Drawing Succulents with 12 Coloured Pencils: A Beginner's Guide | Ana Pérez Rico | Skillshare
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Drawing Succulents with 12 Coloured Pencils: A Beginner's Guide

teacher avatar Ana Pérez Rico, Illustrator & Surface Designer

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Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Watch this class and thousands more

Get unlimited access to every class
Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Lessons in This Class

    • 1.

      Introduction

      3:15

    • 2.

      Class Project

      2:02

    • 3.

      Our Materials

      3:53

    • 4.

      Learning About Succulents

      8:46

    • 5.

      Learning To Draw Succulents

      4:39

    • 6.

      Choosing The Right Color

      9:36

    • 7.

      Getting To Know Your Set Better

      6:53

    • 8.

      Blending Color Gradients

      11:25

    • 9.

      Succulents and 12 Colored Pencils

      14:48

    • 10.

      Tips And Final Thoughts

      1:22

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About This Class

When using coloured pencils do you struggle with “choosing the right colour ” ? Do you believe you need a large collection of colours to make a piece look good? Have you had issues blending your colours to look good?

Join illustrator and visual artist, Ana Pérez Rico, as she guides you through drawing  succulents with just 12 coloured pencils. In this class, Drawing Succulents with 12 Coloured Pencils: A Beginner’s Guide, by using simple drawing tips and blending techniques, you will learn how to take full advantage of a small set of coloured pencils to create a unique piece of art.

In this class you will learn:

  • What succulents are and what they look like
  • How to draw succulents
  • How to choose the right colour even when working with a limited palette
  • How to create your own gradient exercises
  • How to blend colours to create unique combinations

This class is for beginners in coloured pencils but students of every level are welcome.I created this class thinking back to my beginner’s days, when I thought I had to have a large collection of pencils in order to create great artwork. If only I knew how to blend my available colours, I wouldn't have been frustrated when I didn't have a specific color of green for a tree or a particular pinks for flowers.

 

If you are an absolute beginner in coloured pencils I invite you to check out my previous class Simple Floral Beauties in Coloured PencilIn that class you will learn what coloured pencils are, how to hold your pencil when drawing and how to choose from different types and brands of coloured pencils and much more.

 

Meet Your Teacher

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Ana Pérez Rico

Illustrator & Surface Designer

Teacher


Hi I'm Ana Pérez Rico. I am a Mexican Illustrator and Surface Designer. At a very young age I was enrolled in art classes and throughout the years I have experimented with different mediums and techniques.

Today I mainly work in watercolours and coloured pencils.  I love working with bright colours and I find most of my inspiration in nature. 

