The Underpainters
Advanced Artistic Coloring Community
WARNING: The Underpainters is a community membership designed to support independent artistic growth. This is not a class; there will be no step-by-step demonstrations. Members receive monthly challenges, photo references, and digital stamps, plus access to an interactive livestream plus our private membership forum for questions, feedback, and critique.
Join Amy Shulke, professional illustrator and art instructor in a new guided education format designed to get you coloring with independence and creativity.
Move from simply coloring-along to creating unique and original art.
Feedback and support for the projects you want to create
Use your medium of choice: marker, pencil, watercolor, pastel, charcoal, etc. Add your own ideas, style, and creative flair.
Share what you’ve learned & receive helpful feedback in return.
Are you taking coloring classes but expecting art school results?
You’re comfortable receiving the class image plus a detailed supply list. Then you follow the leader, mimicking the instructor, step by step from start to finish.
But everyone ends up with the same ho-hum instructor-approved project.
You feel good about what you’ve done, but it's a bummer that it looks exactly like everyone else's project.
Psst, art school doesn’t work this way. Art school gives you open-ended challenges and asks you to invent your own solution with your own materials, your own colors, and your own ideas.
Tutorials, watch-me demonstrations, and practice exercises can not transform you into an artist.
Art is made independently. Art is made originally. Art reflects something unique inside you. You can't make art following step-by-steps with 200 other people.
You need gentle guidance and a community to support your transition from coloring to independence.
The Underpainters is an advanced artistic coloring community
A community of learners, a family of support
Move beyond standard coloring classes to self-determined projects in your medium of choice with support and mentorship from the exclusive Underpainters Community Forum.
Subscribe now to become part of our coloring community!
Your Subscription Includes
- New skills challenge
- Original Vanilla Arts digital stamp
- Recipe guide, printable photo reference, detailed color map, and full color sample
- Monthly livestream-- a demonstration of one key area (vote for what you want to see!)
- Sneak Peek videos of Amy coloring a challenging part of the project
- Archive access-- view livestreams from previous 12 months
- Exclusive community forum access for discussion, assistance, and feedback
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Course Curriculum
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StartNext Image: September 5 and October 2 (See special note)
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StartSeptember 2023: Flamin' S'mores
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StartDigital Stamps: Flamin' S'mores
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StartShopping List: Flamin' S'mores
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StartPhoto References: Flamin' S'mores
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StartBooklet: Flamin' S'mores
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StartAmy's Finished Version: Flamin' S'mores
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StartWARNING!!! Downloads have expiration dates.
"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."
"I just love the things I'm learning and can't wait to start the next project. Your images are challenging for me and I like that. I'll never look at another image and how to color it the same again!"