Color Me Copic

February Start to Finish

2012-02-16T22:26:00.003-05:00

I have another three part coloring and card making series tonight, I had a lot of positive feedback on the last one so I will try to make this a once a month series. This month's card features Boho Anya from TGF, which I altered just a bit.

Part one is the hair and skin coloring.

Part two is her clothing.

and part three is the altering and card making.

Annabel the Mermaid

2012-02-05T21:03:00.005-05:00

I've had a request for coloring a mermaid but thought it would have to wait until closer to summer to do since my card making mood usually falls in with the seasons. But when I got this cutie in the mail, I just couldn't resist inking her up, so today is the day for a mermaid video! I'm sure there will be more to come with the warmer weather. ;-)
Card uses Annabel the Mermaid by Crafty Sentiments Designs.
The finished card can be seen here.

part one is the skin

part two is her hair

part three is her tail

More Copic storage

2012-02-03T16:00:00.000-05:00

Hi folks!

When we put the call out to anyone wanting to share their Copic storage methods on the last post we received these great photos from one of our fabulous CMC readers, Bridgette Copple. I think it is great to share the different ways we each come up with for organizing our markers. Whether new to collecting them or owning quite a few, you never know how it might inspire a fellow Copic fan. :)
Here's what Bridgette had to say in her own words:

My name is Bridgette Copple and I’m a newbie to Copic markers. I look at your blog all the time for tutorials and I learn so much from you! I loved your post about Copic storage and I wanted to share my Copic storage with you too.
I take my markers everywhere with me, so I needed something that travels well. I found this marker bin at Amuse Studio. It was inexpensive as well, at $21! It’s super convenient to carry my markers, and all of the markers I have now fit in it with little room to spare.

Thanks for sharing with us Bridgette! :)

Copic storage

2012-01-26T18:00:00.001-05:00

Hi friends!

We recently had a request asking if the CMC gals would share each of our Copic storage systems and Carisa, Rachel, and myself were all more than happy to show you what works for us. It turned out to be a fun way to see that there are probably as many different ways to store them as there are Sketch markers, LOL! :)

First up is Carisa:
Carisa has a series of small stacked shelves that house her markers and sit on her desk. The shelf in the middle was a blog win. Then that company stopped making them before she could buy more so her handy hubby made the other two to match.

This is a pic of the fun Carisa is having in decorating her Copic shelves and further beautifying her crafty space.
Next up is Rachel:
Rachel uses the desktop marker rack that holds 112 Sketch markers, which she purchased from carpediemstore.com. They are available in a few different sizes and she thinks that you can even have them engraved/personalized on the front. Rachel likes this system because she can easily store and see all of her markers in a very organized way.

Finally we have my (Amy's) system:
Because I already had a pegboard situated on the wall in front of my crafty desk I wanted a way to suspend my markers from it. That way they would be right in front of me while I worked but still up and out of the way a bit.
My solution came in the form of small, cheap plastic crates that I found at Walmart.
I think they were about $2.99 each and they are the perfect depth for holding my markers.
Because I didn't want my markers sliding through the holes in the back, I simply cut a sheet of cardstock to size and placed it within before adding the Copics.
I did leave the top row of holes free so that I could slide each crate onto the longest pegs that I had for my pegboard. And as you can see from my first pic, this also creates a little shelf that I inevitably stack bits of this and that on top of too. ;)
My refill bottles took over a Making Memories Slice desktop shelf thing that I already had. They fit nicely and I keep my extra nibs, tweezers, and cloth scraps that I use with the colorless blender solution in that little drawer.
Now we were also asked to share how we travel with our markers but come to find out, none of us really do a lot traveling with our Copics. On the rare occasions that I've taken mine anywhere I simply pulled the ones I would need for the image I planned on coloring and took them in a large Ziploc plastic bag. Which has worked fine so far.
Though I did look into this a bit and came across this Copic carrying case that holds 380 Sketch markers. I love those individual little bags inside that keep them all organized! I think that if I ever find myself in the situation of needing to travel with my markers for a coloring weekend or what not, this is definitely the way I will go. :)

I hope that you found this helpful and informative and if you happen to have a Copic storage and/or traveling system that you are proud of and would like to share here on the CMC blog, then just send a photo or two with a brief write-up to ColorMeCopic@gmail.com and we will post it! :)

Coloring on a Sunday Afternoon

2012-01-22T21:09:00.006-05:00

Hiya!
I was coloring today and thought I might as well film it. This first video is the skin and hair on Rosie from Sugar Nellie stamps.

In the second, I color Rosie's dress in a variegated/ombre style.

Then since I had a request from awhile ago to show how I put together a card, I went ahead and filmed this third part using Rosie on a Valentine card. Sorry it cuts off so suddenly at the end, I thought I had went over my time limit. LOL! The finished card stayed the same as when I ended it there, you just missed me debating on adding more embellishments and then talking myself out of them anyway! ;-)

The card with complete supply list will be on my blog tomorrow, January 23.

P.S.
In case you are wondering, this really is a finished card for me as I don't decorate the insides of my cards. ☺

Comparing the Copic Grey markers

2012-01-16T20:59:00.007-05:00

Even though I've done videos using each of the grey families to achieve the color black, I was still getting questions about how they compare to each other. So I thought it would be helpful to create a side by side chart, by coloring The Greeting Farm's Creeper Madden's hair in all four grey color families. I think you can really get a sense of the different qualities of each one.

As you can see the Cool Greys have a much more metallic and shiny finish compared to the Warm Greys on the opposite end, which almost look brown.

Down to There Hair

2012-01-14T20:10:00.006-05:00

I had a request for coloring the Tiddly Inks girls with their long, straight hair. I chose Poppy as my subject, I hope she was what you had in mind Tina. ☺

The finished card can be seen here.

How Odd...

2011-12-31T18:30:00.001-05:00

Hi again!

I had a request for how I color a Some Odd Girl face, so here's a video showing her face and hair.

Then I went ahead and made a video coloring up the rest of the image. Happy New Year!

The finished card can be seen here.

Matchmaker, matchmaker...

2011-12-31T17:28:00.005-05:00

make me a match...
Olo!
I like to match my marker colors with the colors in the papers I'm using for the card. I'm a bit OCD that way, plus I think it's a good way to stretch outside the comfort zone of automatic color families and play with the vast capabilities of these markers. So while I was in video making mode today became the perfect opportunity to show my process.
The Copic Color Chart can be printed from here
Copic is adding 12 new colors in a couple of months, so you may want to wait until the new chart is out before printing it and filling it out.

Finished card can be seen here.

I love the winter weather...

2011-12-11T13:53:00.005-05:00

As requested here is the video of the coloring of Eva and her shovel.

the finished card can be seen here.

And if anyone is interested, I'm giving away a pack of 6 secondary colors of Copic Sketch markers and a Sweet November Fairwee Daphne stamp over at my YouTube Channel.

'No Lines' coloring technique with Carisa

2011-12-09T01:32:00.005-05:00

Carisa is sharing how she colors an image with a technique called "no lines" using Copic Markers. She has broken the techniques into two parts, in the first video she does most of the coloring and in the second she finishes up by drawing the facial features back onto the image using Prisma colored pencils. Enjoy! :)

More love for the gingers!

2011-11-30T19:33:00.005-05:00

Olo! I had a request for dark red hair so with the day off I colored up two of my color combos that I use when I want dark red hair. Hope you enjoy them!

The finished card with Wish Upon a Star can be seen here.

Edited to add: Ooops, the second blending at the 15:20 mark is with YR18 not E18, Sorry!

The finished card with Eva can be seen here.

Dee Dee is getting ready for some winter fun...

2011-11-22T22:49:00.005-05:00

I had a question about coloring Wild Sprout Dee Dee with a dark skin tone, and I thought li'l Dee Dee would be fun on a Christmas card! So here are two videos with Dee Dee, the first one is the coloring of her skin and hair and in the second she get a winter coat with a little help from Wild Sprout Camille.

When I finish the card with Dee Dee I will post a link to it in this post below the two videos.
I have gone back through my prior video posts and added links to the finished cards and will continue to link videos to cards as I complete them.

The finished card can be seen here.