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Level: All Levels

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Transcripts

1. Introduction: [MUSIC] Colored pencils are not always considered a serious medium in art school. They are thought of as a tool for sketching or for keeping kids entertained. Most of us have used them during our younger years or for coloring books. In recent years, we've been getting a closer look as part as our experimenting with them and showing the spectacular results they can achieve. Hi, I'm Ana Perez Rico, Illustrator and visual artist. I mainly work in colored pencils and watercolors. Animals, nature and color are always present in my work. I started studying art at a very young age, and I have experimented with many different mediums throughout the years. In 2011, I moved to Newfoundland in Canada to study textile and apparel design. During those years in school, I played around with different materials and dies. As part of my graduation collection, I created three large pieces, completely done in colored pencils. I was very satisfied with how my work was received. Since then, I've kept creating work for private customers and have been sharing some of my designs on society 6. In this class, you will learn how to take full advantage of a simple set of 12 colored pencils to create a wonderful kind succulent. First, we will go through the materials you will need. Then we will research succulent to better understand what they are and what they look like. We will talk about how to choose a reference image and I will guide you through the basics of color theory. We will also go over some useful exercises to see how to better blend and mix colored pencils. Throughout the class, I will be sharing tips and tricks that I have learned throughout the years of working in colored pencils. Lastly, we will be applying our new knowledge and skills to create together a unique succulent in colored pencils. This class is aimed at those who are curious about colored pencils, especially those at a beginner stage. Those of you who have a little bit more experience are also welcome. I am beyond excited that you've joined this class. I'm always available for any doubts, questions, or comments you may have. In the next lesson, I will be talking about our class project. See you then. 2. Class Project: [MUSIC] In this lesson, we will learn all about our class project. Succulents have become quite popular due to their low maintenance. They come in all sorts and shapes and colors. We've mentioned them incredibly diverse and are great source of inspiration for painting or drawing. I love succulent, [LAUGHTER] but I have to admit, I don't have a green thumb. I've had several of them, and sadly, they haven't survived. This is why I started creating my own in colored pencil. For this class project, you will be creating an image of a succulent on paper using a set of 12 colored pencils. In the class resources you will find different inspirational images that are free to use and a few templates of succulents. The templates will make the process easier for those of you who have a harder time drawing, or for those who just want to focus on the colored pencil techniques. If you happen to have any succulents at home, feel free to use them as inspiration. Drawing from real life is always best. I would love for you to share your exercise and projects with me in the class projects section. We can all share what we have learned and ask questions. It is incredible to see how we can all create unique images from simple materials. I'm fully aware then painting with colored pencils is a slow medium. Take your time and be patient, sharing your progress and asking questions along the way. There's no silly question. In the next lesson, we will learn all about the materials we will need for this class. See you then. 3. Our Materials: [MUSIC] All art materials have unique characteristics that artists and hobbyists fall in love with them. In the case of colored pencils, I love them because they're so easy to transport. They are lightweight and do not take too much space. Since it's a dry medium, the pigment is encased in a wooden pencil, so we don't have to worry about spilling or staining. The highest risk while working or transporting colored pencils is when the tip breaks. But having a good sharpener and good-quality pencils will take care of that. [MUSIC] During my morning sketching sessions, all I carry with me is my sketchbook, my coloring pencils, a sharpener, and my coffee. Believe it or not, the coffee is essential to the creativity process. I can place the sketchbook on my lap or in any hard surface, and I'm ready to go. Now, for this class, you will need a set of at least 12 colored pencils, a regular pencil, an eraser, a sketchbook, or drawing paper. Now, for specific brands, you can choose whatever you feel comfortable with. I choose an HB pencil or an H pencil because they make fine marks. For erasers, I sometimes use the Tombow Mono Zero or just a soft white eraser. You can cut the edges of your eraser to make them into a fine or a sharp point. For sketchbooks, I use moleskin because I like that it has an off-white color and it has a good heavy paper that allows me to layer my pencil. When I'm using a more sturdy finished look for a final piece, I like to use Bristol board. My favorite one at this moment is the velum. That it has a weight of £96. This paper is thick, but it has a little bit of smoothness, is a little bit of texture. I would advise you to choose