Why Your Leaves Don’t Look Real — It’s Not Your Blending Skills
Every coloring influencer has a favorite leaf technique…
You’ve tried a bunch…
And they kinda work… but not really.
As long as your leaf is sitting behind a big, bright flower, your leaves can kinda slide under the radar— the wallflowers to your actual flower.
But realistic? Not even close.
Coloring techniques are shortcuts. Every shortcut you use, takes you farther from realism.
Use this green blend. Shade every leaf on the bottom half. Shade by the point. Shade near the stem. Make the veins darker. Don’t make the veins darker…
Stop! When was the last time you looked at an actual leaf?
PHOTO REFERENCES AND STUDY OBJECTS are essential to artists AND colorists. You can’t color with realism if you don’t know what real looks like.
Let’s Change Our Approach:
It’s a myth that real artists draw, color, and paint from their imagination.
Trust me, I spent four years of art school looking at hired models, objects on tables, and photos out the wazoo. Then in professional illustration, companies hired me to draw their product— like their photo but better.
The human brain takes shortcuts.
We don’t remember objects with enough clarity to draw or color from memory.
Coloring realistic leaves is sooo much easier when you have an actual leaf to tell you which colors to use, where to shade, and where to highlight.
Why It Works:
References take the guesswork out of coloring.
I don’t know about you but I second guess most of my marker and pencil decisions. “Is this good or would that be better?” I let my photo reference decide.
And don’t assume a photo reference takes the creativity out of coloring.
Photographs often emphasize colors we don’t normally notice in person.
When I add hints of bright yellow or blazing purple to a standard green leaf, that idea almost always comes from a little quirk in the photograph.
And once you see one weird color, you’ll soon see more!
Shortcut techniques boil everything down to the same-same-same. References spark magic.
Supplies used in “Monstera”
Copic Alcohol Markers
Prismacolor Premier & Derwent Lightfast Colored Pencils
Smooth Bristol Board
Full supply list with specific colors at the bottom of this page.
Today’s article was just a quick tip, giving you permission to ditch the tutorials and start coloring what you see.
In the Monstera Workshop inside ColorWonk, we go deeper into how to map and follow photo references for added realism. At the end, we add a bunch of artistic flair.
Leaves don’t all look alike, even two leaves from the same plant. So why would we ever color them all the same?
And the best part? This workshop isn’t just about green leaves.
Once you understand how artists use photo references to make smart decisions, you can use references to make coloring much, much easier!
Monstera is one of my signature workshops here at ColorWonk
ColorWonk is a monthly membership for colorists and shy artists who want to improve realism, artistic observation, and color confidence through workshops, livestreams, and a growing library of artistic education.
It’s like art school for coloring!
If you enjoy this deeper way of thinking about color, you’ll feel right at home inside ColorWonk.
New to ColorWonk? Learn how membership works.
Not ready for classes yet?
Every Saturday, I send a free color theory lesson designed to help adult colorists better understand why some coloring techniques work while others fail miserably.
It’s a simple way to improve your coloring while getting to know me and my Color Wonky style.
Get your FREE subscription to the Vanilla Beans Newsletter here and I’ll see you on Saturday!
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Supplies Used in Monstera:
