[FrOsT_bItE]

Please help me! I love drawing and am really good at it but my problem is that I can't chose the right colors! How can I chose the right ones without having to stress out about it!

[Capuchin]

Who determines what the right colors are? Go abstract!

[Wondergirl]

There are no right colors!

Have you ever heard the song by Harry Chapin, "Flowers Are Red"? --


The little boy went first day of school
He got some crayons and started to draw
He put colors all over the paper
For colors was what he saw
And the teacher said.. What you doin' young man
I'm paintin' flowers he said
She said... It's not the time for art young man
And anyway flowers are green and red
There's a time for everything young man
And a way it should be done
You've got to show concern for everyone else
For you're not the only one

And she said...
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen

But the little boy said...
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one

Well the teacher said.. You're sassy
There's ways that things should be
And you'll paint flowers the way they are
So repeat after me...

And she said...
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen

But the little boy said...
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one

The teacher put him in a corner
She said.. It's for your own good..
And you won't come out 'til you get it right
And all responding like you should
Well finally he got lonely
Frightened thoughts filled his head
And he went up to the teacher
And this is what he said.. and he said

Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen

Time went by like it always does
And they moved to another town
And the little boy went to another school
And this is what he found
The teacher there was smilin'
She said... Painting should be fun
And there are so many colors in a flower
So let's use every one

But that little boy painted flowers
In neat rows of green and red
And when the teacher asked him why
This is what he said.. and he said

Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen.

[FrOsT_bItE]

:) cool thanks. Like the poem to!

[Wondergirl]

Now, Frostbite, paint with joy and abandon! Decorate the walls around askmehelpdesk and make us proud of you!

[templelane]

Art is there for you to do whatever you like. But here are some colour tips.

Have you seen the colourwheel? Draw one yourself red,orange,yellow, green, blue, purple then back to red ( at its most basic)
Color Matters - Design and Art - Color Theory

Colours beside each other will always look good together e.g. green and yellow. Colours Opposite (complimentary) will zing together - make each other look brighter e.g. orange and blue.

There is also discordant colours like red and blue - get them at the same tone and they will appear to dance - you see this a lot in book covers/logos. Not so much in traditional paintings.

So what colours go? Anything you like everyone has there own personal opinions, some people think discordant colours clash, some people hate pink and red together!

If you are doing a painting put cooler colours (blue, green) into the background they naturally receed. They also add depth to shadows.

Warm colours (orange, red) will come forward.

You should look at impressionist paintings and examine their use of colour - notice how they fleck complimentary colours, to make the painting more vibrant.

The Impressionists

If you have trouble starting copy old masters paintings/ ones you really like. You can learn so much by trying to recreate somebody else's work. You have to really examine what they did to get an effect.

Then try and recreate their style with your own subject matter. Also try and copy one work say an oil painting in a completely different media like soft pastles. It really makes you think and develop as an artist.

Also what paints are you using? You should try acrylics as they are the easiest/ most fun - but I'm biased.

Anyway, just have fun and do whatever you like :)

[nicespringgirl]

Remember that extreme unity leads to under-stimulation, extreme complexity leads to over-stimulation.
Also, paint it from your heart:)

[cal823]

I wish I could paint lolz, I think the art teacher I had when I was young put me of painting, so I never learned it, because I was yelled at by the art teacher for getting too much out of the bottle.
I like square chalk pastels myself, and I like to cross hatch in artline.

[templelane]

^^ cal you should totally try again with paint. I had a friend who was put off painting/art by a teacher - they told her she was a waste of materials! The cheek. I had her round to one of my mural projects and she actually turned out to be one of the best there. She just needed a little instruction, and encouragment then she was away.

So don't be put off go for it. :)

[cal823]

I mite give it a try, it just scares me lolz.

[Doberman]

are you talking about colored pencil? painting? crayons? or something else?

[bigdreamer85]

are you talking about colored pencil? painting? crayons? or something else?

