I was doing a bit of colour admin for the start of the New Year and I thought I would share a couple of my current favourite organisation tips in a hope that you might share some of your favourites and also to start the New Year as we mean to go on. It must be that New Year feeling where all is fresh and you are inspired to get things sorted once and for all? Do you know what I mean?
So the colour admin I was doing was to decorate the cover of my new colour reference book:
When ever I get some new colouring materials I put little scribbles of them in an A5 notebook, it is one of the Seawhite starter sketchbooks and you can usually pick them up cheaply in art shops. I've even seen them online and if I remember where I will add a link at the bottom of this post. I get mine from Cass Art in case you happen to be in London.
It is a fun little exercise that only takes a couple of minutes and can be done in front of the telly or at your work desk to help ease you into work if you are feeling a little mojo-lacking.
It is also great for starting to work out how the colours work, feel, look and play together.
I also like to write the names of the colours down and I'm finding that this exercise is helping me to recognise and spot colours in a different way which helps when I'm working, or even just out and about spotting new colour combos I want to play with. So a good habit to get into for 2013 if you don't do it already!
My next tip is a similar sort of thing and another way I organise my colour, this time I mainly use it for my sprays and inkpads/ reinkers.
I use little strips of cards around 4cm by 2cm and punch a hole in the top for some binding rings. I then spray or add droplets or swipe the colour onto the strip and write the brand and name on the back.
Each ring is a different type or brand of colour and they hang from my workdesk lamp for quick reference.
I find that the rings and colour books are easy to grab and a great way to find what you need or inspire some work when you are feeling a bit lost.
Do you do this? How do you organise your colour? I would love to know.
Happy 2013 to you and wishing you lots of creativity for the year ahead!
Kim
[EDIT: Artist Trading Post has some of the A5 notebooks and the A4 notebooks too.]