whatever paper you feel more comfortable with. I like to layer my work a lot, and so heavy paper is important for this. Another vital tool for this class is a sharpener. A good sharpener is key to keeping a fine point on our pencils. Here I'm using two options. The first one is my portable sharpener, and the second one is the electric one, which I keep in my studio all the time. Since we're going to be painting succulent, we will need some reference images, or if you have to own a succulent, that is perfect. Painting from real life is always great. For those of you who don't have succulents around, don't worry. I will be providing you with some reference images and also with some already made sketches for you to print and trace. [MUSIC] In the next lesson, we will be learning about what succulents are and what they look like. You might be surprised what is considered a succulent. See you then. 4. Learning About Succulents: [MUSIC] In this lesson, we will learn what succulents are and what they look like. This is not a botany class, this will just be a quick and gentle guide to get us more familiarized with our subject so we can portray better in our final project. [MUSIC] Succulents are colloquially called fat plants because they have thick and fleshy stems or leaves. This is because they store water in them. They grow in harsh environments and are usually places that are very hot and dry. They have very thick skins and they have developed them to prevent them from losing water during evaporation. To further protect them from these harsh environments, some succulents have a dusty off-white look, and this dust is called farina, and it's a waxy film to protect them further from the sunlight. [MUSIC] Now, there are hundreds of different types of varieties of succulents and every day there are new hybrids being created. But the goal for this lesson is not to identify exactly what type of succulent we are noticing, but more about what the details are in it to portray it better. Like in what pattern is it growing? Is it close to the ground? Does it have farina? Does it have a woody stem? Does it have other little succulents growing around it? Do the leaves, are they very straight and smooth? Do they have different colors in them as they grow out? Do the leaves have little hairs in them? All of these details are very important for us to understand better what we're looking at and how to draw what we're looking at to give it a realistic looking shape, but then we can have fun when we're going into the color section. Here we have one of the very few plants that have survived my non green thumb. This is an aloe and I'm very proud of it, because it has survived. I'm here showing you how the leaves are growing on the sides, how it has a thicker stem, and I want you to see the little details of how it has very tiny spikes and on the tips and on the edges of the leaves, and those little white spots. This one over here, these other four beautiful plants, they're just little fake little plastic plants. This one is growing in a rosette pattern and the leaves are very nice and round. This one over here is also growing in a rosette pattern, but the leaves have more like a spoon like shape and the tips have a little bit of a point at the end. Going back to this one, is completely round also in a rosette pattern. This one over here, I think it's trying to replicate an agave plant that grows similar to the aloe, but it grows round and it has spines at the end. This one over here, it's growing from a nice stem and it's going up. The leaves look a little bit more cylindrical, and they're growing in different directions. You may be thinking at this point, Anna, what's up with cacti? What's the deal with them? What about them? Are they succulent or are they not? Well, my friends turns out that cacti are succulents. They are actually a type of succulent. That means that all cacti are succulents, but not all succulent are cacti. Most cacti are just stems, they're fleshy stems, and they look very plump. Most of them have spines and most of them are green, but they're not necessarily have to be either green or have to have spines in order to be cacti. This example in the first image we can see on the left there is this small cacti with a very large spine. They almost look like hairs. The one in the middle has smaller ones growing all around it as well, and this type of cacti actually has flowers in them. Cacti also they come in different shapes. Some of them might be long, some of them are flat, and some of them have segments around them. This example on the right also has segments and on each segment there are larger spines that look almost like stars. This example over here is what traditionally in Mexico we call nopales. These are flat cacti and they are growing on top of each other. These like ear pattern like shapes of stem, and their spines are super tiny. You can see them here in this example. They look like almost yellow-orange, and these also bloom. They have flowers and in Mexico we eat these and we eat the fruit and also the stem. Oh my God, they're so delicious. Remember, cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. This example over here is an agave plant. Agaves are also succulents and when agaves are young, they look quite similar to aloe, because of the shapes of their leaves. But as they grow older, agaves grow way larger than aloes. This image right here, it's actually of agaves that I took one of my trips to Mexico back home, and these agaves were as tall as people. The