How To Master Color Theory With Acrylic Markers | Easy Beginner Tutorial With Fruit

Welcome back to Creating the Chaos. Now, I love acrylic markers as much as the next guy, so this video is going to break down not just how to use them, but how to apply color theory in six easy-to-follow fruit tutorials. I've added the supplies I used in the description, but today we're using Shuttle Arts Automatic Ink Control Acrylic Markers, so a big shout out to them for being this video's sponsors. Now, I have their set of 36, but they also have bigger sets or smaller sets depending on your color options. Plus, their brush tips are flexible for both wide and small strokes. They even have fine-tipped acrylic pens if you really like detailing, although I won't really use those in this video. Before we dive into color theory, let's just refresh on how acrylic markers tend to work. Each brand might be different, but this is a really holistic view. So, when you're drawing, you can make different shaped lines based on the angle that you hold the brush. Keep in mind that acrylic markers dry fast. I just colored this patch here, and see, it's already dry. So now, how do we actually blend different colors, especially when it dries fast? Okay, let's test it out with dark and light purple. Again, after these four seconds, it's essentially dried out. So, I'll show you a few different ways that I blend them. The first way is by coloring both at the same time. I put both pens in the same hand, almost like chopsticks, and the colors blend together. You can use your finger to rub the colors right after the drawing if you want, but it will get on your fingers, although it will dry almost immediately, so you don't really have to worry about smudging other things. Another way is to layer the colors soon after drying. It's important to layer acrylic markers for more vibrant colors, for blending, and for other techniques, so it's actually very common to just keep layering. As you can see, I use my finger again for the final blend, but keep in mind the paper that you use also changes your blending ability. Some papers aren't well suited for acrylic markers and can end up flaking. The markers can also cross-contaminate each other and get other colors on its tips, so try to wipe it off with your finger or on a spare sheet of paper before using it again. Now, these are water-based markers, which means if you spill water or purposefully use water, it ends up like this, so just beware. Since we've gone over the basics of using markers, let's talk about color theory. The colors that we use interact with each other and end up creating different relationships. This is largely defined by the color wheel. Complementary colors describe the colors opposite each other with high contrast. That would be orange and blue, yellow and purple, and red and green. Analogous colors are the ones next to each other and appear more similar. That would be red and purple, yellow, orange, and red, and green and blue. There's also warm and cool colors, where warm colors are red, orange, and yellow. It makes people feel higher energy and think fire. Cool colors, on the opposite side, are green, blue, and purple, which are more calming and remind you more of water. But I'm a visual person, so let me show you what that looks like. Yellow and purple are drastically different complementary pairs. Yellow is very far away from purple in your mind, but when used together, they can actually look good and create a darker version of each other. For example, if I'm coloring a sphere in yellow, I can use purple as a base for where the dark yellow would be. When I color over in yellow, the purple becomes a darker shade. With acrylic markers, you can also go over in many layers just so you get the right color. So rather than using black, which most artists actually try to avoid because it's flat or unrealistic, and instead of using dark yellow, which doesn't always have great dimension, you can actually use purple for more contrast and that greater dimension. This also works for analogous colors as well, like purple and red. If you're coloring a red sphere, you can actually use purple as a base also. Then, when you color over in red, you create a darker red shade with contrast and, that's right, dimension. Oh, and the great thing about acrylic markers is you can always layer again and add back color. Once it's dried, it's basically as if I'm just coloring red and the purple isn't there. That's also why blending is such a race because it dries so fast and you really want to be able to create that smooth blend rather than just have to draw a billion times. Okay, now I'm going to teach you how to use color theory by drawing six basic fruits. I know, delicious. You'll be able to learn how to draw these very simply, but also you can see how to start applying color theory as you go. First up, we have a pear, a very basic fruit, but one that everyone loves. Okay, to draw this, start with a small circle and then draw a bigger one below. Yes, we're starting with the basics. Now, draw an outline connecting both to get the pear body. Add a little stem and boom, you have the base shape down. I like to start with dark blue for the shadows. I always look at a reference photo to see the lighting because it's always easier when you're trying to be correct. So, where it's darker in the photo will be where you use the dark shades and where it's lighter is where you can leave some white spots for light reflection. I'm going to add dark