Soft blending

Go from light to dark in small steps for a seamless gradient.

Level: beginner. About 12 minutes.

What you need

• Three markers in one color family: light, medium and dark
• A colorless blender (optional)
• Smooth marker paper
• A scrap to test on

Steps

1. Pick a light, a medium and a dark

   Choose three markers that are close neighbors in one color family. Swatch them side by side: the steps between them should look even.

2. Start with the lightest everywhere

   Color the whole area with the lightest marker. This wet base helps the darker colors melt in later.

3. Add the dark at one end

   Put the darkest color only where the shadow should be, about a third of the shape.

4. Bridge with the medium

   Color the middle with the medium marker, overlapping both the dark and the light area in small circles.

5. Pull the light back over

   Go over the edges again with the lightest marker. It pushes the colors into each other and softens every line.

Practice

• Swatch your light, medium and dark marker.
• Blend the three bars from light (left) to dark (right).
• Blend the balls, dark on the side away from the sun.