main difference other than the size of adult plants from agave from aloe is that agaves have sharp and thick spines along the leaf and on the top of the tip. Also agaves leaves when mature are very sturdy and thick. This plant over here is not a succulent. Don't be fooled. This gorgeous plant over here is a Joshua tree. Even though Joshua trees grow in similar environments or the same environment as some succulents, it is not a succulent. We're going to be looking at succulents that grow more into a rosette pattern. What does that mean? It means that they grow into the general shape like a rose. It starts like a little bud and it keeps growing out bigger and bigger around. Most of these, you might think that look pretty similar. Yeah, the main difference might be like Anna, they're all different colors. That might be the main difference but look at all of them. They're growing in the same rosette shape but, when we start paying attention to the shape of their leaves, that's where the differences start to be more noticeable. Most of them, most of these examples their leaves have spoon like shapes, but they vary in thickness. Paying attention to all of these details is going to be essential to when we're going to start drawing our succulent, and that is actually the subject of our next lesson. Join me then to learn how to be drawing succulents. 5. Learning To Draw Succulents: [MUSIC] In our past lesson, we learned what succulents are and what they look like. In this lesson, we will learn how to draw them. But before we start that process, I have a few recommendations for all of you to have in mind. First, since color pencil is a slower medium, creating a large final piece may take longer than other mediums. I would suggest to start creating smaller pieces, such as a four by six inches, five by seven, or six by eight. I suggest these sizes because these are some of the standard dimensions that frames are available in. I personally like creating my work in five by seven inches. This way, once you're done with your final project, you can easily frame it and show it off to friends and family. Also, don't forget to take some pictures of it to share your project in the art gallery with us. I love it when students share their artwork. If you would like to also share your exercises and pictures of your progress, especially if you have any doubts or questions. Images and video make it easier for me to help you out. Second, when choosing a reference image, choose one that has a high quality so you can zoom in to view all the details. I have provided you with several of them in the class resources. All the images you can find there have been shared for free and are done with the permission of the photographers. Third, you will have your subject in front of you so you can move it around and see it from all the angles and the details in close proximity. But taking pictures of your succulent is a good idea as well as good practice because this way [NOISE] there will be no variations on your light source if you do take more than one sitting session to complete your project. Now, let's get to our drawing lesson. Take a close look at your reference image or at the succulent that you have in front of you. Pay attention to its leaves or stems in case you have a cactus and their shape. Observation is key to learning how to draw. Now, if drawing has been difficult for you in the past, I have a secret exercise for you. This exercise is great for beginners as well for those with more experience drawing. Are you ready to know the secret? Just trace it. Tracing does not make you lazy or a cheater. Using tracing as a tool with a clear and specific purpose can help you truly understand how an object is actually composed. Tracing has helped me understand intricate images in the past. I suggest you trace the same image at least three times and then draw it freehand. You will be surprised how much easier it is for now. There are several ways to trace an image. Here are two ways of how you can do it. First, you can take a piece of tracing paper and place it on top of your reference image and start drawing. The second way to do it is that you can start drawing directly on top of your reference image. If at the moment you just want to get into the color pencil experience directly, I have created three line drawings that you can use for your final project. These images are roughly five by seven inches. As I told you, that is my preferred size. All you have to do is the image or images and cover the back part with pencil. Then turn it over and place it on top of the paper that you're using for your final project and trace on top of it. The graphite will transfer directly to your paper. This transfer exercise also counts as tracing so you are still exercising some of your drawing skills. In the next lesson, we will learn about how to choose the right color. See you then. 6. Choosing The Right Color: [MUSIC] In our last lesson, we learned how to choose a good reference image and a few tricks for drawing succulents. We are now ready to start learning about how to choose the right color. This is just going to be a very light introduction to color theory, it's not supposed to be a very extensive explanation. Color pencils allow us to have a great amount of precision and realism when laying down a pigment. Many beginners feel like they need to buy huge sets of pencils to be able to create great work. I used to believe this too. I thought I needed an exact hue of green to make tropical leaves look realistic