How To Color Metals from Udemy

What's inside

Learning objective

Learn how to color realistic metal effects with regular pencils. no gold and silver pens and inks, just colored pencils.

Syllabus

Introduction

Hello and welcome. In this short intro section I will tell you about the course structure, what to expect, and what materials I'll be using.

What IS white charcoal, and why do we use it?

Learn what white charcoal is, how to ask for it at the store or look for it online, why and when we use it, and what can be used as a substitute.

Let's select the colors that we'll be working with.

Follow along with me as I select the colors I will use on the silver plaque, and learn to choose your own colors. For this plaque i will use a light lilac, a dark grey, a black, and a light blue pencils.

Continue shading with grey, in slanted lines.

A slant in shading tricks the mind into thinking it's a shiny surface.

Let's increase the contrast by adding black.

The highest possible contrast is black and white. Increasing the contrast in your coloring will increase the shine effect.

I use some pencils as blenders. Let me show you how.

We can use a "blender" pencil to create a metallic sheen.

Let's add some shine.

SILVER: White Gel Pen

So how do you even begin to color gold? We'll start with really dark brown.

We'll start this golden sample with an unusual color - dark brown.

A middle brown is a gentle effect, but very important.

We need to establish one more shade of brown before this even begins looking like gold. Be patient. This step is important.

It's yellow gold, after all. We need a nice bright yellow pencil.

GOLD: Finally Yellow!

That yellow looks great, but we need to make our gold shine. Contrast makes shine.

GOLD: High Contrast

Here's another approach to priming and shading that may speed things up.

We'll be using masking tape to protect the edges of our drawing and see if that speeds up the shading process as we prime and start coloring with the first color.

Copper can be so diverse. There is NO one perfect color for copper. We have to build up the colors that we find attractive. Learn to trust your own judgement. Find colors that YOU like.

We'll working on orange and brown gradients to match the desired look.

A touch of high contrast, a shine,, and the great masking tape reveal.

Let's add some finishing touches and tae that tape off.

Not all metals are shiny. Here's an example of something kind of grungy.

Steampunk is a popular style in coloring, and often features cogs and gears. Let's make this cog rusty and grimy.

There IS no spoon. When you see that is is not the spoon that bends and shines, but you, you will free your mind.

Spoons are great practice subjects because they're simple, yet interesting in shape. Let's see what makes this spoon look like it's actually three-dimensional.

Not all that is shiny is gold. But this pill box is. It's definitely gold.

Let's make this little golden pill box really shiny. This is a super fun subject because of it's shape and all the possibilities that it offers for coloring.

Stand-alone objects are great for practice, but in reality things tend to appear in compositions. Let's step it up a bit.

This is a big step! We're now working on a composition. Let's start with this beautiful golden Arabic teapot and see how it will effect the items next to it in the end.

Silver is much lighter than you may realize. Let's see just how much this teapot will reflect.

This is a great demonstration of just how light and reflective silver can be. But how to we approach those reflections?

We've already covered two kinds of copper, let's add a third. This copper will be nearly red.

For the copper part of the composition I drew two items that vary in shape and texture. Just for fun. let's see what we can do here.

THIS is what it's all been leading up to. But I won't be holding your hand anymore. This is all you. Enjoy the time-lapse and color your own golden cat. Have fun!

EXTRA CREDIT: The Golden Cat

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in How To Color Metals with these activities:

Review Color Theory Basics

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Reinforce your understanding of color theory to better grasp how colors interact to create metallic effects.

Browse courses on Color Theory

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Review the color wheel and color relationships.
Study examples of color palettes used for metals.
Practice mixing colors to achieve desired shades.

Analyze Metal Art

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Study existing artwork featuring metals to understand how artists achieve realistic effects.

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Find examples of metal objects in paintings, illustrations, or photographs.
Analyze the use of color, value, and light to create the illusion of metal.
Write a short analysis of each artwork, focusing on the techniques used.

