SUNNY BLUE
Brenda Hoddinott

S-01 INTERMEDIATE: CARTOONS IN COLOR
In this project you use colored pencils to draw a fun
cartoon of a flower. The curriculum demonstrates
basic color theory, and the skills of shading,
overlapping colors, and burnishing.




Colored pencils are ideal for adding color to cartoons, which usually require a bolder, more
colorful approach than traditional drawing subjects. When outlined with a thin black marker,
colored pencil cartoons can look very illustrative and professional.
This lesson is divided into three parts:
PLANNING AND DRAWING: You plan your drawing, and then use a yellow colored
pencil to draw the outline and base color of Sunny Blue within your drawing space in
preparation for adding shading.
ADDING SHADING WITH COLORS: In addition to yellow, you need an orange (you
may call this red) for the petals, and both a light and medium blue for the center.
ADDING FINAL TOUCHES: You need purple, yellow, and medium blue colored pencils
for the background, and a fine tip permanent black marker to give Sunny Blue some final
details and her sunny personality.


10 PAGES – 15 ILLUSTRATIONS
Recommended for artists and aspiring artists of all levels and abilities from age 10 to adult, as well as

home schooling, academic and recreational fine art educators.
Published by Hoddinott Fine Art Publishers, Halifax, NS, Canada (Revised 2006)




Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be
reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
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- 2 -
PLANNING AND DRAWING
Throughout this section you plan your drawing, and draw an outline of Sunny Blue within
your drawing space in preparation for adding shading. Drawing space (sometimes called a
drawing format) refers to the area of a drawing surface within a specific perimeter.
Choose white drawing paper with some texture, as opposed to being smooth, so the colored
pencils will easily adhere to your drawing surface. Texture refers to the surface detail of the
paper, and is also referred to as the tooth. The word tooth refers to its surface texture, which can
range from silky smooth to very coarse. The more tooth a paper has, the rougher it feels.
Stay away from paper with a glossy surface! If a paper’s surface is too
smooth, the pigment in the colored pencils simply won’t stick, because there’s no tooth for
it to grab hold of. Hence, it’s darn near impossible to render medium and dark colors.
You need only five colored pencils for this project, similar to the colors shown below:
ILLUSTRATION 01-01




YELLOW ORANGE / RED MEDIUM BLUE LIGHT BLUE PURPLE

Put the cat out, take the phone off the hook, sharpen your yellow pencil and get ready

to draw!
ILLUSTRATION 01-02
1. Use a ruler to outline a square
drawing space.
Mine is 4 inches by 4 inches, but you
may choose any size you wish.
2. Draw a circle in the center of your
drawing space, as the center of the
flower.
Choose a yellow, close in color to
Illustration 01-01.
Take note that the
distances between the perimeter of the
circle and each side of the square are
almost identical.


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reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
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- 3 -
3. Draw three petals with spaces in between each.
Each petal isn’t an oval, but rather a U-shape.
4. Add three more petals in between the first three.
ILLUSTRATION 01-03 ILLUSTRATION 01-04












ILLUSTRATION 01-05
5. Color each petal with
a yellow pencil.
Don’t press too hard
with your pencils or
you’ll destroy the
paper’s tooth.



Yellow is one of the three
primary colors; the other
two are red and blue.
Secondary colors are orange,
green, and purple and are
created by combining any
two primary colors. Red and
yellow make orange, yellow
and blue make green, and
red and blue make purple.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be
reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
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- 4 -
ADDING SHADING WITH COLORS
In this section you add shading to Sunny Blue. Shading (noun) refers to the various values and
colors in a drawing that make images appear three-dimensional.
You need an orange (you may call this red) for the petals, and both a light and medium blue for
the center. Before you begin, find a piece of scrap paper and practice drawing graduated values
with your orange (red) pencil.
ILLUSTRATION 01-06
Graduated shading
(also known as a
graduation or
graduated values) is a
continuous progression
of graduated values
from dark to light or
from light to dark.
Press lightly on your
pencil for light values
and a little harder for
darker values.
ILLUSTRATION 01-07

6. Use your orange
(red) pencil to add
graduated shading to
each petal.
Take note that the
dark end of each
graduation is
close to the center

section of the
flower.








