Ready For Your Ultimate Beginners Guide to Really Gorgeous Grayscale Coloring?

What is Grayscale Coloring?

What the heck is grayscale coloring anyway? First things first, grayscale means a range of gray shades from white to black. Grayscale coloring is when YOU (the marvelous colorist that you are) add color to an image that already has shading. This makes it much easier to create a more realistic coloring in less time. It helps make a more professional looking image. So grayscale coloring pages for adults save time and look great! Ba-BAM!

(Quick Tip: Keep scrolling down to find a fantastic grayscale coloring infographic you can save for future reference!)

The Details

Another nice feature of grayscale coloring is the detail work. You can follow the details precisely (hello, realism and FUN DIY arts and crafts ideas!). Or you can let them be a general guide. OR you can ignore them completely. The grayscale coloring is a starting point. I mean really, there are no hard and fast rules in your magical coloring world! MAYBE this is just a relaxing thing to do while you enjoy some life inspiration. (This is me giving you permission to relax and focus on yourself!!)

Color on Grayscale

Also let’s talk about color. Perhaps you’re wondering “How do I color grayscale coloring book pages? I need a coloring tutorial to make my image realistic!” OK, yes, the starting image is realistic. But you are free to choose any colors you want. Certainly you can challenge yourself to create the most stunning, photo-realistic image possible. (Side Note: if you are a hardcore realistic you should look up art by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Swoon!) But you can also experiment with a bunch of fun new color inspiration. Don’t think bright and funky colors are classy? Look up the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. That dude rocked a vivid palette of colors!

Not sure what color palette you prefer? Try them all! Seriously, go get yourself a digital printable coloring page that you can download at home. Print as many times as you want to try different colors! (I even have a few for you HERE. Enjoy!)

Next there is the straight up question: But HOW do I color grayscale?!

Gotcha. You want a straight coloring tip. Here is the super simple starter grayscale coloring guide:

Light colors over light grays
Dark colors over dark grays
Medium colors in between to seamlessly blend light to dark

Take that tip a step further. Better yourself as a master colorist and try to get three tones for each color you want to use. Gonna rock a green? Try to have a light, medium and dark green standing by to make your coloring masterpiece.

That’s it. You can even separate out your colors into dark, medium and light before you start coloring if you want to really organize the heck out this. No judging. You do you!

Remember you can also overlap, or blend, your colors! Personally, I like to apply pigments with light pressure. That way you don’t fill all the tooth, or texture, in the paper. So there’s more room on the paper surface to share with other colors when you blend. Try it out during your coloring fun! Delicately put down a layer of light blue. Now gently blend a layer of red over the blue. OMG, look at that you are mixing and blending like a pro! Just remember to be cautious around distinct detail areas where you want a strong highlight or shadow (for example: the gleaming reflection of light in an eye).

Now what about those SUPER dark parts of the grayscale image. The ones that look almost black? Do you leave them alone? NOPE! Add a dark color over them! Ok, sure, the dark color wont show as vividly as it would on white paper. But it will make that dark section POP. What is better than dark grey? Dark grey with intense red tones! You just turned your arts and crafts project into some cool art!

Oh look! A super stupendous grayscale coloring infographic! Feel free to save and share this image:

Grayscale Coloring Supplies

Every colorist needs some coloring stuff to make their masterpiece! Eventually you will learn what coloring supplies you prefer. And you should definitely experiment! But for starters, I recommend the Prismacolor Premier colored pencils for coloring over grayscale (Click HERE for a lovely, and affordable pack of 36 pencils). They have vibrant colors and blend nicely. Want to branch out? Try mediums that can blend (watercolor pencils, acrylic paint, pastels, blendable markers, etc. – I’m basically just showing you my studio shopping list). Also, Gel pens and fine tipped markers can work well for detail work.

And then there’s paper. Are you printing your coloring page at home? Coloring printables are the best! With DIY coloring book pages, regular printer paper will do in a pinch. Again, no judging. But a slightly “heavier” paper will usually have more tooth (texture) to hold more pigment. Standard printer paper is 20lb and will work in a pinch. But I like 110LB Cardstock paper. It’s great for colored pencils and slightly wet media such as: Gel pens, fineliner pens, and some markers. (Oh look, here’s a link to some great 110LB Cardstock paper! It’s like I ENJOY shopping!) This is the beauty of digital coloring pages – you can print them as many times as you like on any paper you like! (Ahem, did you know you can order hand-drawn printable coloring pages in my shop HERE)

Your paper and color choices are endless! And it’s all up to you. Do what you want. Choose the colors you love. The paper you like. Because as awesome as this coloring guide is (and it IS The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Grayscale Coloring) it’s all about you. Have fun! Relax! Get creative! And start grayscale coloring today!

Are you past the “beginner” stage of grayscale coloring? Want something a little more in-depth? Check out these super FUN Coloring Tutorials from my studio! Here’s a sample video coloring in one of my grayscale coloring pages:

Did you enjoy this post?

Have you tried coloring yet? Tell me! Show me! For real, I love seeing coloring masterpieces. Comment here OR find me on social media and share! Below are my social links where you can find me and brighten up my day with YOUR creativity!

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