Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty. —John Rushkin
Nature provides a dazzling array of colors in the animal kingdom—the bold stripes of a tiger, a tapestry of teals in a peacock's feathers, or the rainbow of colors in a toucan. While most of us are far removed from wild animals in our everyday lives, we can celebrate their majesty by adding our own burst of colors to the menagerie of animals in this book. Paired with inspiring quotes of lessons that we humans can learn from our animal counterparts, we hope this book inspires you to unplug, unwind, and unleash your inner artist.
Why Color? Yes, believe it or not, scientists have studied coloring, and they've found that it quiets the mind, calms our thoughts, and reduces stress. Coloring can induce a kind of 'flow,' or active meditation, during which you lose your sense of time and your worries fade away. So grab your favorite pencils or markers and let your imagination and creativity take flight.
Tips to Make Your Pages Come to Life Coloring is meant to be a stress-free, no-worries activity. There really is no right or wrong way to do it. But for anyone who wants to take it to another level, here are some tips:
Stippling—Stippling is a good way to add texture to your art. Stippling means to place many tiny dots on the surface. Your dots can be close together or far apart, depending upon the effect you are trying to create (you can stipple trees, water, flowers, or the sky—anything really!).
Hatching—Hatching is when you draw a series of parallel lines in the same direction.
Cross-hatching—As the name implies, cross-hatching means that you draw a series of parallel lines and then you make another set of parallel lines in another direction on top of the first set of lines. This creates both shading and texture.
Basic shading—Use two similar colors to create a dimensional shading effect. Choose one lighter color and one darker color, both in the same color family. Leave the darker area with one color and then blend the colors together to create the lighter shade. Blending the strokes together will add depth and dimension.
BLENDING COLORS—By blending several colors together, you can create a three-dimensional shading effect. For example, if you want to color a leaf green, use the color wheel on the next page to choose several shades of green as well as some colors next to the green (yellows and blues). Try to envision where the light would be falling on your image. Wherever the light would fall on the leaf is where you will place your lightest colors (the lighter greens and yellow). Wherever the shadow would fall is where you would place your darker colors (the darker green and a bit of blue). By overlapping the colors and blending them, you will create a realistic effect. It helps to practice on a piece of scrap paper first, and to work slowly to see if you are creating the effect you wish before you complete a large area.
COLORING THE DETAILS—You'll notice each design is made up of unique doodled designs. You can color each individual element on its own in a separate color or you can fill in one larger group of shapes in one color.
©2016 HCI Books. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Inkspirations Animal Kingdom: Captivating Coloring Designs Celebrating the Majesty of Animals. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.
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