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reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
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- 5 -
ILLUSTRATION 01-08

7. Pressing fairly hard
with your yellow pencil,
completely color in each
petal, including the
orange sections (called
burnishing).
Burnishing is the
application of a layer(s) of
color (or white) over
another color, by pressing
hard with a pencil to blend
colors together. Burnishing
of colored pencils can also
be done with a tortillon or a

firm plastic eraser.
When you add yellow to
the orange sections the
colors appear to be brighter.

ILLUSTRATION 01-09



8. Outline the center of
the flower with a
freshly sharpened
medium blue.
9. Use the medium
blue to add a little
shading around the
edge of the center
section, graduating
it a little lighter
towards the center.





Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be
reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
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- 6 -
ILLUSTRATION 01-10

10. Switch to a light blue
pencil and continue
adding graduations of
blue until you get close to
the center.
Leave a white area in the
middle of the center.

ADDING FINAL
TOUCHES
You need purple, yellow, and
medium blue colored pencils
for the background, and a
fine tip permanent black
marker to give Sunny Blue
some final details and her
sunny personality.

ILLUSTRATION 01-11

You mix (or overlap) several
colors together to create a peaceful
background for this brightly
colored flower.
Overlapping refers to a
colored pencil technique for
dry mixing colors, by
layering different colors
over one another.
11. Outline the

perimeter of the
flower very lightly
with your purple
pencil.
Be careful not to press
too hard or the purple
will become too dark.


Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be
reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
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- 7 -
ILLUSTRATION 01-12


12. Lightly shade
the entire
background
with purple.
Take note that I
have used very
light diagonal
hatching lines.







ILLUSTRATION 01-13



13. Add yellow
shading on top
of the purple in
the background.
Keep your
shading light by
pressing lightly
with your pencil.








Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be
reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
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- 8 -
14. Use purple and blue to graduate darker shading towards the upper right.
The background is very light in the lower left and graduates to dark in the upper right hand
corner. Leave the lower left section with only the light purple and yellow mix.
ILLUSTRATION 01-14


























15. Use a fine tip permanent black marker (or a very sharp, dark, colored pencil) to
outline Sunny Blue’s petals and draw in her happy face.
Refer to the completed drawing on the next page. Test a marker on some scrap paper
before you begin, and make sure that it doesn’t smudge, or your drawing may be ruined!
Take your time and draw your outlines slowly and carefully.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be

reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
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- 9 -
Check over your drawing and touch up any areas that you are not completely happy
with. Sign your name and put today’s date on the back of your drawing!
ILLUSTRATION 01-15




























The three best ways to improve your drawing skills are practice,
practice and more practice! So grab another piece of paper,
choose another lesson and draw some more!

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be
reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail Web sites and
- 10 -
BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY
As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda
Hoddinott utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk
pastel, charcoal, conté crayon, and oil paints.
My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the
enjoyment aspects while gently introducing the technical and
academic. Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter,
the quest for knowledge also becomes enjoyable.
>Brenda Hoddinott<
Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook. She
developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed learning,
and the aid of assorted “Learn to Draw” books. During Brenda’s twenty-five year career as a
self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have
employed Brenda’s skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal police
departments. In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from “Forensic
Artists International”.
Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and
painting classes. As supervisor of her community’s recreational art department, Brenda hired and

trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several children’s art programs. In 1998, Brenda
chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote more time to writing,
drawing, painting, and developing her websites.
Drawspace
incorporates her unique style and innovative approach to
curriculum development. This site offers downloadable and printable drawing classes for
students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult. Students of all ages, levels and
abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach. This site is respected as a
resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational facilities throughout
the world.
LEARN-TO-DRAW BOOKS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT
Drawing for Dummies: Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book is
available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing People: Winner of the Alpha-Penguin Book of the
Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education – Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN, this 360 page
book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.