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Creative Thinking , Drawing , Watercoloring ,

Reverse Coloring with Watercolor, Ink, and Colored Pencils

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Shelby Abrahamsen (Foxsy)

Class Description:

Flip your expectations on their head and try a whole new approach to your art in this creative workshop! Designed for artists of all skill levels, this class will introduce you to a different way of seeing and creating your art. The concept is simple: use watercolor to create vibrant pops of color on your paper, then draw on the shapes and textures that form. By using your favorite drawing pen or colored pencils, you can carve out shapes and patterns in a process that feels intuitive and inspiring. You'll be amazed at how a bit of watercolor can spark ideas and give weight to your drawings and doodles!

What You Will Learn:

  • Overview of Reverse Coloring Techniques: Learn the core concepts and the ways it can stimulate ideas.
  • Colorful Wash Creation: Practice producing a textured watercolor wash filled with blobs and colors to serve as a vibrant backdrop for your doodling.
  • Doodling on Washes: Draw, doodle, and experiment with lines and shapes found in the watercolor textures.
  • Build Weight & Volume: Use strategic watercolor placement to give your drawings more body.

Supplies You'll Need:

  • Watercolor paints
  • Watercolor brushes (variety of shapes and sizes)
  • Watercolor or mixed media paper
  • A palette or mixing plate
  • Two jars of water (one for rinsing brushes, one for clean water)
  • Paper towels or a rag for blotting
  • Optional: your favorite colored pencils
  • Optional: your favorite black ink pens

About Instructor

Shelby Abrahamsen (Foxsy)

Shelby is the co-founder of Foxsy and the creator at Little Coffee Fox. She is a professional watercolorist, letterer, and artist with a passion for teaching others to reintroduce creativity back into their lives. Shelby lives in Chicago, IL with her husband Jon and her pets Summer, Basil, and Korra.

218 Classes

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+4 enrolled

Class Details:

  • 📊Level: Intermediate
  • ⏰Time: 2 Hours, 12 Minutes

Class Pass includes:

  • ✓Lifetime Access To Class

Foxsy Membership includes:

Access everything on foxsy, Weekly Live Classes,
and 250+ On-Demand Classes With Foxsy

Plus Academies:

Lettering Academy

15 Courses designed to help you become the letterer of your dreams!

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Watercolor Academy

You won't find a more comprehensive resource than this!

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Drawing Bootcamp

6 sections to teach anyone to draw, no matter their skill level!

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Access Everything With A Foxsy Membership
$29 Monthly or $164 Annually

Be Part of the Foxsy Revolution

Join a thriving community of over 2,300 students, all united by a shared love for creativity. Together, let's paint a brighter, more creative future.

  • Access [coursetotal] courses with 350+ hours of content.
  • Work through over 400 lessons and 70+ projects.
  • Access the Watercolor Academy, Drawing Bootcamp, & Modern Lettering Academies.
  • Join weekly live classes.
  • Get personalized feedback on all projects.
  • Get real answers to your questions with Creative Support.
Access Everything Foxsy Has To Offer

Be Part of the Foxsy Revolution

Join a thriving community of over 2,300 students, all united by a shared love for creativity. Together, let's paint a brighter, more creative future.

  • Access [coursetotal] classes with 250+ hours of content.
  • Work through over 400 lessons and 70+ projects.
  • Access the Watercolor Academy, Drawing Bootcamp, & Modern Lettering Academies.
  • Join weekly live classes.
  • Get personalized feedback on all projects.
  • Get real answers to your questions with Creative Support.
Access Everything Foxsy Has To Offer

Our Students Love Us

Trusted By Over 2,300 Students Like You

  • “As a total beginner when I started, I’m amazed at the amount of skill and knowledge I gained. There’s a wide variety of courses so you can’t get bored.

