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I know this has been discussed before but don't know how far back it would be. I've tried this with the little dabbers, stipple brush and sea sponge type sponge but can't seem to get it right. Can someone help me with this or is there a tutorial somewhere that I can go to?
I go around the image with the SU Bashful Blue marker. I use it with any type of coloring technique. It seems to make the image pop without overwhelming it.
I am interested in all the responses to this question. It does not matter what technique I use I am never happy with my shading/shadowing/sponging. It always looks like a 4 yr old did it even when I do exactly what is done in video tutorials.
It actually takes practice. I was in the same boat with you and I was using a regular make-up sponge wedges. I didn't get the soft look that I want until I tried using sponge daubers and spread the ink in a circular motion. The motion itself can affect the end-result of the sponging and you need to be as light as possible and not pressing too hard against the paper. these are some of my cards with sponging technique:
The larger ones are maybe a little larger than the size of a U.S quarter. I have two of them and when I use those I do a so-so job. I have several of the small ones and I just cannot get a smooth look. Drives me nuts.
I know this has been discussed before but don't know how far back it would be. I've tried this with the little dabbers, stipple brush and sea sponge type sponge but can't seem to get it right. Can someone help me with this or is there a tutorial somewhere that I can go to?
My favorite way to do it is with the SU daubers. It's very important to use just a little bit of ink though. What I do is pat it onto the inkpad, swirl off most of the ink onto scrap paper, then very lightly & gently start swirling onto the paper. The less ink you have on the dauber, the softer the shading. It's better to go back several times do deepen the color than to apply too much color right away.
The large sponge dauber works much better for me in producing a more subtle, soft shading. Theresa Momber is fantastic with this, and here's one of many gorgeous examples on her blog. Scroll down for her step by step:
I seem to be dauber challenged. No matter how I try I can't seem to stop from leaving a circle outline of the the stupid dauber! Also it always seems to have a visual texture look of some kind that I don't care for. Sooooo frustrating. I seem to be better with the shading when using water colors but then that limits me to watercolor paper which is a little more expensive to use exclusivly. I have been going through alot of the previous titled post and I think on page 8 or nine there is one on shading that was very informative. I don't know that I will do any better but what I read was good. I think I read Paula Tracey uses gamasol and prisma colored pencils. There are also some good links given that give step by step instructions.
Good luck to all.....I'm still in preschool on this one. lol.
I used to struggle, too. Then I found this great tutorial on SCS. I like to use SU! Soft Sky in-color for subtle shading. I also use Cut-n-Dry Brush Tip Pen Nibs by Ranger with the in-colors that don't have coordinating markers.
Gentle shading around main image
