Colored Pencil Tutorial “Limitless World”

This week, I have a step-by-step colored pencil tutorial for you. It’s called Limitless World. We color without outlines and end up with something that is partly realistic and yet more creative and limitless than any traditional drawing.

Supplies

This tutorial uses regular colored pencils, but feel free to try it with watercolor pencils, watercolors, or any media that can be layered. Choose the paper that goes with your supplies and is durable. I used Fabriano Accademia Drawing Paper (200 gsm/94 lbs). You can create the drawing in any size, but my piece is A4.

Introduction to The Colored Pencil Tutorial

You might be familiar with the work of Hilma af Klint. She is a wonderful example of how our inner world and intuition can guide the hand. Her art has been the main inspiration for my course Mystical Minis. In this project, however, we reach from the inner to the outer world—making the outer look limitless, too.

Before you start reading the step-by-step tutorial, watch a 5-minute introduction where I tell more about the project.

I hope you enjoy this colored pencil tutorial. Let’s start!

Step 1 – White Shapes

Pick any color. Create abstract white shapes by coloring the background.

Press fairly lightly. We will add more layers over the background.

Make sure you have a wide variety of abstract shapes in different sizes.

Tip: You can turn the paper in different directions during the process and decide on the final orientation later.

Step 2 – Colorful Shapes

Pick any colors. Color abstract shapes so that they form a new layer on top of the background.

Make sure that the colorful shapes extend over the white shapes and don’t follow their outlines.

Also, add new shapes on top of other colorful shapes. Press fairly lightly so that you can add more layers later.

Keep the expression abstract. Don’t guess what the drawing is about. Just color a variety of shapes in different sizes and enjoy the freedom.

When the paper feels full, but you can still easily see the background and the colorful layer, move to the next step.

Step 3 – Connecting Colors

Pick colors that are close to what you have used before. Use one color more than others. My main color is green, but I also use other colors.

Color over the previous layers so that the two layers are no longer separate. Focus on the edges and color a small area at a time. Leave only a few areas blank, mostly near the center.

In this step, you can adjust old shapes and color new shapes, too. Think about attaching two pieces: you can either glue (spread the color over) or tape (add a new shape on top).

Tip: Now you can decide on the orientation and get ideas for the drawing’s topic.

Step 4 – Discovery

Find people, animals, plants, trees, furniture, water, and any realistic objects in the abstract drawing. For example, I have someone in the corner who is like an observer of everything happening in the drawing.

Adjust the shapes so that the viewer will also realize what they represent.

Tip: Remember that we are drawing a limitless world, so odd things can appear! The drawing can make sense emotionally, even if it isn’t rational.

You can also use an eraser to adjust the objects.

Having an eraser pen is handy, and it’s very useful for the course Mystical Minis, too!

Step 5 – Advanced Level

When your drawing feels finished, you can either stop or take it to the advanced level.

Basic level: The drawing feels finished, and you feel quite drawn to it. For a viewer, it may look a bit chaotic, busy, and difficult to comprehend.

Advanced level: The drawing has an engaging atmosphere, and the viewer is gently guided around the drawing.

To achieve this:

• Increase contrast in the middle and reduce contrast near the edges.
• Increase intense colors in the middle and reduce the intensity near the edges. Don’t leave blank areas in the areas that are less important.
• Make the shapes less clumsy by adding notches and lines. Make lines curvier and thinner.
• Direct the viewer’s gaze with contrasting shapes and lines.

Tip: Some areas can be more realistic than others. The world of imagination has no limits!

What Does Your Drawing Tell?

I usually work in my little studio, but this time, I finished the drawing in our living room, and I think that the aquarium, the furniture, the glassware, and the birds chirping outside … they all found their way to this drawing. But every drawing will become different. What does your drawing tell?

This kind of intuitive process is natural and free, and at least for me, much more exciting than making a stiff sketch and then coloring it. I hope this colored pencil tutorial marks the start of a new journey for you—one we can continue together, for example, in the course Mystical Minis!