Copic Certification Class

I took the Copic Certification class on May 11, 2012. (The class was held in Michigan; I visited family while there. My sister also took the class! Thanks for driving Jen!). Marianne Walker was our instructor. She is listed as a "Copic Product Specialist" - and that she is! She could even rattle off the Copic marker number equivalent when talking about a particular color (like the wall color in the class room). She also wrote the manual for the program. The class was packed full of information. There was a lot of hands-on coloring stuff as well, including air brushing. Some of the topics covered included information about alcohol inks, choosing papers and inks (e.g. for rubber stamping) that work best with the markers, the meaning of the marker numbering system and how it relates to the color wheel, basic coloring techniques, and the aforementioned airbrushing.

Here are a few examples of what I did in the class. We went over a lot more of course - this is just to give you an idea of what was covered. All the images here were given to us in class. They were printed on high quality card stock. The brush end was used for all the coloring in these examples.

The circles on the left were colored with two or three colors each (sorry I can't remember!) and blended smoothly to create shading. (There were actually three circles on the card stock sheet she gave us but I didn't color the other one so I cropped it off.)

We also did some feather blending. This was tricky. I think I'll have to practice more to get a smoother transition. I used darker colors for a challenge - it is easier to work with the lighter colors.

We used the feather blending technique to color this pretty set of flowers too. (I just noticed that I didn't color the centers, doh!)

Here is an example of blending from a palette. The palette used here was simply a piece of acetate. A craft sheet would work too but the advantage of the acetate is that it could be put over the top of white card stock so you may see the colors better (as well as where they are on the sheet - some colors are too light to see on the acetate if it isn't over a light surface). The darker color was applied to the acetate and the lighter marker was used to pick up some of the color. This gives a sort of watercolor effect as it is painted on. Don't worry about the darker color staying on the tip of the lighter marker; if there is still some on it when you are done, just color on a scrap sheet until it is gone (it comes off pretty easily).

 I used the darker green to shade areas on the pineapple.


Another technique is called tip-to-tip blending. Just use the lighter color marker to pick up the darker color directly from the marker (or possibly from some slop around the cap) then color from dark to light. In the image on the left, I picked up the darker green (G28) with the lighter green marker (YG01), started on the bottom left then colored to the right. Note: marker may be easily cleaned off non-porous surfaces with alcohol - this includes the marker body and cap, as well as acetate and craft sheets.

Below are some examples of how to add texture with the colorless blender. The pocket images below were colored using one blue marker (B95). On the top, I squirted some colorless blender on a paper towel and pressed it briefly onto the image. I used the colorless blender marker on the bottom left image to make some shapes. (I used the chisel tip to do the lines and dashes.) For the image on the bottom right, I just went over the image with the colorless blender marker (brush tip) until I was satisfied with the look (kind of an acid-wash).

To sign up for Copic Certification classes go to the Copic Website or search for a certified instructor in your area.

Copic Watercolor Background

I like the look of watercolor for the background on some of my images. I wanted to get this look with my Copic markers. This is what I ended up doing; I think it turned out pretty well! For the background below I used B63 and B60, as well as the Colorless Blender 0. Don't forget to use a backing sheet. I usually color on my Ranger Craft Sheet. It can be easily wiped off with alcohol. Love it!

I start with my darker shade, in this case B63. I dot around the image, overlapping as I go.

I let it dry and go over some parts again to give it more depth.

Next I start adding the lighter color, in this case B60. Again I overlap the dots, as well as mix into the darker dots.

To get a little more seamless blend, I use the light marker tip-to-tip with the darker marker and add more dots, smearing around as I go. I also add more darker dots close in to the subject since they begin to lighten as the lighter layers are added.

Finally, I go over the whole background, working from the outside moving in, with the Colorless Blender. I usually do this with more of an S movement to get a brushed look.

Below is another example of the "watercolor" look using markers with a little more blue in them.

Mother's Day 2012 Card

I just returned from visiting family in Michigan (my husband and I waited until the weather warmed up before visiting - we moved south for a reason!). While there, I was able to take a Copic certification class with my sister. Since I've been working with the markers for about a year now, it was more of a review than anything new. I will post more about the class later.

Today I would like to share my Mother's Day card with you. The stamped image is Magnolia's Happy Spring Tilda. I colored her with Copic Sketch markers. I really like the way the background came out. I used the blender and a couple shades of blue to get a watercolor-like effect (click the image to enlarge). I added the ground line with a Copic Multiliner SP pen. These pens are made to work with the markers so they will not bleed or blur, once they have dried, when coloring with Copic markers.

The leaves were cut on my Sizzix using the Branch with Leaves Sizzlits die. I found it as a single die at my local craft store but it is part of the Flowers, Branches, & Leaves set on the Sizzix website. It is one of my favorite dies; I can use it as one piece (shown above, in two instances) or cut it up. The rose was cut with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. The rest of the flowers were cut with the Mother's Day Bouquet Cricut cartridge (the actual cartridge is out of print but you may still find it on eBay or elsewhere - if not, the link above is for the Cricut Craft Room digital version). One of these days I'll show a step-by-step for creating the flowers. The butterfly was also cut with a Cricut cartridge but I don't remember which one (sorry!). I had used the Gypsy to search for "butterfly" one day and cut a bunch from different cartridges using white card stock then airbrushed them with the Copic system.

I wanted the punched border down the right side of the card to match the the lace on Tilda's sleeves. I punched it in a yellow-orange card stock (Martha Stewart punch) and used Barn Door Distress Ink with a sponge applicator to softly blend into it. I used Grand Nestibilities to cut out the colored image of Tilda, as well as the scalloped edge behind it.

The Journey Awakens the Soul Card

It has been a few weeks since my last post. I was at a board gaming convention for a couple of those weeks; unfortunately I brought home a bad cold (another week wasted work-wise). If you are interested, check out some of my reviews and contributions on Opinionated Gamers or Board Game Geek News. I will be posting convention stuff in the next few weeks.

I recently made the card below, mainly to try out painting with Tim Holtz Distress Ink Refills (Magnolia Tilda On the Loose rubber stamped image with Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black ink). It think it turned out pretty well. The star was created with Crayola Model Magic, white air drying clay. I rubber stamped into it and brushed it with Perfect Pearls.

The background die was cut with Tim Holtz Sizzix Weathered Clock and aged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink around the edges. I cut the tag, its shadow, and the suitcase using my Cricut cartridges. I used the air brush system with Copic markers to color the suitcase so it would look like worn leather. Nestibilities were used to cut out the Tilda image and the lacy border behind it. As a final touch, I strung some beads on wire and hung them from the ribbon I tied to the tag.