Tag Archive for: peony

All of my coloring pages are drawn by hand in a number of steps. Here’s what normally happens.

The Beginning

The beginning starts out quite simple. It starts with a girl. Any ol’ girl will do.

Then I choose a flower that catches my fancy. Any ol’ flower will do.

What I know for sure is that I need to turn those flowers into a crown and place an up close view of the flower in front. I get each element sized about right and then I place them together using tracing paper.

The Hard But Fun Part

Getting just two elements in place is easy. Next, is the tricky part (or, more accurately, the most time-consuming part). I have to play with shapes and designs for a pleasing look. I prefer a design that is not is too fiddly and I’d like it to have a nice sense of balance. There is no trick or formula for finding balance; it’s really just a lot of experimenting.

I begin on tracing paper. I trace and re-trace. I erase and re-erase. Until something emerges that is pleasing and exciting.

Gradually, I’m able to solidify a few of the bits and pieces in ink. This also helps preserve the drawing as unworthy areas are demolished by erasing.

 

InkingIn

Starting to ink in the design.

Finally, I find a point where I’m satisfied. Or, at least, a point where I’m running out of time.

Digitizing It

And I’m Not Talking About Just Scanning It

It would be a poor coloring page I sent you if it stopped at the scan. To get the sleek polished page you receive each month, the scan must be converted into a vector image.

Scanned image compared to the digital recreation.

Scanned image compared to the digital recreation.

Thankfully, I have a fancy program to do this.

Unthankfully, a computer fails miserably at seeing the wonderful design I’ve created. So carefully and painstakingly I must recreate the tiny details that get lost. I also have to clean up any mistakes I’ve made in the drawing process and add elements that may have been left out.

Coloring It

The fun part is now to print it out and color it. You may not think this an important step, but a lot of tricky areas and overlooked mistakes are uncovered this way. Plus, it gives me a dazzlingly colorful design to show off.

ColoredIn

Colored in and ready to show off.

I’m finally ready to convert it into a PDF and get it uploaded. That’s pretty much it besides sending it to you. Enjoy!