blue to the left side of the pear and curve it with the body. Then, I'll add in yellow for the opposite light side, leaving some space for light reflection. Now, yellow and green and blue are analogous colors, so they easily blend to get the green. Now that both sides are set, I go in with the green base in the middle and I blend them both. Remember, these markers dry fast, so I'm showing initially where I want the colors to go. Honestly, sometimes I like to uncap all three and have them in quick draw, quickly switching between them all to blend it. I'm drawing lots of layers to get a smooth look of the pear going from blue to yellow, but you can use your pick. I could also use dark green for the shadows, but when I do, it looks a little flatter than using the blue, so I'd like to stick with that, but again, up to your preference. For the stem, I used brown for the base, then colored over with some dark blue for the shadow and finished off with yellow for the highlights. Next up is a blueberry. Start with a big circle and then another smaller one towards the top and a last one very small in the middle of that. Now, draw squiggly lines coming from the middle circle and you can mark off the areas where light reflection might be just to keep it white. I first trace the outline of the blueberry with dark blue, then I shade the darker areas with orange, which is blue's complementary color. Again, when you're coloring these, you don't have to, but the point is to just show you the difference that the complementary and analogous colors can make. I then go in with some purple, blue's analogous color, and color in some of the darker areas. I color over the whole blueberry aside from its lightest spots with the base blue color and I keep layering some orange and some blue. Now, I'm adding in lighter blue to the areas that I saved for the light reflection. Again, you can keep the colors distinct by not blending it, which is a whole other style for acrylic markers, but I like blending them. So, I'm going to keep layering some purple, some blue, and I'm going to smudge them with my finger to blend them a little bit, but again, add as much as you want. I'm going in with a ton of layers. I'll start adding in light blue and white for the light reflection. You're going to want this area to be very different from the darker shadows just to keep the normal blueberry shape and to have more dimension. Again, this will take a couple layers to get it blended with the rest. You can even add lighter purple depending on the color that you want the blueberry to be. This will take a lot of layers again because you're going to want to blend the light blue and the purple with medium blues and eventually to the darker blues. And with that, the second fruit is done. The third fruit is a raspberry. Now, I love raspberries, so this is exciting. This shape is a little more complex though, so start with a wide ellipse. Then, draw a circle down and form it as if the ellipse is an opening. Then, after that, draw a triangle with the ellipse as a base. Lots of shapes, I know. Now, add in weird funky shaped circles lining the sphere in an upside down pyramid. Almost like a snowball pile, but upside down as well. I'll erase a little bit of the lines, but it's easier when you start coloring. I'll start with green, which is red's complementary color for the darkest sections. That would be the creases where the little circles meet each other. The way that I'm drawing is having the light come from the left side of the raspberry and the darker side on the right. This helps with planning where to place the shadows. After that, I'm adding purple in some of the same creases. Purple is red's analogous color, so you can use it for darker spots as well. Once I finish with those base colors, I'm going to go over it all in a light pink. Now, after that layer, I will use a red to color over the green and the purple. This is where they begin to appear like darker reds and where you can start coloring the raspberry normally. I do try to keep some areas white for the light reflection, since there are a bunch of light spots on each circle. Now, keep layering with red or pink, and if you want any areas darker, go back in with a purple or green, and then color the red on top. That's what I wanted, so I switched between purple and red for a bit. If you lose the reflection spots, no worries. You can always go back over with light pink or white for strokes or little dots. Anything to help curve with the shape. I went back over with red for the final touch, and there we go. Now, reminder, the good thing about acrylic markers is that white spot you can always get back. No matter the layers, no matter if you covered it all up, using that white marker is magic for acrylic markers, so do not even worry. We are halfway there, so next up is a watermelon. This shape is pretty simple. Start with a triangle with a slightly curved bottom. Then, extend the bottom a little further with another line. I added in a few teardrop shaped seeds into the triangles as well. These will be important for the details. So, to color, I'm starting off with a green rind. First, I'm using yellow, and then layering with green. I used the whitish yellow color to fill in above. I went back over the green with different shades, although lots of them look similar. Now, starting on the main part, the red fruit. Okay, I used red's analogous color purple for the base. I colored around the seeds since it would also have more of a darker red