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Challenging yourself and making mistakes is one of the best ways to improve and learn in your life - not just in colouring, but in you as a person, however, I often see people who are ready to give up on learning new things, or don't even start, when they are worried it will be challenging. When things are difficult, it can feel easy to give up and move on to something else, however we don't see how much that sets us back, knocking both our self confidence and ability to succeed. I wanted to share an article called "The Importance of Challenging Yourself" as they explain why it's important to have and embrace challenges in your life. Take a read:
"Challenging ourselves to always achieve a level greater than what we expect is beneficial to not only our mental health, but also to our personal well being. As we conquer challenges that stand in our way like roadblocks, refusing to allow our passing, we find confidence in our abilities. Confidence is such an important characteristic to finding the path to success. With confidence in your own work, comes the reward of the confidence of others in you. Boosting that confidence is the growing self-esteem, which results from tackling challenges."
"Challenging ourselves to always achieve a level greater than what we expect is beneficial to not only our mental health, but also to our personal well being. As we conquer challenges that stand in our way like roadblocks, refusing to allow our passing, we find confidence in our abilities. Confidence is such an important characteristic to finding the path to success. With confidence in your own work, comes the reward of the confidence of others in you. Boosting that confidence is the growing self-esteem, which results from tackling challenges."
"When we find ourselves stuck between a rock and a hard place, the worst choice to make is to quit. Giving up on any given task because of the difficulties that fall before you means giving up on yourself. When you give up on yourself, you lose faith in your skills and knowledge, which consequently leads to a lower self-esteem. If you continue to battle through life’s hardships, determine solutions to problems and focus on putting those solutions into effect, you will find satisfaction in your efforts. It is so important to maintain a high level of self-esteem, believe in yourself and continue to challenge yourself in order to build upon your knowledge in all that you do. Next time you are faced with a challenge, face it. Challenge yourself, and prove that you are capable of achieving anything."
I hope this might inspire some of you this week to strive to be challenged and make mistakes, and not just take the easy route...because each and every time you do you will grow not just in your colouring but in you as a person aswell 
<3
**If you are ready to be gently challenged to take the next step with your colouring, check out our classes at www.kitandclowder.com (you can find our freebies on the homepage). Pictured above is our Tasty Treats Markers Class featuring Di's Digi Stamps. Happy Colouring!
<3 **If you are ready to be gently challenged to take the next step with your colouring, check out our classes at www.kitandclowder.com (you can find our freebies on the homepage). Pictured above is our Tasty Treats Markers Class featuring Di's Digi Stamps. Happy Colouring!
Hi everyone! Just popping in to share a few photos from this week's visit to the Cancer Council QLD lodges 
I held some free art classes and took in some of our brand new Colour In Bags for everyone to colour up - I thought the lion design best represented their journey as the symbol of bravery and courage. None of the ladies had ever coloured before and at the start they were a bit afraid, but by the end they were so proud of what they had created. The biggest lesson is that life is too short to tell ourselves "I can't" and to hold back from trying - so be brave like a lion as you are more capable than you know.
I'm not able to take many photos due to privacy but hope you enjoy these.
I held some free art classes and took in some of our brand new Colour In Bags for everyone to colour up - I thought the lion design best represented their journey as the symbol of bravery and courage. None of the ladies had ever coloured before and at the start they were a bit afraid, but by the end they were so proud of what they had created. The biggest lesson is that life is too short to tell ourselves "I can't" and to hold back from trying - so be brave like a lion as you are more capable than you know. I'm not able to take many photos due to privacy but hope you enjoy these.
*These free workshops for the hospitals are made possible by our Colouring Class members – thank you so much! If you’d like to join in, or grab your own Colour In Bag, visit www.kitandclowder.com/shop - bags include colouring class for markers and pencils, stamp, + free worldwide shipping.
Thank you for stopping by and happy colouring this weekend!
