How to Blend Colors Tutorial and Coloring Page
Learn how to blend colors and create a beautiful abstract drawing of a fall tree. No need for paint or even oil pastels, as crayons do a fine job too!
Blended Colors Tree
Trees from Canada
Learning how to Blend Colors
Once students have learned how to color or paint neatly with one color, they may be ready for the next step: blending two colors together so that one makes a soft, gradual transition into the other.
It’s a wonderful skill to have for all kinds of art projects, and it can be especially useful for fall drawings. Leaves, pumpkins, trees, and even skies can look much more interesting when students learn how to combine lighter and darker shades instead of filling an area with just one flat color.
At first, it might seem that paint would be the easiest medium for teaching color blending, since wet colors naturally mix together. There are a few drawbacks, though. Whether students are working with watercolor or tempera, successful blending often requires a fairly light touch, which can be difficult for beginners. Teachers also don’t always have access to paint, or the extra time needed for setup and cleanup.
Fortunately, crayons can do a surprisingly good job of blending too.
In fact, crayons call for almost the opposite technique. Instead of using a light touch, students need to press firmly and put down plenty of color. Then they can scribble back and forth across the area where the two colors meet until that hard edge begins to soften and the colors appear to blend together.
One helpful tip is to start with two similar colors. A light and dark shade of the same color, like the ones shown in my example, will usually give students the best results. Colors that are too different from one another can be much harder to blend smoothly.
It does take a little patience, but once students learn the technique, all kinds of new coloring possibilities open up. They can create richer leaves, more dimensional pumpkins, glowing sunsets, and many other effects—all with a simple box of crayons.
Preview of the Blended Tree Tutorial
Tree Coloring Page
Recommended Materials
Directions
Time needed: 45 minutes
How to Draw a Blended Tree in 9 Easy Steps
- Draw the center branch of the tree.
- Add a branch to the left.
- Add a branch to the right.
- Add another to the left.
- Add two more to the right.
- Balance more on the left.
- Trace heavily with black marker.
- Fill areas with two similar colors.
- Continue, always softening edges between.
Abstract Tree in Markers
