How I Build Color – In 5 Frames

This is a recent portrait of Maisie Peters, built digitally in five clear stages.
I wanted to share how I approach color — not as decoration, but as a structural tool.

Here’s how the process unfolded:

1. Color first. Shapes later.

I started by throwing bold color blocks onto the canvas.
No forms yet — just a general direction for mood, temperature, and light.
→ This gives me something to react to early on.

For this first stage, I used the Classic Square brush from my Color Flow set — it gives a blocky, flat texture that’s great for massing in color.

2. Blocking in light and shadow

Next, I loosely added areas of light and shadow based on a general source.
Nothing too sharp — just pushing value contrast to suggest volume.

3. Reflected light and side planes

This is when the painting starts to feel alive.
I added rim light and bounced color, especially on the cheeks and jaw.
It’s still rough, but the energy builds here.

4. Clarifying the forms

I began simplifying shapes, adjusting value ranges, and reducing noise.
At this point, I start cleaning edges a bit while keeping brush marks visible.

5. Final pass

A few final accents, sharpening key edges, and controlling the rhythm of texture.

In the later stages, I mainly used the Classic Grainy brush for structure and edge contrast,
and blended transitions softly using the Wide Canvas brush with the smudge tool.

🎨 Color Flow Brush Set → https://9brookskim.gumroad.com/l/sxbdjw

Thanks for reading — I hope this breakdown gave you a useful peek into how I work with color.

Though I used my own brushes here — the Color Flow set — honestly, that’s not the most important part.
What matters is using brushes that help you shape, not just fill.
By “shape,” I mean brushes with some form to the tip — something that responds to structure and lets you build with intent.

If a brush feels right to your hand, and you’ve learned how it behaves, then that’s the right tool — no matter the name.

This method of pushing and pulling color — laying it down, then shaping it back — isn’t easy to describe.
It takes time. It takes trial and error. But I’ll keep sharing these color processes in future newsletters whenever I can.

Hopefully, it helps make this way of painting a little less mysterious.

— Brooks