For those of you who have been coloring for some time and want to try something different to make your pictures stand out even more, have you thought about applying glitter? Why not? Glitter has been around for a long time–you see it used on greeting cards, nail polish, holiday decorations, etc. If glitter can be used on the things I just mentioned, it can also be applied to pictures that you have colored. I tried applying glitter to one of my pictures and the resulting effect was amazing. Here’s what happened….

How to Apply Glitter to a Picture

Items needed

• Decoupage glue or school glue
• Small paint brush to apply the glue
• Newspaper or cardboard to catch excess glitter
• Glitter
• Picture or image

Here is a brief video showing how I used glitter to enhance my picture:

Finished Products

Here is a before and after of the picture presented in the video showing how using glitter can enhance it.

completed picture without glitter

completed picture with glitter

Here is another picture I colored using gold glitter as a finishing touch to the lady’s freckles. I also used a gold gel pen to highlight the nose, eyelid and eyelashes.

My Insights and Recommendations

Now that you have seen how using glitter can enhance a picture, here are some insights and recommendations I would like to share.

1. Color your picture completely before applying glitter to it. I say this because I found it easier to decide where I wanted to place the glitter and what color glitter I wanted to use. Also, I did not want to take the chance of glitter getting into sections of the picture that I did not yet color.
2. Practice applying the right amount of glue needed for the glitter to stick. When I made the above video, some of the glitter did not stick to the letters. I believe this was due to not either not having enough glue applied or the glue had dried too quickly by the time I was ready to apply the glitter. Since this was my first attempt in using glitter, I will keep practicing until I get better at it.
3. Consider using gel pens or glitter pens first before using loose glitter. If you are think that using loose glitter is too messy and will get into and onto undesired places, you can try using glitter pens and/or metallic gel pens instead. I have used metallic gel pens in previous pictures. However, I found it hard to control the amount of ink coming out of the pen so that it does not come out in globs.

As with any new coloring technique, the name of the game is practice, practice, and practice some more until you get the desired results. Whether you are a beginner or a more advanced coloring artist, you will find yourself favoring some coloring utensils more than others. This is perfectly normal; most people will utilize coloring utensils and techniques that are easier to do. However, it will not hurt if you expand your horizons by trying different coloring techniques once in a while.

It is my sincere hope that you have found this information useful. Please share your thoughts, questions, and comments in the space below and I will be happy to respond in kind.