Coloring Basics - The Flick Stroke
Troubleshoot Your Technique
Join Amy Shulke, a professional illustrator and marker enthusiast for a live coloring demonstration. Real coloring in real time.
Do you struggle to blend or color neatly?
You’ve taken the coloring classes, you’ve tried the tutorials… But to be perfectly honest, you’re just not getting it. You can kinda flick and almost blend. It feels like you’re missing something.
Something important.
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a class that focused a little less on cute projects and more on how to get your hand to do the darned technique?
Pssstttt… now there is!
WARNING: THIS IS NOT A BEGINNER CLASS!
THIS CLASS DISCUSSES HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR FLICK STROKE.
YOU MUST KNOW HOW TO FLICK BEFORE WE CAN IMPROVE YOUR FLICK.
The Flick Stroke
Flicking is the most important marker stroke— the backbone for ink control, blending, and color sculpting for depth & dimension.
Improve your coloring with smarter, more effective flicks.
Coloring Basics is NOT a coloring class.
We don’t coach you part-by-part through how to color flower bouquets, vegetables, or google-eyed penguins in pajamas.
Instead, we focus on the strokes.
How to flick more efficiently, the techniques we've tried, the tricks and modifications we make to color beautiful flick strokes.
Technique Focused
Trendy coloring projects are fun but they're not getting you anywhere.
Explore beginner Copic marker techniques from TWO viewpoints
Amy Shulke is a professional illustrator with over 25 years of experience using alcohol markers.
Elena Cazares is a talented colorer who has turned her love of markers into an art supply store, a popular Copic swatch series, and educational videos.
Join Amy & Elena as they explore basic beginner coloring techniques. Sometimes they agree, sometimes they don't - but both get beautiful results.
Coloring Basics is NOT about coloring apples.
But you'll use this information on apples, animals, airplanes, astronauts....anything!
Technique, not projects.
This class is NOT a substitute for beginner level lessons.
We’re not teaching complete newbies how to uncap a marker. We're also not teaching you how to color.
Instead, we’re teaching you to troubleshoot what’s going wrong with your current flick stroke.
This is a discussion & demo style class. We’re not teaching how to flick, we’re discussing typical flaws in flicking technique and how to make improvements. Some experience with flicking will make the conversation a lot more meaningful.
Please Note:
The fruit and vegetables shown here are NOT taught in Coloring Basics classes. These digital stamps are included with purchase as practice images only. Classes demonstrate techniques which can then be used on the included stamp. Samples shown are Amy’s work and are NOT beginner level— she is a professional illustrator. She uses these techniques in her artwork daily and you can use them too.
Required Supplies: printable supply list included in class package
- High-quality Copic-friendly marker cardstock (X-Press It Blending Card or Cryogen Curious Metallic White 89lb are highly recommended)
- Copic Markers
- Artist quality colored pencils (Prismacolor Premier recommended)
- Acrylic clipboard, glass mat or hard surface and drafting tape to secure your project to the surface
- Pencil, pencil sharpener
- Erasers - black and white polymer, white sticky tack, Tombow Mono Zero Eraser (round)
The Flick Stroke is an essential Copic Marker technique.
It is important for smooth blends and color sculpting.
Coloring Basics explores proper flicking and how to troubleshoot your current flick stroke.
Learn to color and shade with a smarter, more effective flick.
Your Instructor
Amy is a professional freelance technical illustrator with 25 years of experience in graphic arts. Amy began using colored pencils in 1985 and she started with DeSign markers in 1989. Colored pencils with a base of either marker or watercolor is her preferred process for portraiture and scientific illustration. She has a special passion for teaching crafters and shy artists to stretch their boundaries by adding established fine art techniques to their coloring projects.
Join Amy for fun and highly informative lessons which will not only change the way you color but the way you see color in the world around you.
"It's the OMG moments. That's why Amy's classes rock. She explains things that you've maybe noticed before but never thought much about. I love it!"
"At 62 years of age I have no illusions about becoming a great artist but. I am so appreciative of the change in my perception since taking classes with Amy at Vanilla Arts Co. Now I see the play of colors, the motion and the grace... It's a great way to view the world around me."
"Another fun class. Thanks Amy!"