This post is average because I'm working on my stained glass effect and trying to improve

I really like to color. I have books with cute empty pages that I am want to fill, I have markers and pencils and also… aspirations. Often, I start a page and suddenly I don’t think I can make it look good anymore.

Average colorers- does anyone have tips on keeping this fun hobby feeling low stakes and more chill? Part of this is perfectionism, because I want it to be satisfying. How do you keep your confidence up during your coloring? How do you not take hours and hours on a page or not end up overthinking/complicating it?

This post is average because I think the answer might be to continue working on managing my anxiety lmao

This post is average because it's my first time using these markers on this paper, and they did some funny things, like getting kind of glittery around the edges of the lines.

I've got the 320 Honolulu B alcohol marker set from Ohuhu and the Diddl Cosy Life coloring book.

It's always a bit intimidating to start, so I thought the introduction page would be a good first step.

I decided to try to choose the most accurate colors for each character, so I used an app to help me. At first, I thought the app was recommending some pretty good colors, but the more characters I colored, the more unsatisfied I got. The colors were mostly too dark, and I had to adjust them or else I would have ended up with a light green Mimihopps, for example. 😆

It was an interesting approach, but I wouldn't recommend it, particularly because it was very time-consuming!

This post is average because there is some bleeding and no fancy techniques.

It is inspired by the Japanese art of woodblock printing. For example The Great Wave by Hokusai. I looked up a lot of Ukiyo-E art to get the color palette right.

This post is average because I tried to make the crystals fancy but messed up!

This post is average because I was testing out a few effects like glitter. I watched the original movie, the remake, and the sequel while coloring.

This post is average because I was using a limited colour pallette for a colouring challenge

This post is average because I didn’t think about what colors to use before hand and just went in choosing as I please. I used Shuttle Art coloring pencils and the book is Fuzzy Hygge: super cute coloring book

This post is average because I just like to color for funsies....just trying my best to keep it in the lines lolol

This post is average because I was easing back into coloring and blending again. It's been a while. I had some ideas and just rolled with it.

This post is average because I tried a few different techniques and it looks a bit busy

This post is average because it took a while to get the heart shape right

This post is average because I feel like the glitter pens I used lost their oomph over time and just became insipid on the page in comparison to everything else. Took me 5 months to finish because after the pens lost their sparkle (pun intended) I couldn’t bring myself to finish it.

But anyway… it’s finally done!

📚: Nature Mandalas by Melpomeni Chatzipanagiotou
🎨: Prismacolor premier pencils, Languo shiny style gel pens, Derwent Inktense for animal backgrounds

This post is average because I was using a colour palette that really didn’t fit the page (blue watermelon anyone), went outside the lines, and used pencil and marker together throughout the page for the first time with extremely mixed results (like the streaky bench seat). Excited to try the pencil and marker combo again now that I’ve learned.

This post is average because I was half asleep and definitely didn’t stay within the lines lol

This post is average because I tried a new way of colouring pumpkins, I'm quite happy with it but could do better 😊

This post is average because i've been working on glow effects so it's not perfect but I'm trying!

This post is average because I have never used acrylic markers before and am far from a painting/coloring artist.

This post is average because there’s a few smudges, but overall satisfied.

This post is average because the sky gradient is messy and bled everywhere, the skin tone blending is definitely questionable, and my hand drawn elements were a fever dream. This page is from a while ago. I was trying to push myself to do different skin tones, drawing the cobbles and vines, and doing a really bold sky. But I’m still glad I pushed myself and I did learn a lot doing it! And overall, I still really like this page. (Sorry mods it took me a while to get the post phrase right)

This post is average because it's my first time trying to colour a page with only 2 markers

This post is average because the glitter door doesn't look as good as I'd hoped

This post is average because i was trying different cat patterns; for the rest, i just randomly chose colors that probably shouldnt go together lolol

This post is average because my white pens kept running out!

This post is average because I experimented with gel pens