and a different color pencil for underwater plants. When I was about nine years old, my mom bought me my first large set. I was beyond excited with it, but then I was frozen when I saw the huge variety of colors. There were so many of them, and I was afraid I would use the wrong color. In our journey to understand using the right color, let's begin with color theory. Primary colors are those that cannot be achieved by mixing any others, and those are yellow, red, and blue. Secondary colors occur when mixing two primaries, orange, green, and violet. Orange comes from yellow and red, green is from yellow and blue, and violet is from red and blue. Tertiary colors are those we get when mixing a primary and a secondary. We get yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, and yellow-green. Tints are when we mix a color with white. All pastel colors are tints. When we're talking about shades, those occur when we have a color mixed with black, and tones are when a color is mixed with gray. Now, talking about color harmonies, these are ensembles of color that look well next to each other. I will only talk about two here , analogous and complementary. Analogous colors are those adjacent to each other in the color wheel. It can be two colors or up to five of them. They are great for creating gradients. Complementary colors are directly across each other in the color wheel, such as green and red, blue and orange, and yellow and violet. When we use these colors next to each other, they create great contrast and draw attention if there's an object around with those colors. But when we layer them together on the paper, we can create great shadows instead of just using plain black. A limited palette, such as the one offered in sets of 12, can be a challenge when trying to achieve or recreate the right color. This is because the colors available in those sets are so saturated that they can make our look cartoonish. Studying color theory and practicing layering exercises will help us understand color better to achieve a more realistic look. When looking at reference images and getting ready to do our exercises, I like to tell students to pay attention to the value of the image rather than the colors used in it. When we focus on values in our subject instead of color, we can do whatever we please. Focusing our attention to value over color can help us create artwork to look unique and not just like a realistic reproduction of an image. What does value mean? The value of an image or an object, it's how much light or darkness there is in it. Value can be understood more clearly in black and white images. Black and white images are more interesting when there is a high contrast between light and dark areas. That is when there is a noticeable difference. If an image has a lot of mid-gray areas, everything looks the same and there are no interesting points. But when we have areas that are truly darker or lighter, our eye plays around the whole composition and we understand when something is closer to the viewer. Using the principles of contrast and value will help us choose our colors better, and color theory will help us understand how to layer our pencils so that there won't be a need to have a huge collection. Now, I have to admit I do own, by now, a huge collection, and I love them. I love all my pencils. But working with a smaller palette has helped me understand color pencils better, and I think it will make you understand color pencils better because it will force us to create our own color combinations, and it will result in creating more interesting look, on top of not having to invest a large amount of money. When we think about choosing "the right color," I want you to think more about the right value. Is the area we're working on illuminated? Is it darker or lighter than the surrounding areas? To help me keep my mind focused on values when working on a project, I like to organize my pencils by value, from the darkest one to the lightest. Some colors might change order depending on the project, but when I'm using my set of 12, this is how my colors usually look like. I also like to print my reference image in black and white. This makes the values really clear to me. How do we know which colors can be considered high value or low value? Well, depending on how much light or darkness there is in an image, as well as the colors that we want to use, depending on the mood that we want to portray in the project. For example, when we're talking about our primary colors, yellow is always the lightest one, followed by red and then blue. If we're creating an image with a lot of greens, which is usually the case for succulents, green is a secondary color. It is created by having yellow and blue. If we use more yellow in our green, we're going to get more of a lime look, and this makes our object look really bright. But if we use a lot of green in it, it's going to make it look blue-green or teal, and the feeling is different. Our set of 12 is very saturated in color, so there's not a lot of nuance in them. For example, our red, our blue, and our green in this set is very intense. If we want a color that looks like more light is hitting our subject, if we add more yellow to that mix, the image will look very, very bright, but not necessarily lighter. If we want to make it look like a pastel, which is what happens with several succulents because of the farina that's on them, we can achieve this look by adding several layers of white pencil before adding any other color, and then