How to colour a traced drawing: markers, pencils and a simple order that works

Tracing gets the shape right. Colour is where the drawing starts to feel like yours. It is also where a neat outline can turn into a smudgy one, because colour goes on top of lines you worked hard on.

This guide shows how to colour a traced drawing step by step. You will learn how to prepare the outline, how to choose between markers and coloured pencils, and an order of work that keeps edges clean. It works for anything you traced, whether you used a phone, a window or tracing paper.

Get the outline ready first

Colour sits on top of your lines, so the lines need to be ready for it.

1. Check the drawing away from the phone or light source. Look at the paper itself and fix any wobbly or missing lines with your pencil.
2. Go over the lines you want to keep with a fine pen. A black pen that says waterproof or permanent on it is the safest choice, because water-based ink can run when a marker passes over it.
3. Let the ink dry fully. Give it a few minutes. Rubbing too early drags black streaks across the page.
4. Erase the pencil guide gently. Use a soft eraser and work outwards from the middle of the drawing.
5. Test your colours on a scrap of the same paper. Draw a small stripe of each colour and a stripe crossing a pen line. If the pen line smears, wait longer or switch to coloured pencils.

If you prefer a softer look, you can skip the pen and keep a dark pencil outline. Rest a sheet of scrap paper under your hand so it does not rub graphite into your colours. Our guide to paper and pencils for AR tracing explains which pencils give a dark, clean line.

Markers vs coloured pencils

Neither is better. They do different jobs, so pick the one that matches the result you want.

Coloured pencils are slow but forgiving.

• You build colour in light layers, so mistakes are easy to cover.
• A sharp tip makes it easy to stay inside small shapes like eyes and spikes.
• Two colours blend when you layer one over the other.
• They work on thin printer paper without soaking through.

Markers are fast and bold.

• They fill big shapes with flat, bright colour in seconds.
• They are great for cartoon characters, lettering and anything that should look like a sticker.
• They can bleed through thin paper and spread past a line if you press or linger.
• Once a marker colour is down, you cannot lighten it again.

Quick picks:

• Soft blends and shading: coloured pencils.
• Flat, bright cartoon colour: markers.
• Fast colour on a big shape: markers.
• Fine details and small shapes: coloured pencils.
• Colour on thin paper: coloured pencils.

Mixing both is a common approach. Lay the flat base colour with a marker, let it dry, then add shadows, edges and small details with coloured pencils on top. Pencils grip a dry marker layer well, and the marker hides the paper texture underneath.

Step-by-step: colour a traced drawing

Use this order for almost any simple drawing, from a cute dinosaur to your name in bubble letters.

1. Pick three to five colours. A small set looks calmer than a rainbow. Choose one main colour, one or two for details and one darker shade for shadows.
2. Colour the biggest shape first. For a dinosaur, that is the body. Big shapes set the mood of the whole picture.
3. Work from light to dark. Light colours can be covered by dark ones later, but not the other way round.
4. Colour in small strokes that follow the shape. Short curved strokes look smoother than scribbling back and forth across the page.
5. Slow down near the outline. Stop just before the line, then finish the edge with the tip of the pencil or marker.
6. Add small details last. Cheeks, spots, eye shine and patterns go on top of the base colour.
7. Add one shadow colour. Choose a light source, then add a slightly darker shade on the opposite side of each shape. Shading basics for beginners shows how light and shadow work.
8. Leave some white. A small gap of bare paper on a cheek or a shiny eye makes the drawing look lively.

If your outline was in pencil instead of pen, go over any lines the colour has covered with a dark pencil at the end, so the shape reads clearly again.

Colouring after tracing with Sketchglass

If you traced your drawing with Sketchglass, there is one simple tip: finish and snap the drawing in the app before you colour it. When you finish, Sketchglass takes a picture of your paper and gives you one to three stars by comparing the dark marks on the paper with the lines of the sketch. Large areas of dark colour can look like extra marks, so the cleanest result comes from snapping the outline first.

After the snap, the app cuts your drawing out so it can dance, bounce, wiggle or walk across your desk, and it fills the shape with a soft colour of its own. Read how to make your drawing come alive for every step. Your real colouring then happens on paper, at your own pace, with the phone put away.

The card in your Sketchdex keeps the photo of your line drawing, which makes a nice before picture next to the coloured version on paper. More about stars and rarities is in our guide to Sketchdex cards.

Common colouring problems and quick fixes

• The colour went over the line. With coloured pencil, erase gently and go over the line again in pen. With marker, make that part of the design: thicken the outline slightly or turn the slip into a pattern.
• Marker streaks. Colour in small circles or go over the whole shape again while it is still wet, so the strokes melt together.
• Pencil looks patchy. Add another light layer with the side of the tip instead of pressing harder.
• The paper is pilling or tearing. Too many layers on thin paper. Stop, let it rest, and use thicker paper next time.
• The pen outline smudged. The ink was not dry or not waterproof. Test on scrap paper first next time.
• The colours look muddy. Too many colours mixed in one place. Pick a smaller set and let each one show.