Me oh my, I love pie

2011-11-18T11:30:00.004-05:00

In this video I finish coloring up Cheeky Cherry Pie

The finished card can be seen here

Trim up the tree with Christmas stuff

2011-11-17T21:21:00.004-05:00

Like bingle balls, and whofoo fluff
Trim up the town with goowho gums and bizilbix and wums
Trim every blessed window and trim every blessed door :)

Good evening! I had a request for a video finishing the coloring of Tree Trimmer Kaylee, so here it is.

finished card can be seen here.

Do Blondes really have more fun?

2011-11-16T22:08:00.005-05:00

Here are a couple of videos showing blonde hair color combos that I've had requests for.
If anyone has any suggestions for future videos, just leave it in the comments below, don't be shy... I don't bite...much! ;)

The finished card can be seen here

finished card can be seen here.

More Rockin' Red Hair from Carisa

2011-10-22T00:59:00.004-04:00

Hi friends!
We have a new video from Carisa today, yeah! It's a personal request of another great red hair combo that I fell in love with when I saw it on her blog a few months back.
Enjoy!

The fur will fly...

2011-10-20T17:42:00.003-04:00

So I had some requests on how I color the Sweet November Joe Joe the Werewold stamp so here's the video. This is also how I color any furry animal stamped image.

The finished card using Joe Joe can be seen here

You 'glow' girl

2011-10-18T21:01:00.004-04:00

After posting my Perfect Poison card the other day on my blog, I thought it would be fun to make a candle glow video. So here it is and I hope you like it...warning though it's another long one. :)

the finished card using this image can be seen here

Skirting the issue...

2011-10-13T11:07:00.003-04:00

hahaha, I crack myself up!
Hi gals! I made this clothing video for Kristy's, Some Odd Girl, birthday celebration and thought I'd share it here too.

The finished card can be seen here

Coloring with Carisa!

2011-10-10T10:28:00.003-04:00

Hi there! Today we have a couple of videos from the fabulous Carisa! I love her work and when I saw that she was doing videos I knew she would be a great addition to the Color Me Copic blog! So let's give Carisa a big warm welcome!

In Carisa's words taken from her blog
Now, I have to admit, I have shied away from doing these b/c I feel like there are plenty of copic coloring tutorials out there but I suppose I add my own spin to it. ;) Thanks to my friends who have encouraged me and been so supportive. The main thing I can stress is you can watch video after video on "how to" color, but you just gotta dig in and practice on your own. Just have fun with it - try new things - color until you are happy. :D

So, here you go. The first video is a skin tone coloring - my most used skin tone combo using E0000, E000, E00, E11, R22, R20, R01. In this video I had my tripod pretty high and I guess I tend to whisper when I'm talking to an empty room, LOL, so I'm going to work on that for future videos.

In this second video I'm coloring hair using a fabulous red color combination YR04, YR07, YR09, R29.
I do move the camera about 3 mins into the video but my hand is sorely in the way a lot. Gotta figure out how to fix that since that is how I hold my markers. LOL

Snow Friends are the Best Friends!

2011-10-04T18:25:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone!
I had to color up a snowman today so I thought I would go ahead and make a video to go with the rest of the 'white' videos. Hope you like it! :)

The finished card using this image can be seen here

Fair hair...

2011-09-29T02:04:00.007-04:00

These are three variations on how you can achieve light/white hair on your stamped images. Whenever I want a character to have 'white' hair I think about what kind of environment they are in because the colors around them would be reflected in the white hair which determines the color of shadows and shading that I use to add dimension to an otherwise flat look. And it can be any color you want, just so long as you stick with very light shades of that color and leave a lot of the white cardstock showing. (Edited to add, because I forgot to tell this in the video.)

The finished card with Seraphina can be seen here
The finished card with Aurelia can be seen here.
The finished card with Celestina can be seen here.

BOO!

2011-09-28T19:17:00.002-04:00

Here's my second 'white' video, coloring up a ghost. :)

The finished card can be seen here

White on white...

2011-09-28T14:59:00.005-04:00

So I've had some requests for coloring white...clothing, snow, hair, ghosts and since I my schedule was changed this week and I found myself with some extra time I thought I could get started on these. Here's the first, coloring white clothing.

The finished card can be seen here

coloring skin - dark

2011-09-16T23:27:00.002-04:00

Here's the last of three videos on my coloring combos of skin.

coloring skin - medium

2011-09-16T22:55:00.004-04:00

Here's video #2, my usual suntan/medium skin tone.

Finished card can be seen here

Coloring skin - light

2011-09-16T22:00:00.004-04:00

Hi there!
I had some requests for how I color the skin on my images so here is the first of three little videos.

The finished card can be seen here

More two tone hair coloring fun!

2011-09-11T19:12:00.003-04:00

Here's a couple more examples of the two tone hair coloring.

The card using Kraftin'Kimmie Monique can be seen here

Fun with two tone hair

2011-09-11T17:14:00.003-04:00

I had some time this afternoon, so I went to my request list and thought showing how I color two tone hair would be fun!

The finished card using KK Perfect Poison can be seen here

The finished card using the Spesch Cinderella can be seen here

Seeing Sepia...

2011-08-30T01:16:00.003-04:00

Jenny from Sister Stamps requested a sepia tone coloring tutorial and I thought it sounded so fun that I got it done after work today!

The finished card can be seen here

Gorjuss Warm Grays

2011-08-27T15:46:00.002-04:00

Here is a video that I did using the fourth group of grays, the warm grays.

The finished card can be seen here

'Piece' of cake!

2011-08-25T23:29:00.004-04:00

My blogging friend, Shirl, asked if I had a video showing paper piecing -I didn't but I decided to make one for her showing my process for doing it. I do use my Copics just a bit to finish the image off.

The finished card can be seen here

Way down yonder in the pumpkin patch...

2011-08-25T16:34:00.004-04:00

I had a request to color the pumpkins in the scene with Witch Brigitta, so I went ahead and finished coloring the fall scene but my flip ran out of room and the coloring of the moon didn't make it on the video...sorry about that!

The finished card can be seen here

Whose is that face in the mask?

2011-08-24T19:05:00.004-04:00

As I was beginning to make a card with Tickled Pink's Vampire Lestat I thought his cape would be the perfect chance to do a video on how I shade the folds in clothing. It's also a peek at another grouping of grays, I used the neutrals and a red color combo.

The finished card can be seen here

Witchin' Style

2011-08-22T22:31:00.003-04:00

Since I had Witch Brigitta started I went ahead and did another black combo for her clothes and hat.

The finished card can be seen here

It's not easy being green...

2011-08-22T22:24:00.004-04:00

well, why stop at just one Halloween image today! Here's Swiss Miss Witch Brigitta that I've decided to go all witchy on and give her light green skin with beautiful dark green hair! Elphaba eat your heart out! ;-)

The finished card can be seen here

They're creepy and they're kooky...

2011-08-22T19:50:00.003-04:00

and all together spooky...
Hi Everybody!
I had a request for coloring black clothing so in keeping with my current Halloween theme I decided to color Swiss Pixie Rosalie into a kind of Wednesday type character from the Addams Family.
Here's the video

The finished card can be seen here

Off with their heads...

2011-08-20T21:44:00.004-04:00

In this final video I share a quick head swapping altering technique.

The finished card can be seen here

Haaaaair...

2011-08-20T21:29:00.004-04:00

I'll start out warning you that this video is looong (22 minutes) but I am coloring up two images! So now our li'l zombies need to be perfectly, disturbingly coiffed. These are a couple of hair combos that will make any image look ghoulishly grand! ;)

The finished card can be seen here

Braaaaains...

2011-08-20T21:23:00.005-04:00

Hello Friends!
With Fall right around the corner I've been anxious to create some fun Halloween cards. So I thought I'd share the color combo and how I color up not only zombie skin but also pale vampire skin as well. This is the first of three videos creating these zombie like characters. Hope I don't gross you out, LOL! ;)

The finished card can be seen here

Part two: coloring the mason jar

2011-08-15T16:55:00.003-04:00

Here's the second part of the Fairwee scene, coloring the mason jar.