very slowly with very little pressure adding color to it and then adding a little bit more yellow. Slowly furthering in our work, we can slowly add a little bit more color into the more areas that are a little bit farther from the light. This has been a very brief explanation about color theory and the relations of color. If you would like to learn more about color theory, I highly suggest you check my friend, Ana Maria MJ's class, understanding color theory with watercolor, wash, color pencils, and oil. This class is also available on Skillshare. Ana Maria does a wonderful job in a deep dive in all matters of color theory. In our next lesson, we'll be talking more about color. Specifically, we will learn more about our set of 12 and what we can achieve with it. See you then. 7. Getting To Know Your Set Better: [MUSIC] In our past lesson, we learned what it means to choose the right color. We learned a little bit about color theory, value, and contrast. In this lesson, we'll be focusing on our set of 12 pencils. There is an incredible amount of different colored pencil brands that offer different grades for their pencils. Most of them offer sets of 12 as their smallest set. The set of 12 of polychrome Faber-Castell is my favorite one to work with when I'm using a limited palette. These pencils are professional grade so they are made with the highest quality. They may be pricier than suited great brands, but it's worth every penny. The quality of the wood in the pencil is very high, as well as the pigments. These pencils will hardly ever break when you're sharpening them. The core of the pencil has high-quality pigments, which makes them light fast and their binder has less filler in them. One does not have to apply high pressure to achieve a smooth enrich color. Most set of 12s include primary colors, that is red, yellow, and blue, then our secondary colors, green, orange, and violet. They also include black and white. Other colors included maybe a light blue or light green, and a couple of browns. Colors included in a set vary from brand to brand. As I mentioned in the previous lesson, I like organizing my pencils by value. Most of the time, I have my darkest ones on the left, in my lightest ones on the right. If we follow that order, my set looks like this. Black, brown, magenta, red, orange, ocher, yellow, light green, green, blue, light ultramarine, and white. We have our three primary colors in this set, and two of our secondary colors, green and orange. But we do not have a violet pencil. But there is a magenta that actually looks more like a tertiary color, which would be red violet. So if we wanted to recreate violin, we would just have to layer our magenta with some blue and eventually mix in different layers and recreate violet. We will be creating gradient exercises in our next lesson. So don't worry if you're unsure on how to do this. Our light green is actually not like a pastel green. It's more like a yellow green, which is a tertiary color. Our light ultramarine is actually a tint. So that is a pastel. This color is created by ultramarine blue and white. So the thing with colored pencils is that sometimes our pencils are already mixed in. Instead of like in other mediums, we mix our colors on the palette before we apply it. On the surface, are colored pencils. Most of them already come really combined other shades. So we sometimes have to know a little bit about color theory in order to understand what's behind the pencil there were grabbing, other than looking at our pencils available in our set, the best way to get to know our set is to use it. Getting a feel on how the colors interact with their paper and how the colors actually look when applied on the surface is the first step. If you happen to be using color, tone, or colored paper, the way that our pencils look will vary. This is why I suggest beginners stick with white paper. I would like to invite you to create a chart of your own set. It doesn't have to be a big chart, just small squares showing how the color is applied on the paper. Keep your chart handy in order for you to use as a reference in the future. In my case, I wanted my chart to show the most saturated version of my pencils because I wanted to see how vibrant they look when fully applied. In the next lesson on gradients, I will show you how this same set can create a more varied look. When filling in your chart or wherever you're applying your color pencil don't forget to start with light pressure and build up your layers to filling your color. If we start applying pressure too hard, we can flatten the tooth of the paper or even damage our pencils. If we flattened the tooth is the texture in our paper. We won't be able to add many more layers, and this will limit the way we can work on our subject. As a bonus, I wanted to show you here how we can damage paper when using the eraser too harshly. If we apply too much pressure with our eraser, we can lift some of the fibers in the paper, as well as damaging the two. If you are using a smaller eraser like I'm using here, the Mono Zero makes sure you don't put too much pressure so that you're using part of the metallic part. Because this can inadvertently indents your paper and make unwanted marks that will show up once you apply color again, indentation can be great. When applied with intention. The proper way to use your eraser is to lightly lift the color and make sure the surface of your eraser gets cleaned before pushing again on the paper. Otherwise, you might get some color streak or smudges. In our next lesson, we will be learning how to transform our 12 colored pencils into a huge variety of gradients. So many unique colors will emerge. See you then. 8. Blending Color Gradients: [MUSIC] In our last lesson, we learned more about a color set and the pencils that come in it. I showed you how to create a color chart to have as a reference for future projects and I showed you as well common mistakes that we can make when using our eraser on colored pencils. In this lesson, we will learn how to practice different color gradients. Creating color gradients is a great exercise to practice the transition between colors and values before we do our final project. I used to get very excited and work directly on my final subject before figuring out how I wanted my final piece to look. Sometimes it worked out well as I was learning during the process, but other parts, other times, my subject didn't look so good. Parts of it looked a little bit odd. So I had to learn from my past mistakes and now I create different gradients before working on my final piece. Other art mediums can mix their colors on a palette before applying it on the surface, but with colored pencil the mixing of the color occurs on the surface as we work. Layering allows us to create new, richer colors others than the ones provided in our set. We can get olive greens and burnt oranges with our set of 12, it just takes a little bit of practice. What is the secret to achieving those colors? Well, complimentary colors and layering. Olive green is just the version of desaturated green. It may have been mixed with some red or orange, so experimenting and practicing go along way. Using complimentary colors on top of each other creates a more natural shadow than just using black. If I need to darken my values I might add browns or a little bit of black, but only in the darkest areas of the composition and I only do this at the very end when my composition is done. How do we create our gradients? Let's start with small areas. It is less overwhelming to learn a new skill when starting small and slow. I'm going to use the same sheet that I was using in our previous lesson. I'm going to create gradients to show you the versatility of our sets, and I will guide you closely to create your own gradients. As I mentioned, let's start with a small shape. It can be circles, squares or rectangles. Whatever you feel more comfortable with. I'm using rectangles here, and they are about an inch high and an inch and a quarter long. We will start working with gradients with two colors, and then we'll work on more complex ones. The first one that we're going to create is going to be yellow and red to create a variety of orange within that space. When we start thinking about gradients and as I mentioned before, let's think about values. We're always going to start layering down a lighter or brighter value and then slowly darken the area. It is always easier to start light and darken later. In this case, our yellow is our lighter value then red. Start applying your yellow pencil very lightly. Passing a bit over the middle of the square or the rectangle, apply your color in different directions and lay down at least 3-4 layers. Then slowly start applying the red very lightly, and because red is darker than yellow, maybe apply just a layer or two. Then we're going to go back, and later we're going to apply more yellow on top. Later after that, we're going to apply a little bit more red. This is the way that we're going to start working. It's going to be different, let's call it cycles of the two colors, so we slowly gradually start creating more about that orange area. With each new cycle we're going to start moving more towards the right so that we're going to end up having more red on one side and more yellow on the other with a wide variety of oranges in the middle. This is where the magic of the gradient happens. Now, let's give this a try between red and magenta. Red now is going to be our lighter value, so we're going to repeat the same steps as before between now, the red and the magenta. [MUSIC] Remember to be kind to yourself. Learning a new skill takes practice and experimentation; trial and error. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. Don't be discouraged if your first gradient looks a little bit patchy or odd, try again maybe with a different set of colors to refresh your view. If at any moment you have questions, post them in the forum and I will be happy to help. I think we are now ready to try three colors. I'm going to make a little bit of a longer rectangle to fit all three colors. I'm going to be working with yellow, red, and green. I'm going to use the green to demonstrate how to use a complimentary color to darken our red. Some of you may choose to create a succulent with [inaudible] so I'm going to show you two examples on how to get pastel colors. In the first example, I'm just going to create a new gradient directly next to the one we just made. I'm going to add a little bit of yellow as a transition color, but then I'm going to apply white to the rest of the area because we always start with the lightest value. This pastel gradient is going to be with yellow, red, and green, as well as with white, so it's just going to be like the pastel version of the gradient that we made on our left. A few tips; if we apply a lot of color and then just the complimentary on top, we're going to get a very harsh, deep color. This may be the look that you want, but if you want a softer look