Coloring is more than the connotation of a mild-mannered, soothing activity for children or adults. Coloring is a skill that, like many other artistic skills, requires a good amount of dedication and passion. Similarly, because Coloring is an artistic skill, many hobbyist coloring fanatics turn to become professional colorists specializing in color and color development. However, when it comes to the divide between hobbyists and professionals, there’s only one technical driving line between hobby colorists and professional colorists. If the colorist is getting paid to color a piece, then they are a professional colorist; if the colorist’s time and work aren’t being monetized, then the colorist is a hobbyist.
Regardless of professional monetization, Coloring is a Hobby that encompasses a wide array of individuals, all progressing their skills through creative expression. Smooth, visually textured gradients and unique saturated color blends may come naturally to the few and far between, but for the most part, creating stunning artistic color takes time, work, and development for hobbyists of any level to achieve.
Whether you’re starting or have a decade’s worth of built-up skill, all artists and hobbyists alike communicate in the field of art with a basic standard vocabulary. Think of this as an industry lexicon and not just pretentious art words. All of the words presented in the article below have been referenced with Mirriam-Websters Online Dictionary to help validate the definitive parameters of what it means to be a colorist at the hobby and professional levels.
What is a Colorist?
A colorist is an artist who specifically deals in Coloring or color. In the art world, color is two or more hues employed in a medium presentation. The medium holding the pigment together is usually called the binder. The color and the binder are the two main components of any coloring tool, whether it be colored pencils, crayons, markers, paints, pastels, oils, or any other combination of binder and pigments or color.
Regardless of skill or quality of art supply, the act of Coloring is a stimulating process both actively to our creative brain and passively in a meditative capacity. The feeling of scratching a creative itch is what introduces many people to regularly practicing and having fun with Coloring. As is with most hobbies, there is a broad spectrum of perspectives, skill levels, and interest levels on the shared hobby.
At a beginner level, the color theory side of Coloring is pretty user-friendly. By looking at a color wheel, coloring hobbyists can easily reference rudimentary color patterns. The primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. Other colors that can be produced by mixing any of the primary colors are called secondary colors and include orange, purple, and green. Beyond the primary and secondary color dichotomy, tertiary colors are those made from a mixture of primary and secondary colors such as blue and orange, or by mixing two secondary colors such as red and purple.
As hobbyists progress, whether through active knowledge-seeking or sheer experimentation, colorists encounter various color patterns such as analogous colors, sets of three to five colors that are closely related in hue. Complimentary colors lay on opposing sides of the color wheel from each other. In monochrome, a picture is done in tones of only one color, such as grey or black-and-white. The classic heat-miser and cold-miser combo, has warm colors, like red, orange, and yellow, and cool colors, such as blue, purple, and green.
Again, no matter how serious someone takes Coloring, stick with it long enough, and every colorist is going to happen upon the basics of color theory in one way or another. Similarly, most colorists will employ a handful of rudimentary techniques that translate through any coloring utensil.
What does a Colorist do?
Layering is the process of Coloring another plain or tier of color over an initial base of color. This can be done through an assortment of strokes, such as an oval or circular coloring pattern. Hatching is a process that uses fine lines being colored or drawn nearby over an initial base layer of color. And further extension, cross-hatching adds fine perpendicular lines over the existing hatching lines. Hatching and cross-hatching are typically used for creating shadows and contrast areas.
Once colorists begin experimenting with creating layers of color in conjunction with various color theory concepts and hand techniques, the depth of Coloring as a hobby expands into the professional world.
Colorists often practice creating gradients, a visual change in color value stretched out from one point to another, when Coloring. On a basic level, a green gradient can be colored using the three-tone rule in which a base layer of light green is colored over an area, then a layer of green colored over a third of the light-green color layer, and lastly, a layer of dark green is colored over a third of the green color layer. The result is a light, medium, to dark tone color effect with green colors. The three-tone rule is quite common in Coloring and can be applied to just about any color or set of colors given the large array of hues — distinct characteristics that separate one color from another, values — the brightness of a color, shades — the dark value of a color by mixing it with black, and tints — the light value of a color by mixing it with white.
Examples of Colorists
Speaking of which, before diving into more ins and outs of color theory in this short-hand art class, I find that opening a box of colors and immediately diving can be a little overwhelming at first. Depending on who you are, it may pay dividends to look at some examples of artists and colorists who have revolutionized color over the eras of art.
On the more abstract side of art, artists such as Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman are great for stimulating ideas on color groups and thick color textures. Works by Franz Marc are also great examples of how bold colors varying in saturation can be powerful works of art in conjunction with simply shaped figures. Many Western artists who use color as the centerpiece of their art are all influenced by the movement of Expressionism specifically the works of Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh.
Two of the most famous expressionist art pieces, Water Lillies by Monet, and Starry Night by Van Gogh, are both invested in thickly textured gradients and highly saturated colors. The combination of texture and color are two elements that stand the test of time in these art pieces. By further examining other artists’ colorwork, whether that artist is someone from an art history textbook or a hobbyist sharing their work through social media, the critical thinking gained from analyzing other artists’ colorwork translates to the page when it’s time to start experimenting with your color practice.
Check out how to level up your coloring game HERE.
Hobbyist or Professional, Which Is Right For You?
Though art is only considered an elective class in most schools, it takes an incredible amount of practice and discipline to hone the skills you’re capable of producing. Many colorists dedicate their lives to Coloring through various mediums. Additionally, the role of a colorist in the job world can be more pliable than many artists admit. This is also where lines between hobbyists and professional colorists begin to take more form.
As a hobbyist, though you don’t make any money for your time spent Coloring, you also don’t have a boss. Marketing? Forget it. That sounds like a giant hassle of social media and phony personalities that a hobbyist doesn’t have to deal with. You get to color what you want with no commitment to finishing a piece if you decide to change your mind midway through. There’s also no deadline. The pressure of time is off, and your time spent Coloring is for you, however long or brief it may be that day.
However, for professional artists, not only does the coloring work have to be spot on for clientele, but there’s a whole host of additional responsibilities that come with it. Colorists may also be tasked with ensuring the overall end look of a piece of art that involves the roles of editing and producing. Colorists may also need to be involved in curating the environment that an art piece inhabits, depending on the job. A task that involves colorists stepping into the realm of presentation beyond just artistic Coloring.
Closing Thoughts
Again, whether you’re a hobbyist whose progress of works paints a gallery in your home or a professional producing quality coloring for a paycheck, colorists of both worlds and all skill levels work with the same coloring jargon that is shared amongst the art community. Though there are more nuanced vocabularies as well as more immersive diction, the terms in this article are a great place to start talking the talk and a good refresher for all the seasoned colorists.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is There A Dictionary For Artist’s Terminology?
Believe it or not, there are several art terminology books. We most recommend The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists, along with The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms. These aren’t the only two artist terminology books available, but they are a good place to start!
How do professional colorists get paid for work?
Well, there are several ways to hustle some coloring; here are a few ways professional colorists get paid. The first is paid commissions from clients. Clients can be other artists who have a sketch that needs to be colored or consumers who admire the colorist’s work and hire them for a commissioned art piece.
The second is product reviews. Often colorists who have curated a following will be sent supplies and monetization for reviewing a certain brand or series of colored pencils, markers, or even paints. Typically these reviews are done via video or blog post.
The third is collaboration. Similar to being hired by a sketch artist to color, some industries will collaborate with artists who specialize in drawing with artists who specialize in Coloring to achieve the best results in both artistic aspects. Marketing and advertising companies engage in this practice as well as all comic book publishers.
The fourth is independent selling—the most rudimentary and old-school hustle artists. Create and color a piece of original art and sell it through any means necessary. Farmers’ markets, art dealers, Instagram, or even Craigslist, colorists who choose to go their way selling original artwork take on a lot of responsibility and develop a swath of resourcefulness along the way.
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