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| *Dragon Colouring Class from our Mini Bundle 3 at www.kitandclowder.com/shop |
Hi everyone! I wanted to chat about the learning process this week - it's something that comes up regularly where people are feeling nervous to get started, or not good enough to keep going when they inevitably make a mistake.
I'm sure we can all agree that we are our own harshest critics. It’s easy to tell ourselves that “it’s not perfect”, or “I’m not good enough”. The biggest thing that can stop you from achieving is not how good you are right this moment, how fast you colour, or how many supplies you have...it’s your inner critic, that inner voice that controls how you speak to yourself about trying new challenges and whether your work is good enough. What we don’t realise is that every time we judge ourselves + compare with others, we are dampening our motivation, making it feel that little bit more challenging and overwhelming than it really is, and turning our dreams into chores. The good news? You have the power to slowly change how you speak to yourself and feel about your work.
If you are in one of our classes, or been sitting on the sidelines, and a bit nervous to jump in, remember that a class is not a test in how good you are, it’s a learning tool to help you to get there. The key to taking that next step, whether it is for colouring or anything else, is just to take any pressure, expectations, or comparisons off. It actually doesn’t matter at all how your colouring turned out today, whether it is “perfect” or not. What matters are the lessons you are taking away every time you try, the mistakes that you *will* make - they mean you *aren’t* a failure because you are putting yourself out there, you are challenging what you know to help yourself become better for tomorrow.
So if you've been afraid to jump in, tell yourself right now that you *can* do this, that each and every time you try you will be one step closer to your goals, but you don’t have to get there all in one day or one lesson. Actually saying the words out loud can help reinforce the power behind them (sounds silly but it truly works). It's not always easy to remember this and it takes dedicated practice, just like your colouring does, so save posts like this and reminders to yourself that you are good enough. Appreciate where you are at right now in your journey and enjoy every practice and step forward, mistakes and all ❤
Happy Colouring this week everyone - if you are looking for something fun to colour, why not grab this free stamp that's available for everyone over in our Kit and Clowder Colouring Facebook Group :)
Alyce x
Hi Clowdies! I'm so excited to introduce you to our brand new April-May Colouring Class projects for markers and pencils! Throughout these lessons, we will be comparing Autumn (Fall) vs. Spring Techniques, as we break down the very basics of colouring backgrounds and characters. Learn to colour bricks, timber, steel, sheer fabrics, Autumn Trees, Buildings, Fallen Leaves, drawing your own flowers in a scene, and so much more!
This class is for all levels, including beginners, and you will be encouraged to make mistakes and challenge yourself so you can take the next step. You won't just follow along with how to colour, but you'll learn the why behind the techniques so you can apply them to your favourite images after the lesson.
This class is for all levels, including beginners, and you will be encouraged to make mistakes and challenge yourself so you can take the next step. You won't just follow along with how to colour, but you'll learn the why behind the techniques so you can apply them to your favourite images after the lesson.
- Do at your own pace with lifetime access
- Fully downloadable on any device
- Free private tutoring every step of the way with real tips on your colouring, technology, creating colour blends and more
- Use your class 4 ways: (1) Full scene (2) Just the character (3) Just the landscape or (4) Using a different character/image
- Suitable for Beginners-Advanced - I always break down the very basics so you can choose what you want to learn rather than waiting until you feel you are ready to take a class
Registration is open until May 14 and then the class will be retired, however, you receive access forever to do at your own pace.
Ready to start colouing? I'd love to help you feel confident taking that next step. Join us now over in the classrooms!
Alyce x
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Copic actually have their own method for creating blends using their numbering system. This is widely considered to be the most effective and easiest way to get started with your markers, and to help you show depth in your colouring. It uses the theories of Lightsource, and helps us show where light is hitting an object (lightest colour), vs. where the shadows are (darkest colour). So let's take a look below to help you feel more confident creating blends!