Practice Shading Techniques

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Improve your shading skills to create the illusion of depth and form in metal objects.

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Practice hatching, cross-hatching, and blending techniques.
Experiment with different pencil grades for varying values.
Focus on creating smooth transitions between light and shadow.

Three other activities

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Read 'Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter' by James Gurney

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Deepen your understanding of color and light principles to enhance your metal coloring skills.

View Dinotopia: Journey To Chandara (Calla Editions) on Amazon

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Read the chapters on color theory and light and shadow.
Study the examples of how light interacts with different surfaces.
Apply the principles learned to your metal coloring projects.

Create a Metal Color Study

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Apply the techniques learned in the course to create a color study of different metal surfaces.

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Select reference images of various metals (gold, silver, copper).
Sketch the metal objects and identify areas of highlight and shadow.
Use colored pencils to render the metal surfaces, paying attention to color and value.
Analyze your work and identify areas for improvement.

Read 'Alla Prima II: Everything I Know About Painting - And More' by Richard Schmid

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Learn advanced painting techniques to improve your control over color and value in metal coloring.

View My Still Life Art on Amazon

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Read the sections on value, color mixing, and edge control.
Analyze Schmid's paintings and identify how he uses these techniques.
Experiment with applying these techniques to your colored pencil work.

Career center

Learners who complete How To Color Metals will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Art teacher

An art teacher educates students on various art techniques and principles. This course can be useful for an art teacher who wants to expand their knowledge of metal coloring techniques and incorporate them into their curriculum. This course is amazing, and may lead to new ideas and perspectives. The art teacher will come out of this course with skills that will make their lessons stand out from the rest of the curriculum. Students may receive an elevated instruction, and learn from the best.

See salaries and explore the career path for Art teacher

Illustrator

An illustrator creates images for various media, including books, magazines, and advertisements. This course about coloring realistic metals with pencils can be particularly beneficial for an illustrator who wants to add realistic metallic elements to their work. Illustrators use color to create depth, form, and realism. This course guides you to create those shiny metallic effects such as silver, copper and gold. Learning how to pick the right pencils and why certain effects work on paper may allow the illustrator to develop a unique signature style.

See salaries and explore the career path for Illustrator

Concept Artist

A concept artist develops visual representations of ideas for use in films, video games, and other media. Concept artists often need to depict metallic objects and surfaces. This course may be useful in learning how to create believable metallic effects using colored pencils. Understanding how metals appear to the human eye, and learning techniques for shading and adding contrast helps concept artists create compelling and realistic visuals. This course on coloring realistic metals with no need for gold pens, markers or paints may be helpful in the concept artist's artistic journey.

See salaries and explore the career path for Concept Artist

Fine Artist

A fine artist creates original works of art for exhibition and sale. Fine artists often explore a variety of subjects and materials, including metal. This course may be useful for a fine artist who wants to improve their ability to depict metal in their artwork. The course focuses on creating realistic metallic effects using colored pencils, which can add depth and dimension to their drawings. The fine artist can develop a unique creative eye.

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Technical Illustrator

A technical illustrator creates detailed and accurate illustrations for technical documentation, manuals, and instructional materials. These illustrations often include metallic components and require a high degree of realism. This course may assist in learning how to render metallic surfaces accurately using colored pencils. The systematic approach to learning how metals appear to the human eye, and how to achieve shiny metallic effects will translate into the technical illustrator's career, and help to create clear and effective technical illustrations. The technical illustrator may find what they are looking for with this course.

See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Illustrator

Graphic designer

A graphic designer creates visual concepts for a variety of media, from logos and websites to brochures and advertisements. The course on coloring realistic metals will enable a graphic designer to incorporate metallic effects into their designs, adding a touch of sophistication and visual interest. The course can help the graphic designer learn how to create the illusion of reflective surfaces with colored pencils. This is something that can be applied digitally. A graphic designer can benefit from learning how to pick the right pencils and why certain effects work on paper.

