out Prismacolor pencils with the blender - if I buy the small set, is it possible to mix colors?  And yeah, I'd rather have a bit of "tooth" than obvious marker lines.

If all else fails, I still have some watercolor pencils to try, after I dig them out from the back of the closet.  

[Alisamer]

I mostly did gradients instead of full-on mixing, but I bet you could probably mix colors well enough with the smaller set. I didn't get the biggest set, myself, and haven't found that I've wished for any colors it didn't have. Some people use the white pencil as a blender instead of the colorless one, which is a nice way of lightening up a color slightly too.

I'm really pretty happy right now - I just realized between coloring, crafting, trying drawing again and painting doll faces I've ended up getting nearly all the leftover art supplies from college back out! I knew I'd use that stuff again if I held on to it long enough.