This information can be found again at any time on our website at www.kitandclowder.com via the Colouring FAQs tab, along with lots of other helpful info. Find Colour Blend charts under the Colour Blends tab.
Find you learn best doing rather than reading? I have some blending exercise sheets for you to fill in over in our free Markers 101 class here.
Copic created their numbering system to help us communicate Lightsource (light vs. shade) easily in our colouring. Lightsource is what gives objects depth - it shows where light comes down from a source (such as the sun or lights in a ceiling), and his the object, creating a highlight (light colour). We then have the midtone (the true colour of an object, neither affected by light or shade), and then the shadow (furthest from the light and represented by dark colours).
👉Second Number - MOST IMPORTANT
To help us communicate Lightsource, the most important number when looking at a marker is the SECOND number. The official Copic method for their markers is:
Markers ending between 0-3 are highlight colours,
Markers ending between 4-6 = midtone,
Markers ending between 7-9 = shadow.
When creating a blend, we want to try to have a minimum of 3 markers, each representing the highlight, midtone, or shadow.
👉First Number/Letter The letter is the Colour Family, which is broken down like a colour wheel - eg. B for Blue, BG = Blue Green, G = Green, YG = Yellow Green, Y = Yellow, YR = Yellow Red, R = Red, RV = Red Violet, V = Violet, BV = Blue Violet, E = Earth.
The first number is the tone of the colour - naturally, markers that are all the same tone go best together, so an example blend using the method we just discussed, would be b91, b95, b99 - all b90s so we know the tone will all be the same, and one highlight (b91), midtone (b95), and shadow (b99).
However! The more colours that are available in a run, the less gaps there are on your blending so the easier it is to get smooth. It's actually easier to blend with more markers. So Copic actually make b91, b93, b95, b97, b99. Less gaps between colours = easier to blend (see graphic below from my official Copic mat, showing their explanation of using more colours to achieve smoother blends).
When you go up in the first number, it doesn't necessarily mean that the marker is darker, but just that the tone is a little different. Eg. E21 is actually lighter than E11 - but it is slightly more yellow based. So we don't use this first number to determine what is darker or lighter than other markers.
👉You can mix and match the first number
So you can see, what is most important is that second number - the first number can be mixed and matched to create colour blends, so long as you are following the rule of highlight, midtone, and shadow. For example, g21, g94, g99 is one of my favourite olive green combos. There is no low g90 colour made though, but the g21 is quite a light olive pastel green. Coupled with the deeper grey green in the g90s it looks lovely. Sometimes I even like to add a little YG11 - this is a light yellow green and can really brighten the highlights. And notice we've got a highlight, midtone, and shadow colour with that second number - YG11, G21, G94, G99.
Sometimes some markers ending in the same number as others may be a little lighter or darker. It's a good idea to always test your blends first on a scrap sheet of blending card, or to fill in a blank colour chart so you can easily see which markers or lighter or darker straight away.
👉What if I want a light colour?
Sometimes I see people say they don't want to work with "contrast" though as they want a light colour blend. It's important to note that there is a difference between contrast to show shadows vs. a dark blend. Keep in mind a white piece of paper - if you hold something above it, it leaves a dark shadow across to show the distance between these two objects, however the paper is still white. Learning about lightsource and how to convery this is how we help our colouring look realistic. If we want a lighter blend, we still use lightsource, but keep the darker colours to the shadows only and increase the amount of the lighter colours used.
There's a lot of information here and a lot of this may be new to you. It's totally normal to feel overwhelmed when taking in new theories. Revisit, practice, and it will get easier every time you go over it. Ready to start colouring? Check out our FREE Markers 101 Class at www.kitandclowder.com - select Class Rooms, then Markers 101. This free class has video tutorials and exercise sheets covering lightsource, blending, shading, skin, hair, and more and is available to everyone.
Alyce x
This lesson is just as important as learning about the colouring itself.