I agree your title says painting and the questions about drawing... I don't know, but I am fantastic with a pencil but put a paint brush in my hand and its like a kindergardener did it. My old teacher used to say I just need to get used to a different medium. So just practice. Plus who cares if the colors are right every time... Abstract paintings are the coolest anyways:D

[cal823]

If you are good at pencil, I suggest you try charcoal, oils pastels, or my favourite- square/chalk pastels

[templelane]

^^ you should at degas drawings he used pastel like they were paint, layering them up. I always think this looks better than the popular 'smudging' techniques. I hated pastels until I learnt this - now they are some of my favourites too. I think it really helps someone grow artistically to try out as many mediums as possible. Even non traditional ones such as mud and leaves. You can get some great colours using different soils.

I think true creativity really comes out when you are forced to work in a box. Such as only using your non dominant hand or using only two colours. Place difficult resitrictions and you have to think more and work harder, and in the end I think this results in better art. Just a random thought :)

[cal823]

I tend to start by doing the background, and id actually do the entire object in full detail, even if its going to be obscured by another bit on top of it
Lol I used to do the stuff in the front first and work backwards, wich caused problems lol
Restrictions? That's a good idea, I mite try that.

Lol, my artwork has formed a bunch of characters, and these characters are a recurrent theme.
Such as my blue haired friend here (in my dp) his name is cal, and he's sort of representative of a part of me, there's also silas (who is very bad, he hates cal, he wants cal dead)(he sort of represents bad stuff in my life) and a chick which is representative of a person I have feelings for and this other guy, no clue who he is, he just sort of came about

So you see, art is more than a bit of paper, it can have a story, a meaning.

[templelane]

That's cool, I think I remember you talking about them in an early post. I've always liked your icon. Might change mine to one of my pics too.

I'm really bad I know your supposed to do the background first - it really is the best way but my short attention span always leads me to jumping ahead of myself. So I started concentrating on portraits more (animal and people) so that I could stick to simple washes and colours. Lazy I know!But if someone is starting they should really take your advice and not get into bad habits.

[Miro]

Practice makes perfect

[FrOsT_bItE]

So true!

[jrebel7]

Please help me! I love drawing and am really good at it but my problem is that i can't chose the right colors! How can i chose the right ones without having to stress out about it!?

If you have an art piece in mind and try to do that in color and are not happy with the colors, that could be discouraging to you. I would like to suggest that first you just load up a palette with all the colors you have or at least primary, secondary and a few others, some white and some black. Have a few brushes available and then just start applying the paint and let your heart tell your hands what to do. You will soon see what colors do what and how they work together. It also helps to see how they blend and which ones muddy up and which ones enhance. Don't be afraid to just slap the paint on in any fashion. As one said earlier, paint with "wild abandonment"! What a great freedom comes with painting like this. After doing this a few times, I think your eye will begin to become trained to know what you want where. Don't worry if there are some who don't like what you paint from time to time. Every artist on this thread, I am sure could tell you of comments made, not as positive as they hoped for. You are a unique creation unto yourself. Find your own path and what works for you There will always be those whose life's ambition it is to take joy from your heart. As long as you enjoy it and paint with passion, believe me, you will have other's fall in love with your work. Once you are pleased with your work, anything else is just icing on the cake! "HAPPY PAINTING!"

[jrebel7]

i wish i could paint lolz, i think the art teacher i had when i was young put me of painting, so i never learned it, because i was yelled at by the art teacher for getting too much out of the bottle.
i like square chalk pastels my self, and i like to cross hatch in artline.

Cal, it broke my heart for you when I read about this teacher. The sad thing is, as an adult, I have ran into instructors in classes that do the same thing and it hurts adults, how much more so a child. You were so vulnerable being young. Try to just dig your heels in and do what you want to do with painting knowing you have encouragers all around you on this thread. Turn that negative into a positive and use it to push you forward! :)