    There’s always another challenge in the next class. Really appreciated the personal feedback when I submitted projects.
    Janet G
  • “I loved the Watercolor Academy I learned so much and have developed self-confidence in my ability as a budding "artist "

    (I 'm still getting used to this lol)”
    Gail P
  • "This is excellent.

    As a chronic copier of other people's art, the tips offered here will help me with my own creative process and prevent the block that I feel with "what next"."
    Carol R
  • “The Watercolor Academy was a great experience. I learned so much and was able to get feedback on my projects along the way. I feel like I accomplished something when all was completed.

    I would recommend (and I have) the Foxsy Watercolor Academy to others wanting to try out watercolors or improve on their skills.”
    D Carson
  • "Very fun and informative courses.

    The projects turn out very pretty, and the instructor feedback is quick and helpful."
    Vera C
  • “Very good and useful courses for those that want to start or improve their watercolor skills”
    Boryana
  • "This was so helpful! I loved the way Shelby broke down the basics in a succinct way and tips to use while practicing. Lastly, I appreciated Shelby mentioning that everyone is going to have a unique bounce lettering style.

    As someone who is new to brush lettering in general, I've been copying a lot of what I see. I need that consistent reminder to avoid potential frustration, especially as a beginner!"
    Kelsey
  • "I loved this course. I loved how it showed the lesson and then a project that corresponded with that project.

    The explanations were amazing and helpful and I really felt confident in doing the project. This was probably the best watercolor lesson I've ever taken and enjoyed."
    LG Woods
  • "I really enjoyed this course. Instructions and examples were clear and practical and the feedback was really kind and helpful.

    It has improved my lettering knowledge and given me confidence to keep practicing."
    Nic

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We're getting better every day

Foxsy is an art education platform with on-demand creative courses. It’s designed so you can explore and grow your artistic skills.

The courses contain in-depth lessons and step-by-step projects to fuel your creativity and give you the skills to create your own amazing art.

Here at Foxsy, we are working to build a platform where you can have everything you need to give your creativity everything it needs to thrive.

Right now, we are working on building the best collection of online courses around, so you have everything you need to learn the new skills you've been putting off (or help you dust off some old skills).

We're doing this by working with online creators who have been where you are. Our instructors have all decided to make their creativity a focus of their lives. To devote themselves to exploring their creativity and helping others do the same, and many of them are self-taught. Basically, they get it and can help you no matter where you are.

More than that though, we want to build a space where you feel like your creativity matters. We want to give you a community where you can work to embrace your creativity and give it space in your life.

Eventually, we want to change the world though.

That's a BIG want though isn't it? Well, it's the truth. We're working to make Foxsy a place where creativity thrives not only on an individual level but also a place that helps make the world a more creative place in general.

We want to support local art projects all around the globe, expand access to art education, and show as many people as possible that no matter what they've been told, your creativity matters and should be celebrated.

If this sounds like a world, you'd like to see, sign up and help us build something amazing.

We currently have several courses on watercoloring, lettering, and creative journaling. As we grow our course library month by month, we will continue to expand the range of subjects as well.

Foxsy is adding new classes all the time to make sure you have access to a constantly growing pool of subjects and projects.

Foxsy is a paid membership platform, so you need to sign up for one of our membership plans to access everything Foxsy has to offer.

A Lifetime Membership is a one-time fee that gives you access to Foxsy for life!

No recurring payments, nothing, as long as Foxsy exists you’ll have access to everything on the platform.

Once you are a Foxsy member, you will have access to the entire library of courses, as well as any classes added to the library during your membership.

If you get a membership and decide that Foxsy just isn’t for you, then no worries!

We have a 30-day money-back guarantee. Just shoot us a message and we’ll get your refund processed right away!

Unfortunately, no. When you cancel your membership, you will lose access to any courses you have enrolled in at the end of your membership period. 

For example, if you have a yearly membership that renews on November 1st and cancel your membership on October 10th, you will lose access to all of the courses on Foxsy on November 1st.

If you have any questions, please feel free to message us at [email protected].

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