In our Facebook Group, I get to see a lot of people sharing their colouring and read a lot of comments about how we each perceive our own work. Sadly, I read all too often the comments where we don't think we are good enough, as good as others, or that we've made a mistake, rather than appreciating the progress we are making and how we are each growing on our own path, in our own time.
How we speak to ourselves and about our work directly influences our motivation and ability to learn. Even though you might not realise, negatively speaking about your work constantly is not constructive - this is so harmful to our confidence as if you do this regularly you are just enforcing to yourself that you "aren't good enough" or have failed on a task. We need to enjoy just colouring and learning new things without being so caught up on what the end result is like - that is counter productive to learning and we forget the fun is in the process, the making mistakes, the achievements that come after learning - not in holding a pretty colouring at the end. Take the pressure off and let yourself know you are doing a good job - you are growing just by trying
<3 and the more we try, the quicker we will get to the results we want.. but it doesn't have to be today. So let's look at how we talk about our work so we feel encouraged to continue learning on our journey to grow.
CRITIQUE STEP 1 - CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE
So let's talk about how we critique our work, which is usually first done when we assess our work ourselves. Firstly, it's important not to judge a half finished technique - it's always going to look a little wrong or stand out to you until your entire piece is finished. Resist that urge to keep restarting - it's not doing you any favours in learning and progressing with your colouring. If you are really unsure though, pop a message and photo over to me so we can chat about the next steps.
Secondly comes how we speak about our work. When you've finished your colouring, take a step back and look at your entire piece - not just upclose looking for mistakes. Changing our perspective to appreciate our work as a whole allows you to have a greater understanding of how techniques come together to create a finished piece, and allows little mistakes that no one is looking at, fade into the background.
CRITIQUE STEP 2 - POSITIVE TALK
Then the wording we use when we look at our work is very important. Firstly we need to take the time to point out what we've done *right* - it's a step that is missed so often but it is crucial in critique, confidence, and motivation. I guarantee on every single colouring there is a lot of good that deserves celebrating. Try pointing out two things you feel you've done well or improved upon from last time - it shows you that you are learning and achieving each time you colour. When you share your colouring online, consider sharing these two things and notice how people's opinion of your work changes - we celebrate your achievements with you which is so much more uplifting than others looking for the mistakes you have just pointed out to them
:) CRITIQUE STEP 3 - HOW TO HANDLE MISTAKES
We are *all* going to make mistakes when we colour. It's the nature of learning new things and they should be embraced as they mean you are learning and growing - in fact, we can't learn without them. We need to face these constructively instead of negatively so we still feel motivated when we make a mistake. A good way to do this is to point out what you could try differently next time to get a different result - eg. Instead of "I messed up the wings", try something like "next time I'm going to work on leaving more gaps between my strokes to emphasise texture". It takes away that negative emotion so you haven't done anything "wrong"- but you are still needing practice on your colouring journey (as we all do).
This should be done privately or with myself as you are keeping these growth lessons your personal achievements. All of a sudden you have taken what you felt was a negative attempt at colouring and made it a positive step forward - showing you that every single time you colour you are improving and learning and it is important to have these challenges to learn from.
Don't let fear of making mistakes stand in your way of learning - Be afraid of never trying and being exactly where you are now next year as this is the time you cannot grow. Achievements require first a challenge in all areas of life so don't deny your chance to be challenged because you might make a mistake or you feel nervous. Colouring is not about comparing with anyone else (that includes your classes) but is instead about where you are on your journey only and how you are growing each time you take that challenge - take the time to let yourself know how well you are doing just by jumping in.
Don't lose the love of your hobby through putting pressure on yourselves or being nervous about making mistakes - you "can" do this...it's time to start believing in yourself just like I believe in you xx
ps. A little colouring from me today - I've been working on this cute image from Lee Holland and practicing my black hair with Prismacolor Pencils. If you want to learn with me, check out our colouring classes at www.kitandclowder.com :)
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