The finished card can be seen here

A not so 'wee' coloring video

2011-08-15T16:50:00.004-04:00

Hi again!
Had some requests on how I colored my mason jar lids and I thought I would go ahead and tape the whole process. I broke it down to two videos and this first one is me coloring up Fairwee Josie...I just made it in under the 15 minute mark, so be forewarned! :)

The finished card can be seen here

Tails of Mermaids part 2

2011-07-26T10:24:00.003-04:00

Here my other way of coloring up mermaid tails, enjoy!

The finished card can be seen here

Siren songs and Mermaid tails...

2011-07-24T13:26:00.005-04:00

This is the first of two videos showing the different styles I use to color up mermaid tails, enjoy!

The finished card can be seen here

Coloring "Super Hero" Blue-Black Hair

2011-07-04T11:39:00.002-04:00

Just thought I'd share another video I got done...about adding some blue to black for extra depth and texture. :)

The finished card can be seen here

Denim Look with Copic Markers

2011-06-28T09:45:00.002-04:00

Hi gals! I know that Color Me Copic is taking a break but I got this little coloring video done and thought that I would share it here as well.
Happy crafting!
Amy :)

The finished card can be seen here

Goodbyes :0(

2011-02-08T13:30:00.000-05:00

As some of you know, I'm a full time mom and full time grad student. I'm also in the middle of building a new house and trying to sell my current one and I'm moving into the new one soon. I've also recently made a few fabulous DT's that take up what little time I have left so unfortunately CMC has kind of been left behind at the moment.

I've gone back and forth a LOT but I finally decided that we are officially on hiatus until further notice. I can't guarantee we'll come back but I also don't want to say that the occasional post may not appear. This site was my brain child and I put a lot of time and effort into it, but I just don't have the time right now to devote to it. I hate to disappoint all of you who have emailed and posted telling me how much you love it, I'm so sorry!

The site will stay up for you all to reference and if any of you have done Copic tutorials that you'd like to share, I will most definitely post them!

Thanks for all the support and good wishes and hopefully someday we'll be running at full steam again :0)

~Rach

Skin/Makeup Challenge - Winners & Showcase!

2010-11-07T07:06:00.001-05:00

Before we get into the winners and favorite card showcase, I would like to let everyone know that we'll be taking a break here at CMC for awhile. We're not shutting down or anything, don't panic, lol! It's just the busy time of the year and we need to set up more content for you guys so don't worry if you don't see us posting anything new for awhile :0)

Onto the challenge!!!!

Congrats to Shirley and Jenny, you both one a pack of the XPress it paper from Mad For Markers! Please email us at colormecopicatgmaildotcom with your address and we'll get your information out to Sammi!

Some DT favorites:

Kristy

Alaine

Tasha

Thanks!

~The CMC Team~

Coloring video by...Kelly Booth!

2010-10-22T01:00:00.003-04:00

If you are out and around in blogland, you've most likely seen Kelly Booth before and she is our fabulous Guest Contributor today! She's made a fab video on coloring in faces and doing "makeup" on your stamps.

It's also time for another challenge! This time around we are being sponsored by the fabulous Sammi from Mad for Markers in Austrailia! Sammi has offered up 2 packs of the NEW Xpress IT blending card (20 sheets cut to A5 size), so this time around we'll have TWO winners and each winner will get a pack! Xpress It is just recently available to us in the US but we've already been hearing raves about it from those who are lucky enough to have used it already. Now, onto Kelly's tutorial! (Challenge details below)

Kelly Booth

Blog: Lovin The Life I Color

Hi My name is Kelly Booth I currently live in Northern California with my husband and dog Xenia. We will be moving to Arizona next month to be closer to my Grandchildren and my girls. I have always loved to color and paint. I discovered Copic Markers a little over three years ago and have not turned back since. I was able to get Copic Certified last year and hope to take the intermediate Certification when it comes around.

Here's Kelly's fabulous video, thanks SO MUCH for sharing with us all Kelly!

Images by: The Greeting Farm

Challenge Fine print:

Make a project using Kelly's face/makeup coloring technique
New creations only (we check)

You can use any stamps you'd like (just make sure it has an animal, obviously)

Link it up here by November 5th

Winner will be chosen by random.org

DT will pick some of our favorite creations to showcase

Thanks for joining us!
~The CMC Team~

Challenge #6 - Winners and showcase!

2010-10-21T01:00:00.025-04:00

Hopefully you guys all got your entries in for Elaine's Challenge #6 because if not, you missed out on a chance at TWO awesome prizes from SCACD!

Our two winners are:
Prize #1 (Elisabeth Bell set) - #33 Coleen!!
Prize #2 (Victoria Case set) - #12 Brenda!!

Congratulations ladies, please email us at colormecopic@gmail.com with your names and addresses and we'll get your info out to Susana :0) Enjoy all your awesome new stamps and thanks to everyone who took part in the challenge, there were LOTS of great entries.

Some DT favorites:

Michelle

Jacqui

Alaine

Thanks so much!

~The CMC Team~

User Question - Snow/Ice?

2010-10-15T05:43:00.005-04:00

A reader wrote and asked us what our methods for coloring snow/ice are. Here's what some of the team had to say:

Amy:
When I'm coloring snowmen most times I use BG0000, BG000, 0 but I've also used G0000, G000, B000, 0 for snow scenes and especially icicles.

Elaine:
Well, I mostly just use B0000 and B00 around the edges and in shadow areas.

Rachel:
I use the same colors for snow as I do for coloring things white: B0000, B000, B01. B01 for the darkest parts & shadows and then blend it out to white with the other two colors.

Kim:

I would use B0000 & B00 for icy areas, BV20, BV23, BV25 for a darker purple shadows, E40, E41 for a warmer snow and C0 for light shadows... I would blend heavily with my colourless blender to blend and push these colours out. A little clear spica glitter enhances the snow glistening too!

_____________________________________

Don't forget to check out the FABULOUS challenge we have going currently, you could win one of two huge stamp sets from SCACD! Only 5 days left!

Thanks!
~The CMC Team~

Challenge #5 Winners and Showcase

2010-10-09T01:00:00.002-04:00

The winner of the $15 store credit to Sparkle Creations rubber stamps is.... Belz, please email us at colormecopic@gmail.com so we can get your info! Thanks so much to all who played along and make sure to check out our current challenge because we've got some HUGE prizes you can win :0)

Here are some DT favorites:

Belz

Cindy

Forgotten Scraps

Thanks!

~The CMC Team~

Coloring Clothes with Copics & a HUGE Challenge!!

2010-10-08T01:00:00.064-04:00

We all love those stamps that are really beautiful and have wonderful, elaborate clothing, BUT it can be intimidating for even the most Copic competent person out there to know how to shade correctly! Sooooo... Elaine has put together a wonderful tutorial on how to coloring the folds of clothing using Copics :0)

Susana from SCACD graciously sent the DT a stamp to demonstrate Elaine's technique, and we each used one from the exclusive line of stamps Susana has HERE. AND SCACD is offering up two HUGE and completely fabulous prizes this time so there will be TWO winners and just LOOK at what you can win: Details HERE for set #1 and HERE is set #2!!!

Yes, that's right, one person will win the first set and another will win the second set and how cute are those stamps?? Challenge details are at the bottom of the post, with a prize like this you guys need to take part!!!

**************************************************************

Elaine's Tutorial

The new Elisabeth Bell for SCACD stamp - Angel of Hope - was a perfect choice for this tutorial. Check out that gorgeous dress! Full details on the finished card can be seen in my personal blog post - Angel of Hope card.

Copic Markers used: YR0000, Y21, Y26, Y28

1. Firstly, you will need to decide on the direction of your light source, and where your shadows will be. Pick out these areas using your darkest shade - in this case Y28.

2. Using the next marker down - in this case Y26 - lay down the colour slightly overlapping the shadow areas. I tend to use light strokes, feathering out from the shadow areas. Don't worry too much about blending at this stage, it will look messy but you can deal with that later!

4. Using the next lightest shade - in this case Y21 - lay down colour overlapping the last layer, moving in light strokes towards the area where you want your highlights, leaving the desired highlight area white.

5. Go back over the image again, starting with your darkest shade (Y28) to deepen the shadows, and working back as before with your other shades (Y26, Y21), this time taking a little more time to blend the colours. How long you spend on this depends on the depth of colour and shadow you want to achieve, just be careful not to over-saturate your paper!

