Grayscale Coloring Tutorial: How to Color Grayscale Coloring Pages

 

We’re back with another great guest tutorial! Today’s post is on a topic that has baffled many a colorist… how do you color a grayscale coloring page?

Learn the ins and outs of this unique coloring technique in this grayscale coloring tutorial by Nicole Stocker, the creator of Huelish and publisher of two grayscale coloring books: Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Nature.

I previously reviewed both of these books, and you can read my full review here. On to the tutorial!

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What is Grayscale Coloring?

First, let’s start with what “grayscale” means. Very simply put, grayscale is a range of gray shades from white to black. A grayscale image is composed exclusively of shades of gray, varying from black at the weakest intensity to white at the brightest intensity.

Grayscale coloring is basically taking a grayscale image and coloring it.

Imagine coloring an old black and white photograph. That is grayscale coloring. You just color right over the shades of gray. You fully cover the grayscale with color, making sure to let the gray guide you, matching the darkness or lightness of your colors to the levels of gray.

In doing this, there is a range of preciseness. You can be extremely precise and exact with your color in order to capture and enhance every detail (e.g. expertly coloring each little bump in the rooster’s wattle being sure to accentuate lights and darks) or you can be much less precise and just color right over the details with one color and those details will still come through and enhance your final picture.

Colorist: Nicole Stocker
From the grayscale coloring book Beautiful Creatures

In the rooster example above, the approach falls right in the middle. Some of the bigger details (e.g. folds in the wattle) are accentuated by applying the appropriate lights and darks but the tiny details were not captured precisely.

However, in the walrus example below, the very talented Ann Reid has made a point of capturing every single detail! Ann has carefully accentuated every single detail by emphasizing it with colored pencil in a color that aligns with the depth of the grayscale rather than just coloring right over it and letting the grayscale detail show through.

Colorist: Ann Reid
From the grayscale coloring book Beautiful Creatures

The wonderful thing about grayscale coloring is the entire range of extremely precise to not very exact yields a great result and allows the colorist to choose the approach they find most enjoyable and rewarding.

In addition, you have the freedom to use whatever colors you like. As long as you let the gray guide you in terms of where to apply your light, dark and medium colors, you can use whatever color palette you wish. The range of preciseness taken together with the flexibility with color yields a wide variety of wonderful results for the same picture.

Here are just a couple of examples of one picture colored multiple ways:

From the grayscale coloring book Beautiful Creatures

From the grayscale coloring book Beautiful Nature

How to Color Over Grayscale

When coloring over grayscale the gray serves as your guide. Think of it as an adult color by numbers without the numbers. Instead, the darkness or lightness of the gray tells you how dark or light a color to use and where to apply it. Simply put:

• Light colors over light grays
• Dark colors over dark grays
• Medium colors in between to seamlessly blend light to dark

Key Grayscale Coloring Tips

Follow the 3-Tone Rule when deciding on your colors. For every color you plan to use on a subject, have a variety of 3 tones of that color. This way you’ll have the variety of tones you will need to apply on the light, medium and dark areas of grayscale.

Use light pressure when applying colored pencils. This helps you add multiple layers to produce vibrant results.

Apply colored pencils with light pressure in a circular motion. This helps the pigment of the pencils to get into the small tooth of the paper for better blending and to avoid grainy results.

Contrast between highlights and shadows is what will create the shape and depth to your picture. That is why matching the darkness or lightness of your color to the darkness or lightness of the gray is very important. Check out this tutorial on using highlights, shadows and outlines to increase contrast and impact.

Start by marking your colors with a light layer of the lightest and darkest colors over the lightest and darkest grays. This will help “hold” those areas as light or dark as you add more and more layers.

Even if a part of your uncolored picture seems extremely dark you can and should still go over it with a dark color. It will make it pop and really help bring your image to life as it contrasts against the lighter areas.

When you apply your medium colors don’t be afraid to overlap with your already applied lights and darks (e.g. if you are coloring fur). This will provide a more seamlessly blended result. Just be sure to avoid those more distinct areas that should be left as a strong highlight or shadow.

It doesn’t have to be perfect! You will be amazed by how helpful the grayscale is not only in guiding you but also in enhancing your final picture.

What Are the Best Coloring Supplies for Grayscale Coloring?

Colored pencils are the go-to medium for coloring over grayscale and probably the easiest for beginners. For beginners, I would recommend Prismacolor Premier colored pencils because they have vibrant color and blend nicely. They can be pricy but Amazon often has them deeply discounted. Check the various packs (24, 48, 72, 132 and 150 packs) to see where the best deal is.

When you are ready to tackle other mediums just choose anything that can be blended (e.g. watercolor pencils, acrylic paint, pastels, blendable markers, etc.). Blending is important for capturing the various levels of gray and transitioning from one to the next seamlessly.

Gel pens and fine tipped markers can work well for detail work (e.g. whiskers). Gel pens in particular are not really suited to coloring larger areas of grayscale coloring pages though because they tend to be too opaque to allow the grayscale shades to show through.

Soft pastels are wonderful for backgrounds because you can cover a large area quite evenly and easily while still allowing the subtle grayscale details to come through.

Grayscale Coloring in Action

In the video below, watch as over 40 different grayscale images are colored. Each one comes to life in just seconds:

In this grayscale coloring tutorial Peta Hewitt takes you through the full process of coloring a grayscale image:

This progression shows how a grayscale coloring page is brought to life with color:

Colorist: Jones Flores
From the grayscale coloring book Beautiful Nature

Two Key Grayscale Coloring Resources

In this three part grayscale coloring tutorial series taught by Jones Flores (an incredible grayscale colorist) you will:

• Learn the 3-Tone Rule for choosing your colors.
• Complete two color-alongs to learn how to match your color tones to the lights and darks of the grayscale to produce a beautiful and realistic result.
• Be provided with a practice coloring page and three video tutorials.

You can explore this free video tutorial series right here.

This free eBook includes over 100 pages of grayscale coloring tips, techniques, tutorials and practice coloring pages. Download it for free here.

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As a young girl, Nicole Stocker was enchanted by a black and white photograph hanging in her parents’ summer cabin, wishing she could bring it to life with color. An artist at heart, Nicole imagined a collection of coloring books filled with inspiring, carefully curated photographs. The first two in the series, Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Nature, mark her publishing debut. A mother of two young children, Nicole treasures any moment to lose herself in color and creation in her Vancouver home. Learn more about Nicole’s books at Huelish.com.

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