apply a few layers of your first color and then apply the complimentary one. Then go back to your first color and apply the complimentary color, similar to the exercise we did between the yellow and the red. When we're transitioning from one color to another, it helps to look in the color wheel to see how far from each other they are and which colors next to each other we can use in-between to start making that transition. Another tip to keep in mind, even though our set comes with two greens it doesn't mean that we can create our own. I have two clips here to show you how we can make our own green. The first one is between yellow and light ultramarine, and the second one is made with yellow and blue. With these two greens, I'm going to make different layers of other colors mixed in to slowly create a more complex gradient, and you can see all the little colors that are shown in between to slowly build it up. In both videos, I use the same technique. First, I apply my lighter colors, then my secondary color, and then I keep applying complimentary colors. Some students have discovered they love doing gradients. They began doing them during my first class and now they can't stop. Many have mentioned, they find it very calming and they can play around and just experiment. This is one of the magical aspects about color pencils. The calmness of slowly building up color creates a very peaceful environment and sensation. I love working on gradients while I listen to podcasts or having some tea or coffee. Before we head into our next lesson, I will show you different examples of gradients in different types of succulent leaves. I hope you find this as soothing as I do. [MUSIC] Now, we have all the skills to work on our next class project. See you then. 9. Succulents and 12 Colored Pencils: [MUSIC] In our last lesson, we learned how to create color gradients. We are now ready to work on our final project. I have here my traced image, my reference image in black and white, a little gradient with the colors I want to use, of course, our colored pencils, and a couple of pencil resters so I can put the pencils that I use the most here. Before we start, let's set up the mood. Play some music or a podcast that you like. Light a candle and relax. Embrace the process. Whatever type of succulent you have chosen, I would suggest you work in a small area at a time in order not to get overwhelmed. I have chosen a succulent with a rosette pattern and I will be working on each individual leaf starting from the center outward. Each leaf will be treated as its own gradient, which makes it easier when I choose colors and when I blend them. I also have my reference image in black and white handy so I can look at the values constantly. [MUSIC] I'm applying light layers of color, starting with my light cobalt in blue. Later, adding a bit of white to the areas that are closer to the edges. Some ocher to start creating a desaturated green and then I add my green pencil to later go back to the light cobalt and then white. Do in gradient exercises beforehand will help you understand better how your color will blend and combine on your paper. But don't stress if what you had in mind looks different than what is happening on the paper. Enjoy what's happening. You may discover a new look that you hadn't considered before. [MUSIC] I use my magenta and red pencils from time to time to darken certain areas. Also, don't be afraid to use a little bit of orange on that green. [MUSIC] Handy tip. Place a small piece of paper onto your hand so you can rest it without smudging the areas that you have already worked on. [MUSIC] Another handy tip. Keep in mind that you need to keep your pencil sharpened as you work so you can achieve finer details and more layers. [MUSIC] The areas that have more light in my image reference, I'm leaving them completely uncolored at the moment. I will work on those after I have my leaves completely done so I can accurately figure out the right value as it relates to the surrounding area. [MUSIC] At this point, we have our first cycle of color on everything. I am now going to start checking if the values are correct. I can see this value has to be darker than this, so I'm going to darken it maybe a little bit over here. I'm just going to go back and check all of those details that everything is as dark as you want it, and later I'm going to tackle the highlights on these parts. [MUSIC] I've decided to work on the background before I do the highlights so I can get a better feeling of the whole piece once the most color saturated areas are completely done. [MUSIC] We are now done with our final piece. In the next lesson, I will do a general summary of everything we've learned and I will share with you a few tips and tricks. See you then. 10. Tips And Final Thoughts: [MUSIC] As we use our pencils, more and more, we sharpen them and they start to get smaller and smaller. Holding a smaller pencil can become difficult, so getting a pencil extender is a great way to keep using your pencils until you can no longer sharpen them. [MUSIC] Congratulations on completing your class project. I hope you've enjoyed this class as much as I have. I hope you've discovered a new love for succulents and for colored pencils. Feel free to share your work below in the project section and on social media. You can find me on Instagram at Ana dot PerezRico. Sharing your project helps other students get inspired and discover new possibilities. Keep playing, keep exploring and I hope to see you in my next class.