6. Finally, I like to soften the highlight areas and blend the last layer of colour out a little using one of the lightest shades - in this case YR0000 (I find the 0000 markers extremely useful for this). I may also finish off by adding a little more Y28 into some of the shadow areas to add a little extra depth.

Note on Wings:

Angel of Hope has beautiful wings, so a quick note on those!

I really like E40, E41, E42, E43 for a nice soft natural look to feathers. Here I have used E41 and E43.

1. Pick out shadow areas and areas where you want a little extra colour with your darkest shade - in this case E43.

2. With a lighter shade - in this case E41 - go over the shadow lines and blend outwards using a light feathered touch.

That's it! You may want to blend more and then deepen the shadows by going back in with E43. On the finished example I spent a little more time blending with E41, and then finished off with a touch more E43 in some of the detail areas to add extra depth. Play around and see what works for you! Don't worry about making it perfect - you want a slightly textured, soft and natural look.

**************************************************************

DT Samples

Amy Young

Rach

Traci

**************************************************************

Challenge Fine print:

Make a project using Elaine's clothing coloring technique
New creations only (we check)

You can use any stamps you'd like

Link it up here by October 20th

Winner will be chosen by random.org

DT will pick some of our favorite creations to showcase

Thanks for joining us!
~The CMC Team~

Elaine's Bear/Animal Coloring Tutorial + Challenge #5

2010-09-28T01:00:00.207-04:00

Elaine from Quixotic Cards has made us a fabulous tutorial on how to color teddy bears/animals with Copics! If you have seen Elaine's personal blog or store blog, you are missing out on some of the best coloring out there in blog land :0) Today's tutorial also marks...challenge #5!

We are sponsored today by the fabulous Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps and Sparkle is offering up a very generous prize to not only our winner but our participants also!!! The winner gets a $15 store voucher to Sparkle Creations and all of the participants can use the coupon code "10COLORME" to receive 10% off their purchases during the contest.

_________________________

I wanted to use this post to show two different styles for colouring teddy bears/animals. I like to use both techniques, depending on the style of the image. The smooth blending technique is ideal for images like the Elzybells Teddy Bears or similar styles such as Forever Friends. The textured style works nicely for the Critter Crew images from The Greeting Farm, or bears like Popcorn the Bear etc.

Style 1: Smooth Blending

This is probably the technique I use most often, and the method of colouring is the one I use for most things. I work from dark to light, and rather than laying down colour in a circular motion, I tend to work in strokes (although I do use both techniques).

Copic Markers used: 0, E41, E43, E44,

1. First I like to pick out all the darkest areas and shadows in my darkest shade, in this case E44. I tend to use smooth strokes following the lines of my image.

2. Then I lay down my next shade, which in this case is E43. At this stage you don't need to really try and blend, just lay the colour down, going a little over and working out from the darkest shade. I used smooth, light strokes following the direction I want to blend out into.

3. Next I lay down my lightest shade, in this case E41, not worrying too much about blending fully. In this example I have covered all of the white spaces as I don't want really defined highlights.

4. While my lightest shade is still fresh, I work backwards and blend the layers further - first blending E43 from the darkest area into the still fresh light areas, then blending E44 into that. You can repeat this until you're happy with the blending. Finally, I like to go back in and add a little extra definition to some of the shadows with my darkest shade.

Style 2: Textured

The key to this style of colouring is not to try and be too precise or perfect. I always find that the looser and less careful I am, the easier this technique comes. Practice light, feather strokes and don't be afraid to play around. Vary the length of your strokes a little, try not to make them uniform. And remember, it will look pretty messy until you start blending and softening the lines.

You will notice that I haven't tried to cover the whole bear, but have given the impression of fur by applying the technique mostly to the outer edges.

Copic Markers used: E30, E34, E35, E57, E59

1. Sticking mainly to the outer edges and starting out with second darkest shade, in this case E57, I used short, light strokes in the direction I visualise the fur lying.

2. Using E35 I went over the same areas, adding in more short, feathered strokes.

3. Using my darkest shade - E59 - I used the same light strokes to add some darker detail. These are to add a little extra depth of colour, so add them sparingly!

4. Using one of the lighter shades - E34 - I laid down some broader strokes to start gently blending the colours. I did this fairly lightly as I wanted to soften the lines a little, not completely blend them and lose the texture.

5. Using the lightest shade - E30 - I covered all of the fur, further softening and blending, but again being careful not to completely blend out the strokes I laid down earlier.

That's it! Two different looks to play around with that work for teddy bears or real animals. Hope you enjoyed the tutorials!

-Elaine

Challenge Fine print:

Make a project using Elaine's teddy bear/animal coloring techniques
New creations only (we check)

You can use any stamps you'd like (just make sure it has a teddy bear/animal, obviously)

Link it up here by October 7th

Winner will be chosen by random.org

DT will pick some of our favorite creations to showcase

Thanks for joining us!
~The CMC Team~

Winner and showcase!

2010-09-27T01:00:00.016-04:00

Once again, you've all outdone yourselves! Glad you guys loved Amy's video so much and tried out something new. Without futher adieu, our winner (via random.org) is....Michelle! Congrats Michelle and make sure to email us at colormecopic@gmail.com with your address info and stamp choice (see your choices HERE) and we'll send it on to SCACD.

Here are some of the DT favorites:

Craftymummy2five

JamieN

Melissa Made

Thanks to everyone for playing and stay tuned later this week for another tutorial and challenge!

~The CMC Team~

Straight hair tutorial by Amy Young + Challenge #4!

2010-09-10T01:00:00.008-04:00

The fabulous Miss Amy Young over at A Thousand Sheets of Paper has put together another AWESOME hair coloring video, this time it's on doing the "feathered" hair look on straight hair. And it's also time for Challenge #4! We want you to try out Amy's straight hair technique :0)

We are also SUPER lucky to have the super sweet Susana over at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design (SCACD) to sponsor us this week! She is offering up an awesome prize: one of the super cool new Viva Decor Pearl pens in Ice White and also a free single rubber stamp from one of the SCACD exclusive stamp lines, which you can see HERE.

__________________________________________

On a side note, if you have info or tutorials you would like to see the team cover please make sure to write it in the comments section or email us at CMC, we want to know what you guys want/need!

Image by: Tickled Pink (LE Kellita)

Challenge Fine print:

Make a project using Amy's straight hair technique - any straight haired stamp, does not have to be a "big head" (as Amy puts it)
New creations only (we check)

You can use any stamps you'd like

Link it up here by September 24th

Winner will be chosen by random.org

DT will pick some of our favorite creations to showcase

Thanks for joining us!
~The CMC Team~

Challenge #3 winners & Showcase!

2010-09-09T08:40:00.000-04:00

We're SO glad that you guys enjoyed Amy's straight hair tutorial so much!!! If you liked that one, stayed tuned tomorrow ;0)

Thanks to all our participants and without further ado our winners (care of random.org) are....
Jessamine - Julie T
Caladium - Carisa
Congrats!!! Please email us at colormecopic@gmail.com with your addresses and we'll get your stamps sent out!

Here's just a few of our favorite curly-haired entries!

Amber Hight

Ruby 2 Shoes

Leanne Poe

Thanks!

~The CMC Team~

Curly Hair Video Tutorial by Amy Young!! Challenge #3

2010-08-27T01:00:00.016-04:00

The fabulous Miss Amy Young over at A Thousand Sheets of Paper has put together an AWESOME video on how to color curly hair! We all know how well she colors and she was kind enough to use some of her vacation time to try and help the rest of us out ;0) This also marks Challenge #3 here at CMC - We are challenging you to try your hand at coloring curly hair!

Sweet November is also sponsoring this challenge! There will be TWO winners this time and each of them gets a new stamp that you haven't even seen yet from Amy's upcoming "Twisted Sisters" line ;0) If you like these gals make sure to stay tuned to Amy, Traci & Rachel's blogs starting on August 31 for Sweet November previews and to see three more of her new fairies!