there, so remember the little details in the lighting. Then, I colored over with red with many layers, and added in some light pink for more texture. You can see that each layer of red makes the purple blend in even more, and as I'm using the pink, I'm also going to want to blend between red and the pink again, just to get more of that light and dark areas. I used a mix of dark blue, black, and brown for the seeds, making sure to leave a slight streak and circle of white for seed reflection. Again, if you miss that step, you can always add it back with the white acrylic marker. I went back over with red a few more scribbles of purple and pink before coloring over for the final time with red. And there you go! Next up is a green apple. Okay, similar color to the pear, but we're going to color it differently. We're going to focus on the complementary color. You essentially will draw a circle, but add three bumps at the bottom, and add a curved line towards the top where the stem will come out. I start by blocking off where I want the white space to be. Then, I add red, green's complementary color, to the darkest areas. I color over with green, then fill in the rest of the apple, aside from reflection spots. You'll see the goal is essentially the entire apple, aside from a few spots, colored in a base color of green. You can see the difference in color from the regular green to the one on top of the red. Now, near the reflection, I am coloring over with some yellow to bring in a warmer tone before coloring over in the green. I want it darker also, so I'm adding back red to color again. Then, I color over the red with the base green. You can still see the darker shade that the red creates compared to the base green. I add in a darker shade of green to the darker spots, blending it again with the base. Essentially, after each layer that I add, I add back the same green, just to make it blend and look smooth. Around the reflection, I'll add an off-white color to use my finger and blend between the white and the base green. I'll do many layers of this, because getting a green to a straight-up white takes a lot of work. I use a darker green to add some lines around the dark shadows, and then consistently color in a smooth way in the base green. Now, remember to color with a curve just so you match the circular shape of the apple. I continue with these layers with different greens until it looks how I want. The last part is the stem. For it, I actually start with a brown base and then use orange for highlights and blue for the shadow. And there you have it, a green apple. For the final fruit, let's make the crowd favorite, the strawberry. Okay, I love drawing these, but it also takes a little bit of time, so keep that in mind. To draw the shape, do a sideways triangle and then draw a curved outline from it. From its base, draw leaves pointing in different directions. After you erase the first triangle, add some rows of pointed seeds. Now, for coloring, I'll begin with red's analogous color purple for the The coloring will be very liquid, so try to color up in a swirly line around the seeds. Keep some white space in between. Reflection is very important for this fruit. And color only about one-third of the way up the strawberry. Then, color over the purple with red and continue coloring the strawberry in curving lines, leaving curved white space towards the top around the seeds. Extend the red beyond the purple until it's covered the majority of the strawberry. You can see I'm coloring in curved lines around the seeds. This way, I keep the shape of the strawberry and also the shape of the highlights. Make a gradient by the top of the strawberry stem from red to orange to light yellow. Add some pink to the strawberry in curved strokes. Use dark purple to curve around the seeds as a shadow. You can also add more layers of purple and red to the bottom of the strawberry if you want more dimension. For the seeds, I use light yellow and then line it with brown for more contrast. I place the darker colors at the bottom since the light is coming from the top. You can always add back more pink or white for the reflection if you need. To color the leaves, start with yellow as a base, then blend with light green for each leaf. You'll want to add multiple layers, layering the green and the yellow to have a smooth blend. Add some dark green to the leaf tips and blend with the other green. Again, you'll want to add multiple layers here just to have a good gradient from the dark, to the medium, to the bright yellow. I made lines across the leaves by not smoothly blending them together. Add in dark blue to the very tips for greater contrast and more lines for texture. This is where the fine tip colored pens I showed earlier can also come in handy. You can use the white pen the most, but you can go in and add more details like reflection lines or dots, but again, that's completely optional. Well, there you go. Six beautiful fruits. This is the basis of how I use color theory with acrylic markers, but also in general across other mediums. You can see how complementary versus analogous colors work and the differences they create, but don't be afraid to test it out. Again, practice makes perfect, or at least practice makes talent. Lots of colors layer well and it's important to keep in mind the lighting and the shadows. Thank you so much for watching and let me know in the comments what else you want to see. Don't forget to subscribe and have a great rest of your week.