A color test is a sampler platter for an illustration. Sometimes, that extra bit of prep you do in the beginning can turn a piece of art into an unforgettable experience.
Let’s pretend I’m planning a magnificent dinner party for all of you. It’s my responsibility to taste test all the food before serving it to you, especially the cakes.
Color Testing Tips
No drawing allowed. This is the only time I’ll ever make that rule. This is about how the colors look and layer together. As you can see from my color tests, I’m a rule breaker.
Work small. It will save you loads of time and paper. I can usually fit four color tests on the top half of a page of printer paper.
Don’t overthink materials. Dry materials are perfect, even if you plan to use paint at a later stage.
It’s a great idea to color test when:
you’re stuck.
working on a book project or series of illustrations.
you’ve sketched your artwork and aren’t sure what you want to do next.
you simply want to have some fun with materials before coloring an illustration!
Prompt:
Create a set of color tests and share them in the chat!
In the video:
I share my color tests using this set of Kuretake watercolors (shoutout to
for that magical discovery), along with some of my struggles as I navigate this series of Gone Wild Fairy Tales illustrations!Want personal feedback on using color in your art?
I can only accommodate THREE more artists right now. I hope to increase this soon and eventually add in a quarterly color-centric session so lots of us can mix and play together!