Prize #1 Jessamine

Prize #2 Caladium

Image by: The Greeting Farm

Challenge fine print:

Use Amy's curly hair technique on your project of choice
NEW creations only (we check)

You can use any stamps you'd like

Link it up here by September 8th

Winners will be chosen by random.org

DT will pick some of our favorite creations to showcase

Thanks for joining us!
~The CMC Team~

Challenge #2 - Winner & Showcase

2010-08-26T01:00:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all those who participated, you all really nailed the technique, we were very impressed. I used random.org and it came up with...#10 the fabulous MacKenzie! Congrats MacKenzie, email us @ CMC and we'll get your prize to you :0)

STAY TUNED TOMORROW for our next challenge!! Amy Young has some fun stuff for us....and yes, that's all the hint you get, lol. You'll really want to check out this challenge though.

Here is the showcase of some of our fave entries (in no particular order):

By Leanne Poe

By Donna Mikasa

By MacKenzie Bruckler

Thanks!
~The CMC Team~

Creating Concrete and Grass Background

2010-08-20T01:00:00.006-04:00

The super sweet and fabulous MazKenzie has provided another awesome tutorial for us today on how to create concrete sidewalks and grass!

MacKenzie Bruckler

Blog: Midnight Scramper

Today I thought I'd share a simple tutorial on how I drew the sidewalk and grass on the card below. Using a Copic multi-liner pen and a straight edge, draw in a sidewalk.

Continue until your sidewalk is the size you want it.
Here's what mine looked like when I was done.
Start with a Copic C7 and go around all the edges.
(I use the chisel tip for all of these steps)

Next, blend in C5 around the edges.
Finally, fill in with C3.

Easy-Peasy!

I usually like to add a little grass also.
To do that, I make a thick line with the chisel tip of YG17.
(This will help avoid white spaces in between your blades of grass)
Choose a darker shade of green, and make small strokes with the brush tip.

Then fill in with various shades to finish off.
Here's what my finished image looks like.

I really hope this was helpful! Give it a try!
Thanks for stopping by.

Images by Pink Cat Studio

CMC Challenge #2 - Kim's Grass Tutorial!

2010-08-18T01:00:00.011-04:00

We are so excited to bring you another challenge here at Color Me Copic! There is a brand new digi store you may not have heard about called Karber Digital Images and they have graciously agreed to offer up two free digis to our challenge winner!

For this challenge we thought it would be fun to go back to Kim's Grass Tutorial. You have until 8/25 to make a card or other project using Kim's fun technique and link it up here. You can use any stamps you'd like just make sure you are linking to new projects only please! The winner of the challenge will be chosen by random.org and we will showcase some of our favorite projects again.

Some more grass examples from Kim:

Have fun and thanks for joining us!
~The CMC Team~

Lysa's Black Hair Video Tutorial

2010-08-13T01:00:00.002-04:00

Please welcome our Guest Contributor, Lysa from Lysa's Crafty Creations!

My name is Lysa and I LOVE everything about being crafty. I've been stamping & scrapbooking for about 6-7ish years now, and you can find me in my craft room any spare moment I get!

I 'discovered' Copics about 2 years ago- and got my first set of 72 from my husband for Christmas that year and haven't looked back since! I am not Copic certified- I've learned everything I know from blogs and videos and adapted them into my own style.

Here's her FABULOUS video on how to color "shiny" black hair:

Changing Colors Tutorial by Rachel

2010-08-06T01:00:00.004-04:00

So I have this beautiful image and these beautiful papers that I want to use with it. The problem? I don't have the correct color tones to match the paper! So this is a quick tutorial on what I do when I need to "dirty" something up/tone it down, whatever you want to call it ;0)

I color the image first with colors that match the papers as close as I can.

The colors on the paper are pretty, but a bit muted so I am going to add a marker with a grey tone in it, in this case YG93. You do NOT have to use this specific marker, most markers with grey tones will work, this is just the one I personally prefer.

I don't want to touch the pink or the olive green colors because they are fine as they are, but I do want to tone down the blues and oranges and the brighter green. I use my YG93 to start in the darker areas and do a single light layer up to the lighter areas. On my orange I didn't want to mess with the light orange area much so I stayed away from it, but on the blue I really want to change the whole tone so I colored over the whole area.

There isn't a huge, dramatic difference, but if you look at the orange, blue and bright green they are toned down a bit and match the paper a bit better (click on pic for larger one).

I also did the same thing on the leaves of the tree on this card; the turquiose I had was just not the right shade so I swiped it with my YG93 to tone down the color a bit:

Images by Pink Cat Studio

Challenge #1 - Winner & Showcase

2010-07-30T10:51:00.001-04:00

We had SUCH a great turnout for our first challenge here at CMC, thanks so much to everyone who played :0)

First off we wanted to showcase some of the DT's favorite samples, a lot of these were people who tried the technique out for the first time! All of the entries were so wonderful though and we are glad you guys tried out something new.

Alice W

Piali

Donette

The winner (by random.org, just FYI) of the new TGF stamp set, "Oliver and Amelia - Journey" is #12 Erika over at Carolina Girls' Stamping! Congrats!!! Please email us at colormecopic@gmail.com and we'll give your info to TGF to get your prize out to you :0)

Hair Colors - By Mary Giles

2010-07-23T01:00:00.001-04:00

Mary Giles over at A Latte Inkin' Fun is our Guest Contributor and has graciously agreed to share her hair color samples to share with us! These give you a good idea not only of what colors she uses but how they look when colored.

Image: The Greeting Farm (Ebony)

2 User Questions!

2010-07-22T10:33:00.012-04:00

Two of our CMC followers had some questions which Kim & Amy kindly answered:

Question #1
I have some fantastic Geisha stamps that I'd like to color. As you know Geishas wore white face powder. What colors could I use for the white faces?

KIM:
Two things I would suggest... as for 'Edward's' face I used the lightest fruity colour E000, it's just a hint of colour which will give the contrast to complete white,
If that's too dark for you, you could try using E000 as the shadow and soften the colour further with your 0 colourless blender. E000 would also make a light tint for the cheeks.

AMY:
I use E40, E41, and plenty of blender 0 when I want a dull 'white cotton' kind of look. I'm thinking this could work for face paint as well especially if you are trying to mimic the older lead based face paints that were used before people realized they were poisonous. The only other combo I can think of that might work is W00, W0 maybe some W1 for stronger shadows with lots of blender 0 too.

The trick is going to be keeping it warm and natural looking and that is why I think combo choices that include B0000, G0000 or C00 will come out looking kinda otherworldly.

Question #2
Although I have followed all the tutorials, I am getting very "grainy"/"pixellated" results when using the techniques and colour combinations suggested, especially with skin where I am using E00,E11, R20.
I have tried; Copics own smooth card, Stampin' up Whisper White card, Bristol Board and Fabricano Artistico Hot Pressed/Satinata watercolour paper and have the same problem on all the different types of card.
Are the results meant to be "grainy" like this or is it possible to get a smooth result like the effect with promarkers?

KIM:
I think it would help to see the finish you're getting, I find sometimes the grain of the paper itself can materialise a few white dots on my coloured images.
Maybe you could try altering the order you are using the colours, start with the lightest and work up to darkest, or try darkest colour and work to lightest.
It might be you could try layering the mid tone colour again until the paper is evenly coloured.
If the pens are a little dry they may cause some streaking, but I have not noticed any grainy results unless I use a lighter colour over a dark and not blend them properly. some ink colours simply clash on the paper, E000 will not blend as smooth as E00, E000 lightens the base colours much more.
I don't know the true result from pro markers, my cousin has a few which I tried but I personally found the copics are better for me at blending. Do you colour with the pro markers in a circular motion or in lines? Do you colour with copics the same? Some will use the copics in a circular motion to saturate the paper. Maybe creating a few tester images, applying various techniques, would show different results!

AMY:
My first suggestion is Paper Trey Ink cardstock. I know the pixel look she is talking about and had to deal with it back when I was using Georgia Pacic. Since making the switch to PTI it is much less problematic. But the biggest fix to that problem was getting an E000 and adding it to the mix... for me it smoothes everything out so much nicer between the E00 and E11 giving those two a more gradual blend into each other.

Skin Colors - by Mary Giles

2010-07-21T01:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome Mary Giles, our Guest Contributor this week! She has graciously agreed to share her skin color samples with us today. Stayed tuned later this week for for hair samples, they are great!
These give you a good idea not only of what colors she uses but how they look when colored.

