This advice comes from my personal experiences as a Colored Pencil beginner and this is what I would tell my past self.

To come up with this list, I spent some time looking back at my earliest drawings and notes that I made in an effort to remember what I struggled with and what questions I had.

Hopefully, it will help you!

Tip 3- Copy a Drawing, Not a Photo

All of my tutorials include a reference photo.  It might look something like this.

The tutorial will also include a photo of my completed drawing.  It will look like this. 

Here is the tip…use the drawing as your reference! 

When you are first learning to draw with colored pencils, you can be completely overwhelmed when looking at a reference photograph with so much detail.  It is hard to know what to draw and what to leave out. 

You are learning about everything all at once- color, value, layering, blending, pencil characteristics, paper qualities, techniques. 

By using a drawing as a reference, you can eliminate some of the choices that have to be made because the other artist has narrowed things down for you.

You will notice that my drawing does not look exactly like the reference I followed when I drew it.  I am limited by the colors I have available, my time and skill level.  Sometimes I just decide to draw something a little differently.  So, my completed drawing is not always an exact match to the photo.  If you are following along with my tutorial while looking at the reference image I provide, you could become frustrated when after following along with me, your drawing doesn’t match the reference.  Because my drawing doesn’t match the reference!

My Story

When I was first learning to draw with colored pencils, I was completely overwhelmed when I looked at a reference photo.  I didn’t know which colors to choose or which details to include or leave out.  At the same time, I was learning about my materials.  I didn’t know how to blend pencils or which paper to use.  I didn’t know ANY techniques and I had 0 drawing skills.  As I was learning all of this, I found it much easier to draw based on a completed drawing or painting rather than a reference photo. The other artist had already narrowed things down for me.  I could see how they had tackled a tricky area.  I could copy their choices.

These drawings are what I now jokingly refer to as my early ‘forgeries’.  I would never post them or show them to anyone, sign my name to them or claim them as my own in any way.  But, I learned SO much from drawing them.  Most of these were just done from images I found on Pinterest.  They were for practice purposes only.

Some of these drawings were from tutorials where a photo reference was provided as well as a finished drawing from the artist.  Instead of following along with the tutorial by using the reference image, I followed along with the tutorial by using the completed drawing provided.

I am not suggesting that you do this forever.  I probably copied 5-10 paintings and drawings before I started working from actual reference photos.  It was an opportunity to learn how my pencils worked and blended and to learn about the paper I was drawing on.  It was an opportunity to practice the drawing techniques I was learning without the added pressure of deciphering a reference image at the same time.

But I felt guilty about it!

Here is the negative- I felt bad about doing this!  But, at the same time, I was so excited about how quickly I was learning.  At some point, it dawned on me- when I was learning to play the piano, did I feel bad about copying Mozart?  No. Did I learn a lot from copying Mozart?  Yes.  Did I claim to have composed The Marriage of Figaro? No.  Why should it be different when I am learning to draw?

A young ballerina copies her instructor’s exact movements over and over.  This is how she learns.  But, for some reason, artists aren’t always given that same leeway.  We are often expected to create our own artwork while simultaneously learning to draw.

So, I hope this helps some of you who are in the very early stages of learning.  It might help you to work from one of my drawings rather than the reference I provide.  We learn from copying others!  I am giving you permission to not feel bad about that.🙂