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Animator

An animator creates moving images for films, television, video games, and other media. This course focused on realistic metals may be useful to those who want to add realistic metallic effects to their animations. The course may allow the animator to use the tools they already have, and may also teach them about how metals appear to the human eye, and why. This can help them create animations that are more visually compelling. This may be a journey to the next level of coloring.

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Surface Pattern Designer

A surface pattern designer creates designs for various surfaces, such as textiles, wallpaper, and product packaging. This course may be useful, as metallic effects are increasingly popular in surface design. A surface pattern designer can implement new techniques to create unique and eye catching designs. Learning about how different metals reflect light and how to represent these effects with colored pencils can add depth and sophistication to the designs. This course may allow the designer to use the tools they already have.

See salaries and explore the career path for Surface Pattern Designer

Industrial Designer

An industrial designer designs manufactured products, focusing on both aesthetics and functionality. Industrial designers frequently work with metallic materials in their designs. This course on coloring realistic metals may be helpful in the design process as they visualize and present their ideas. The course covers working with line art, shading, and blending with pencils for creating a metallic sheen, all techniques that can enhance the realism of product renderings. The industrial designer may then develop a creative eye.

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Model Maker

A model maker creates physical prototypes and models for a variety of purposes, including architectural visualization, product design, and special effects. Model makers who work with metallic materials may find this course helpful in learning how to accurately represent the appearance of metal surfaces. Model makers need to understand how metals reflect light and how to create realistic textures and finishes. This course may allow the model maker to create amazing shiny metal effects.

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Muralist

A muralist creates large-scale artworks on walls or other surfaces, often in public spaces. This course about coloring realistic metals may be helpful in the mural creation process, particularly for murals that include metallic elements. The muralist may learn to effectively represent the appearance of metal on a large scale. The course teaches how to pick the right pencils and why certain effects work on paper. Learning these effects allows muralists to translate these skills to large-scale artwork.

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Enamel Artist

An enamel artist creates decorative and artistic pieces by fusing powdered glass to metal. This course on coloring realistic metals may be useful for enamel artists to visualize designs and plan their color palettes before working with enamel. This is particularly helpful since the course teaches how to create unbelievable metallic effects. The study of how metals appear to the human eye and learning how to pick the right pencils may be valuable in the artistic process.

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Textile Designer

A textile designer creates designs for fabrics and other textiles. This course may be useful for a textile designer who wants to incorporate metallic effects into their work. The course will guide the textile designer to create designs that mimic the look of metallic threads or embellishments. The textile designer may be guided to amazing shiny metal effects.

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Fashion Designer

A fashion designer creates clothing and accessories. This course may be useful for fashion designers who want to incorporate metallic elements into their designs. Fashion designers can create designs that mimic the look of metallic fabrics or embellishments. The course provides an introduction and systematically guides the fashion designer through metallic designs that may make their coloring stand out.

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Set Designer

A set designer creates the visual environment for theatrical productions, films, and television shows. This course may be useful for a set designer who needs to create realistic metallic props or set pieces. The course guides one toward creating amazing shiny metals effects. The set designer may develop a unique creative eye.

See salaries and explore the career path for Set Designer

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in How To Color Metals.

Dinotopia: Journey To Chandara

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Provides a comprehensive guide to understanding color and light in realistic painting. It covers topics such as color theory, light and shadow, and atmospheric perspective. It valuable resource for understanding the principles behind creating realistic metal effects. This book provides additional depth to the course by explaining the science behind color and light.

Dinotopia: Journey To Chandara (Calla Editions)

Hardcover

My Still Life Art

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Masterclass in painting techniques, with a strong emphasis on alla prima (wet-on-wet) painting. While not specifically about colored pencils, the principles of value, color mixing, and edge control are directly applicable to creating realistic metal effects. This book is more valuable as additional reading to expand your understanding of painting principles. It is commonly used by art students and professional artists.

How To Color Metals

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