Mary Giles

Blog: A Latte Inkin' Fun

I got started with copics about two years ago and I bought my first 12 at Dick Blick in Ohio. I was just getting into coloring images and all I had were regular markers. I was really amazed at the creations I had seen with copics and being a gadget girl I had try them for myself. It was love at first stroke, but it did take quite awhile for me to become comfortable with them and a lot of reading and studying other people's projects. I really love how copics blend and the shading details you can get from them is fabulous. Plus you can get images done pretty quick.

Image: The Greeting Farm (Ebony)

Quick Wood Floor Tutorial - By MacKenzie Bruckler

2010-07-16T01:00:00.001-04:00

Make sure to scroll down and check out our first CMC challenge, with a great prize from our sponsor, TGF!

____________________

Welcome MacKenzie, our Guest Contributor this week! She made a simple, easy to follow tutorial on how to color woods floors that she's kindly shared with us!

MacKenzie Bruckler

Blog: Midnight Scramper

Hi, my name is MacKenzie and I'm a totally obsessed paper crafter from Northern California. When I'm not busy being my kids Mom and my husbands girlfriend, you'll find me upstairs in my purple room stamping away. I first became familiar with Copic markers through several blogs that I read. I loved the bold colors and the subtle shading that could be done. I tried to find them locally, but it was like searching for a unicorn! When my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday a couple of year ago, I showed him the 72 piece set and he ordered it for me right away.

I've never taken a class or any formal Copic training. Everything that I color is practice and trial by error. I've picked up so many fabulous techniques from online tutorials and my fellow bloggers. I never quite know what an image is going to look like until I'm done. Everyday I have the opportunity to learn something new.

Wood Floors

After I had little Kiki stamped out and colored in, I thought she needed a little something in the background to ground her. I decided to try drawing my first wood floor and took pictures along the way - you know, just in case it came out well and was blog-worthy! Being my first attempt, I was thrilled with how it came out and thought I'd share it with you!

And let me just say that if I can do this, ANYONE can.
Using a ruler and a 0.05 Copic Multi Liner, I drew in a wood floor and a baseboard.

Then I used Copic E49 (Dark Bark) to scribble around the edges and do a little shading under her feet.

Then I blended in some E29 (Burnt Umber).

And filled in the rest with E57 (Light Walnut).
To finish it off, I filled in the baseboard with Y28 (Lionet Gold - not pictured).

I hope that you found this helpful and give it a try!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by my little corner of the world today.
I hope you have a happy day!

CMC Challenge #1 w/Prize + B&W Tutorial by Rachel

2010-07-14T01:00:00.027-04:00

When I saw this little Oliver image, I immediately thought of a black and white photo for some reason, so I thought it would be a great time to do a little tutorial on coloring an image using b and w (or greys, actually).

This also marks the first Color Me Copic CHALLENGE! To enter the challenge all you need to do is:

Create a NEW card or other project (no links to previous projects please) using the black and white technique demonstrated below
Link your blog post using the InLinkz blue frog at the bottom of this post
Upload it by 7/28!

The best part is that The Greeting Farm has generously offered the Oliver and Amelia "Journey" set as a prize!!!! The CMC team will pick the top 3 cards that demonstrate the best use of the technique and display them on the CMC blog, BUT the winner of the Journey set will be picked randomly so everyone has a chance.

The Tutorial

You can use any color of grays that you like, I tend to use the "C's" but neutral and warm grays will work just fine. For this image I'm using C1, C3, C5, C7, C9 and 0 (Colorless blender). Ignore the 110, I didn't end up using it :0)

Last step and finished image!

Used the finished image on this card so you can see how it looks :0)

Image by The Greeting Farm (Oliver and Amelia "Journey" set)

Kim's

Images: The Greeting Farm: Cheeky beauty; Cheeky glamour;

Skin: E40, 41, 43, background and outfits: W-1, -3, -5, -7,

100 and the colourless blender!!!

Kim's ~ Grass Colouring Tutorial

2010-07-09T00:00:00.002-04:00

Hi well here it is... my step by step on how I colour my grass... Hope it inspires....

First I stamp my image then cut out the desired shape, it's so much easier for me to re stamp then recolour an image if I didn't cut it properly, also it's easy to realign the die on the image to ink the border edge.

I have coloured the main figure with copics and given a soft shadow around the edge of her...*Skin: E000, E00, 11, 13 & R20, Hair: E50, 51, 31, Outfit: R22, 24, B91, 95, E41, and a little colourless blender!!!

Here are the varying greens I've chosen but by no means do you have to use these as any greens will work, I have a light, medium, darker and the darkest for shadows. The yellow will be the flowers but again any colour which suits your project will work!

I start by colouring my grass area, you can have this any size, maybe a mound, or small grassy verge... I have used YG93 and just coloured... you really don't need to be neat with this bit as it's going to be covered with LOTS of grass!!!

Next colour I've used YG17, now just flick starting at the bottom of your blade of grass flick the pen up, it will naturally tapper for you and try not to go straight up either and few stray directions make a more realistic grassy look!

I have covered the whole base colour with YG17 blades of grass, notice I have flicked a few strand directly over her shoes and trouser hem! This gives a more earthed impression of her standing in the grass instead of on top! You won't want any on the tops of her trousers though (unless the grass is super long and tall).

Right my next colour YG67 is a darker tone of green and this will give depth to the finished look... simply follow the previous grass flicking instruction with this colour, you will not need to cover as much area so you won't cover over the lighter blades. To really ground her I have taken my darkest tone BG96 and dotted around the base of her shoes and continued out a little to create a shadow!

The flowers are so fun... using Y08 dot directly onto the grass, hold the tip there for a little bit, the green will bleed out and the yellow will remain... continue this all over it is a very random colouring!

Don't forget the top of the flowers too, you won't need to hold the tip there this time as there is no colour to move. In fact a very gentle dab will produce a lovely tiny dot.

Ooh finished, just check now if I think there's enough shadow and contrast maybe add a little more to the shadow under her feet. You might have noticed I didn't need to use one of the colours I originally chose.

This is where I will replace the nestability die and blend a little distress ink to the edges.

Here is the image placed on the card front!!!

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Echo Park - Sweet Summertime Collection Kit;

Stamps: SCACD: Go Green; little suzanne(from the last release);

Ink: Memento: black; Copic: markers*; Distress inks: antique linen;

Dies: Spellbinders nestabilties: circles; MS: butterfly punch;

Other: Flat Backed Pearls - 3mm - Golden Yellow; Flat Backed Pearls - 8mm - white; brad; scallop scissors; stitch tracer; 3D foam;

Thanks so much for visiting today, hope you get the chance to be creative with your copics, BiG HuGs Kim :)

Basic Shading Tutorial - by Rachel

2010-07-02T01:00:00.001-04:00

This is the tutorial featured in the February 2010 TGF Newsletter

I thought I'd share how I color some of my stamps, here is a very basic tutorial on shading with a "light source" coming from the side. I say it's pretty basic because we aren't worrying about folds in the clothing and creating dimension and whatnot right now, it's just a straightforward way to learn to start shading.

The paper in the background is what I'm going to use on my card so I am picking my colors to match the paper.

Most of the time I use 3 colors for shading. I'm starting off with B16/14/12 and R85/83/81. First off, I pick a light source, in this case I'm assuming the light is coming right at her face (from the left side of the page), therefore I'm starting with my darkest colors on the back part of her (or the right side of the image). I start with B16, then move to B14 and I blend a lot where the two of them meet so hopefully there is no line.

Then I add B12, once again shading where the colors meet to avoid any lines. I also go back and add more of my darker color, in this case B16, if I feel a bit more contrast is needed.

Next I do the same thing with the pinks, I start with R85...

...then R83...

...then R81, I also added more R85 for more shadow. I also added YG09 to her dress at this point.

**TIP** When shading a very small area, go from your darkest (YG09) straight to your lightest (YG06), there isn't enough space to add the middle color.

On Mr. Froggy I used YG17...

...then YG25...

...then YG03 and R20 (for "blush" on his cheeks).

For her face I do the darkest color (E11) near her hairline and then move to...

...E00...

...then E000 with R20 for accents on her cheeks and eyelid.

Her crown is Y17,Y08 and Y13. I started shading her hair with Y28.

Then I finished her hair off with YR21 and Y21.

And here she is!

These are just my tips, some people go lightest to darkest, some go over the whole area before shading, etc. There is no wrong way! As a matter of fact, I color a different way every time sometimes, lol!

My "method" on this card:

1. Try to use 3 colors for blending, within 3 digits of one another if possible.

2. Darkest to lightest, blend blend blend where they overlap!

3. When shading very small areas, skip the middle color and just go darkest to lightest.

Image: The Greeting Farm (Twinkle Tots: Princess Ava)

Kim's Hair tutorial ~ Flapper Anya

2010-06-25T01:00:00.000-04:00

I hope you enjoyed the video I have to say sorry there's no talking or music I will change it one day (when I know how... ha ha ha)!!!

Here's the finished card, I made flapper Anya spin in her aperture, but also used the same colouring technique for the back of her hair! You can click here for some details on creating the back image!

Thanks for looking, have a great day, HuGs Kim :)

Image: The Greeting Farm (Flapper Anya)

Color Favorites

2010-06-18T01:00:00.003-04:00

Here are some colors that didn't make our "starter" list but that we all enjoying using:

Traci:

Turquoise-BG11,BG32,BG13,BG15

Amy:

Darker Green - YG17, G07, G29
Light Denim - B93, B95, B97
Dk. Denim - B95, B97, B99
Khaki - E30, E31, E35
Cotton white - E40, E41, 0

Rachel:

Darker Green (great for Christmas stuff) – G29/28/24/21
Khaki Green – YG 99/97/95/93
“Denim” blue – B39/37/34/32
“Basic” blue – B28/26/24/21
White blonde hair or khaki pants – E55/53/50
Grey – (cool) C9/7/5/3/1

Kim:

Colourless blender - it's THE best for so so many techniques,
B60 I like for shadows around my stamped images,
E40 I use for shadow tones on white,
Generally I will colour match my markers to the patterned papers, I select the colours that I think match on scrap paper, then just use them for my image.

Elaine:

Colourless Blender - an absolute must have. I wouldn't be without it for fixing mistakes and for various techniques.
All of the light pastels (sketch only): B0000, BG0000, BV0000, C00, G0000, R0000, RV0000, Y0000, YG0000, YR0000, V0000, W00 I find these invaluable for blending and leaving contrast areas.
Greens - I love this combo for leaves/grass: G20, G21, G24, G28, G29

Hair Colors

2010-06-16T01:00:00.003-04:00

Here are our personal suggestions on hair color combos that we love to use:

Traci:

Black – C3,C5,C7,C9,110
Dark Brown – E44,E47,E49 (ash brown, rather than Dark)
Med Brown - E21,E25,E27,E29 (warm brown)
Light Brown – E13,E15,E17,E18 (Light reddish brown)
Blonde – E50,E53,E55,E57
Alternate, more yellow blonde – E50,Y21,Y26,Y28
Red/Auburn – E02,E08, E19,E18
Alternate, brighter Red Hair-YR00,YR04,YR07,YR09,E09

Rachel:

Black – 110, C9, C7
Dark Brown - E49/29/39
Med Brown - E29/39/35
Light Brown – E37/35/33
Blonde – Y28, YR21, Y 21
Another blonde Y28, YR23, Y23
Red/Auburn – E18/19/08/09

Amy:

Black – C3, C5, C7, C9, 100, 0
Dark Brown - E25, E27, E29, E49
Med Brown - E35, E37, E57, E59
Light Brown – E50, E53, E34, E57
Blonde – Y21, Y23, YR21, YR24
Light blonde E50, E51, E53, E55, 0
Red/Auburn – YR04, YR07, E09, E18
Light Red - Y21, Y23, YR21, Y38, E97, E99

Kim:

Black – 100, W-3, W-1
Dark Brown – E47, E79 (dark blend), E57 (light blend)
Med Brown – E35, E47 (dark blend), E53 (light blend)
Light Brown – E43, E35 (dark blend), E53 (light blend)
Blonde – E50, E53 (dark blend), 0 (light blend) (sometimes E97 to the ends)
Red/Auburn – E08, E99(dark blend), E97 (light blend) Here's an example of my hair colour's the one that has changed slightly would be the brown hair colour range.

Elaine:

Black: C00, C1, C3, C5, C8, C10, 100, sometimes B60 for the highlights
Blonde: Y21, Y26, Y28 (dark blonde) OR E50, E51, E53 (light blonde)
Brown: E31, E34, E35, E57, E59 OR E71, E74, E77, E79
Red: E11, E13, E17, E19

Skin Tones

2010-06-11T01:00:00.005-04:00

Our personal skin tone favorites:

Traci:

African American – E57,E59,E49
Caucasian – R00,E00,E11
Latino/Asian – E00,E11,E13,E15

Rachel:
African American – E37/35/33
Caucasian – E11/00/000
Latino/Asian – E13/11/00

Amy:
African American – E31, E34, E37, R22
Caucasian – E000, E00, E11, R20
Latino – E30, E21, E33, R20
Asian - E50, YR000, E51, R20

Kim:

African American – E57, E74 (dark blend), E35 (light blend)
Caucasian – E000, E11, E13(dark blend), R20 (blush)
Latino/Asian – E13, E35 (dark blend), E21 (light blend)

Elaine:

African American – E25, E27, E21, E13, E11, E02, R32 (blush)

Caucasian – E0000, E000, E00, E11, R20, R21, R22 (blush)

Starter Colors

2010-06-09T01:00:00.004-04:00

Just starting out with Copics? Here are the colors we recommend that we use the most to get your collection started.

Traci:

Skin R00, E00,E11,R20 (for cheeks)
Hair E50,E53,E55,E57 (blonde)
Red R22,R24,R27,R29,R39
Blue B91,B93,B95,B97,B99
Green YG03,YG25,YG17 (I tend to use more lime greens)
Yellow Y02,Y06,Y08 (But I am not in love with my yellow)
Orange YR15,YR16,YR18
Pink R81,R83,R85
Purple/Lavender V01, V15,V06

Rachel:

Skin – E11, E00, E000, R20 (blush)
Hair (I picked Brunette) – E29/39/35
Red – R89/27/24
Blue – B06/04/02/01
Green – YG09/07/06 or Traci's green, LOVE Traci's green
Yellow – Y17/13/08
Orange – YR68/16/ Y38
Pink – R85/83/81
Purple – V17/15/12

This is my Copic "cheat sheet" with all my colors. Not very exciting but I use it all the time when trying to match colors:

Amy:
• Skin - E000, E00, E11, R20
• Hair - E55, E57, E59
• Red - R24, R29, E07
• Blue - B00, B01, B04, B06
• Grreen - YG01, YC03, YG25, YG17
• Yellow - Y13, Y15, Y17
• Orange - YR12, YR 04, YR18
• Pink - ( I just had to break this into blue tone and red tone)
• Blue tone Pink RV00, RV10, RV11
• Red tone Pink R00, R21, R22
• Purple/Lavender - V01, V05, V06

Kim

Skin - E000, E11, E13, R20 (for cheeks)
Hair(blonde) - E50, E53, 0
Red - R24, R46 (darker blend), R14 (lighter blend)
Blue - B93, B97(darker blend), B91 (lighter blend)
Green - G21, G94 (darker blend), YG11 (lighter blend)
Yellow - Y32, Y35 (darker blend), E50 (lighter blend)
Orange - YR68, E97 (darker blend), YR65 (lighter blend)
Pink - RV23, RV35(darker blend), RV21 (lighter blend)
Purple/Lavender - I really don't use these colours much and would simply colour match with the papers I'm using! I have some as part of set within my collection! I have coloured these images to give you an idea how they might look :)

Elaine:

Skin - E000, E00, E11, R20, R21
Hair - Blonde: Y21, Y26, Y28 Brunette: E30, E34, E35, E57, E59
Red - R20, R21, R22, R24, R27, R29, R39
Blue - B0000, B91, B93, B97, B99, BG0000, BG72, BG75, BG78
Green - G0000, G82, G85
Yellow - Y32, Y35, Y38
Orange - YR0000, YR61, YR65, YR68
Pink - RV0000, RV000, RV21, RV23, RV25, RV29
Purple/Lavender - BV0000, BV000, BV01, BV02, BV04

Question: Ink smearing?

2010-06-08T14:22:00.000-04:00

I'm using digital stamps and my Copics keep smearing the ink, how do I fix this?

Pretty sure we've all had that problem at one time or another, I actually posted on my blog about it awhile ago because I was tired of ruining all my images. Some people switch papers, switch inks or even switch printers but what worked best for me was....waiting. I don't know why but if I print off my images, let them sit for 24-48 hours and then heat set them my smearing problems are greatly reduced or eliminated. I can't guarantee it will work for everyone but it's the best solution I've found so far.

~Rach
http://papercraftingplace.blogspot.com/

Where do we buy our Copics and paper?

2010-06-04T01:00:00.003-04:00

Most people have 1 place where they tend to buy most of their Copics and many of us are picky about what paper we like to use. Here are our "go to" places:

Traci : http://www.oozak.com/ because they have good prices, and excellent service and shipping!

PAPER: When I first started playing with Copics I sampled several different papers (Gina K, Neenah, Paper Trey Ink, Georgia Pacific from Wal-mart). They are all usable, but I fell in love with how my markers behave on Paper Trey Ink. It is a little thicker and I know some people think it uses too much ink, but for me, it's my must have!

Rachel : http://www.oozak.com/ They have great prices, free shipping over $50 and offer First Class shipping for orders under $50. They also ship same/next day.

PAPER: I have tried Prism Simply Smooth, Gina K Pure Luxury and Paper Trey Ink (PTI) papers. I'm 99% positive that the Prism and Gina K are the exact same thing and those are what I currently use because I love how I can blend my colors, and the paper doesn't bleed at ALL with my Copics which is great. PTI paper bleeds just a little for me which is problematic when shading tiny areas, BUT the shading ability with PTI is awesome too.

I priced it out and this was the best deal for paper for me: Gina K Pure Luxury Layering Weight

This is my Copic rack which holds 112 Sketch markers. As you can tell, I got it from carpediemstore.com and I LOVE it, it's wonderful:

Amy : http://www.oozak.com/, they have great prices and selection along with super quick shipping . And Free shipping for orders over $50.

PAPER: As paper goes, I use mostly Copic X-Press It, I get nice vibrant colors with it and because it is a bit thinner it is easier to fussy cut the image out. I also like the results I get with Paper Trey Ink white cardstock. I tried the Neenah and didn't like how it bled and even seemed to smear the ink of my stamped images in some places. But again, this is just my experience and preference for how I color =)

Kim: I originally bought a large 72 marker set from ebay, I found that http://www.refuelled.com/ and http://www.artifolk.co.uk/ has the reinkers and a larger range of colours! If you take a look at this chart I have set D and set B, also http://www.copicmarker.co.uk/ is quite near where I live, I just haven't had the chance to visit... yet, LOL!

This is my copic collection, hoping one day to have them all (we can dream hey?)

PAPER:

I get mine from here and it's not branded but what I like to look for is not too high gsm so it doesn't take all the ink from my copic pens but also a good grade so it's not at all flimsy. Ideally acid free, and smooth surface. My choice is Exclusive white card - A4 - 250gsm - CW309. I buy a bulk lot and share it with my mum to keep cost down and it's fantastic card for the card bases too, hope it helps.

Elaine:

I tend to buy most of my markers from http://www.artifolk.co.uk/ - they dispatch quickly and have a wide selection of all the markers and refills.

PAPER:
I like to play around with different papers, but for the most part I use Splendorgel Extra White 270gsm from Century Paper.

****Please note! We do not work for these companies, nor have they provided us with any materials. We have had good personal experiences with them, these are just our opinions****

Question: Sketch or Ciao?

2010-06-03T01:00:00.005-04:00

Question from Koty: Which are better, Sketch or Ciao markers?

This is often the number one question people have when getting started with Copics. It's basically a matter of opinion and preference.

Ciao markers cost less than Sketch

Sketch markers come in 358 colors, Ciao in 180. (as of February 2012)

Both Sketch and Ciao's are refillable and the nibs are replaceable. Sketch markers hold more ink, a bottle of Various Ink will refill a Sketch marker 12 times and a Ciao marker 15 times.

If you ever get into airbrushing you can use Sketch markers in the airbrush machine, but not Ciaos.

The Ciao barrel is round, the Sketch is more oval

Sketch markers have their color numbers and names etched on the cap, Ciaos do not.

Bascially, you would be safe buying all Ciao's and then just buying what Sketch markers you need to fill in a color scheme. Up to you!

Color Me Copic Team - Meet Kim!

2010-06-02T01:00:00.009-04:00

Kim

My Blog : www.paperbabe.blogspot.com

I can't remember now what I used before my copics ha ha ha, I think I actually didn't stamp then, I was very into die cutting! But I did have a collection of dried up alcohol markers from way back when I used them at college. Called magic markers I think, I also tried promarker brush pens that you filled with ink, slightly time consuming and you could never get the same colour tone twice.

When the stamping bug finally caught hold of me I went straight for a large set... yes!!! the only thing I wanted was a good range of different colours so bought a 72 sketch marker set D all the way from Japan ha ha ha, I think I waited over a month for them to arrive! THAT was over two years ago... I haven't got my certificate yet but I certainly intend to this year as I have found a contact here in UK now WOO HOO!

For me I think it's about practice really, I couldn't begin to tell you the amount of images I have coloured in, I think also having an arty background has helped me with shadows and highlights. I can see improvement in my own copic colouring all the time, my copic family are growing too and still totally LOVE them.

Thanks for stopping by HuGs Kim :)

Color Me Copic Team - Meet Elaine!

2010-06-01T01:00:00.035-04:00

Elaine aka Quixotic

Blog: Quixotic Cards

I was given my first Copic markers as a gift a couple of years ago. I had been keen to try them, and spent hours studying various blogs and reviews, agonising over whether or not to take the plunge. I was so excited to receive a small set as a gift, but it wasn't until much later that I really got to grips with them and really fell in love.

I am not Copic certified and am completely self-taught. Many talented bloggers have provided the information and inspiration I needed to develop my colouring skills! I love to experiment and I still spend a lot of time studying other people's colouring and techniques, picking up tips and colour combos.

Colr Me Copic Team - Meet Traci!

2010-05-31T01:00:00.003-04:00

Traci's (aka WickedPixie)

blog: WickedPixieCreations

I decided to try this whole "alcohol marker thing" around a year and a half ago and I started with Prismacolor Markers because I could get them at the local craft store using a coupon. When I realized how much I loved coloring with markers I made the investment in Copics because of the refill capabilities and I love the brush like nib! I used to paint with watercolors and I feel like I can get a similar look (although more intense) without the messiness by using Copics.

I am not Copic certified and have not taken any classes. I have spent a lot of time studying other peoples work with copics, and I get so much out of seeing what colors they used so I always make sure I list the colors I use on my cards. I really love the feeling of bringing an image to life just by coloring!

Color Me Copic Team - Meet Rachel!

2010-05-30T01:00:00.004-04:00

Rachel (AKA ~Rach)
Blog: The Paper Crafting Place

I was introduced to Copics in July/August of 2009 and was hooked right away! I used to use Prismacolor pencils before but nothing compares to the eye-popping colors that you can get using Copics, I love them because they really make an image come to life.

I don't have any formal classes or training, it's all self taught so I really consider every piece I color to be practice. I've learned most of what I have by imitating other people's coloring that I love, by watching some great tutorials on YouTube and by asking lots of questions. My hope is that this site will help all of you by having a bit of everything all in one place!

Color Me Copic Team - Meet Amy!

2010-05-29T01:00:00.004-04:00

Amy

Blog: A Thousand Sheets of Paper

I first got serious about Copics just over a year ago and began searching the internet for all the information I could get on them before finally committing to an actual purchase. As soon as I received my first order and started playing around with them, I was hooked! I've never taken any Copic classes and I'm not certified, everything I know comes from reading other blogs and through trial and error. I love experimenting with different color combinations and feel like I'm always learning something new when it comes to these fantastic, fun and highly addictive markers. ;)