HTDT? 04.15.09 Coloring Skin Tones with Copics

[CandiceL]

Hello and welcome to another Copic edition of HTDT? – today we are going to focus on skin tones – everything thing from shading to adding those finishing make-up touches to the faces of those gorgeous BC Dzyns girls. This tutorial does build from my previous “Copic Basics” HTDT? Tutorial – so if you’d like to go back and check it out before you dive into this one – you can view it here. My tutorial features the new BC Dzyns “Text Ya Later” set and the recently released Perfect Paper Panels by MFT – you are gonna LOVE how well Copics blend on this new paper!!

To start – I stamped my BC Dzyns girl using Memento Tuxedo Black ink on my MFT Perfect Paper panel. I am going to start by coloring my gal’s skin all over with my lightest skin tone shade – in this example – that would be Skin White (E00). To get nice even coloring – I colored her face using small circular strokes and kept going back over the area I had colored just a bit.


Once I’ve got my base color nice and even – I am ready to go in and add my shading – I am going to do my first layer of shading with my next darkest color – in this case – it’s E02 (Fruit Pink). When I color faces – I always start my shading right under the hairline – I apply the shading a little heavier under the hairline and around one side of the face and then thin my shading out as I go around to the other side of her face . I also apply shading underneath her chin and around her neckline – and then work my way to her arms and hands. When you’re applying your shading – just think about the way the light is hitting your person and the way that the clothes that the person is wearing or any object(s) that the person may be holding would give off shadows onto the person. This is why I always start at the hairline – the way the hair falls onto a person’s face is usually where the darkest shadow is on his or her face.


So now that I’ve added all my shading in with my E02 – I am going to apply the same basic “color with your light – shade with your dark – blend with your light” Copic rule – I am going to use my E00 to color right at the edge of where my E00 and E02 colors meet – this will blend the 2 colors together. In this picture – you can see that I’ve already blended them on her face – notice her neck line and arms – you can still see where those have not been blended yet.


Now to really make her complexion “pop” – I’m going to go in with a third layer of color – this will be my darkest shade of the 3 – for this example – it’s E11 (Barely Beige). With this color – I am going to do just a VERY thin layer of shading around the edges of where I have already shaded with E02. The key to this darkest color is to use just a hint of it – if you go to much with this dark color – it will make your BC Dzyns gal look like she’s spent way too much time in the sun – LOL! Once I’ve added my shading with the E11 – I am going to go back just like I did with my first layer of shading and blend the edges where my E11 and E02 meet with my E02 – which for this layer is my lighter color.

[CandiceL]

Here is the way her finished skin color will look after all the shading – see how much depth her skin color has?? Now let’s move onto the really really fun part – let’s do her make-up!!


Let’s start with her cheeks – adding just a hint of blush to them – my favorite color to use for blush is R20 – which happens to be called “Blush” – of course – LOL!! I am going to apply her “blush” just like I would apply my own – starting at the base of her cheek bone – flick the tip of your marker up towards the top of where her cheek bone would be. Then just do the same on her other cheek. I think this is a great marker motion to add in the blush on the gals’ faces rather than to do the little circles of blush we would normally do on animal images – it gives a more natural look.


Let’s move up to her eyes next – if you look closely – you’ll notice that I’ve left just a smidgen of white space around her eyelids to add in a bit of eye shadow – you don’t have to leave a whole lot of white space as the edge of where your skin tone meets your eye shadow color will blend smoothly (ah – the beauty of the ink in Copics). I just flick in a little bit of color for her eye shadow along both of her lids. Since this is such a small space – I don’t worry about adding shading as it would be hard to see anyway.


And then one more thing I like to add to her eyes is just a little dot with my white gel pen – this will give her eyes a little bit more depth and a bit of sparkle.

[CandiceL]

I finish up with her lipstick – I used R29 (Lipstick Red) for the perfect red lipstick and added just a flick of shading with R39 (Garnet) – a little tip about adding shading to small spaces is to use a color that is much darker than your base color to shade - this will make the shading more prominent in a small area.


Here she is after all of our shading and make-up – I colored in her clothing and she’s ready for my card!


To finish up my tutorial on coloring skin tones with Copics – I’d like to share a couple of more Copic skin combinations that I like to use – while the E00/E02/E11 is my “go-to” color combo for skin tones – let’s not forget that our Who’s That Girl? And BC Dyzns girls can be anyone – they are our “every woman” and after all – diversity is what makes our world beautiful – so here are a couple of more skin tone color combos that I like to use – and these are just the tip of the ice berg – with the so many “E” colors of Copics – there are colors for just about any skin tone you would need!!

Here is a beautiful African American skin tone color combo – E25 is going to be your lightest shade and E29 your darkest – you would follow the same shading process as in this tutorial – just change your colors. For her - I used E04 (Lipstick Natural) for her lips.


And here is one more example for you – a very pretty Asian skin tone – in this combo E51 will be your lightest and E57 your darkest color – again follow the same coloring process with these 3 colors – remembering to only use just a hint of that E57.


I hope that you’ve enjoyed my tutorial today and that you’ve found some useful information here. Not only are we releasing 2 brand new sets – but Kim is running some awesome specials for What’s Up Wednesday? as well – the first 50 customers on Wed. will receive a Memento Dew Drop ink pad (the preferred ink to use with Copics) and if you buy a set of Copic Ciao markers (which are on sale for $125 a set) then you’ll receive a free pak of Perfect Paper Panels (24 sheets) with your order *no gift vouchers may be used in conjunction with this promotion*. So Kim has got you all set up for all of your Copic needs!! Now that you’ve seen my tutorial – are you ready to apply what you’ve learned?? Pop over to the What’s Up Wednesday challenge thread for a skin tone challenge!!!

[The MFT Lady]

Fantastic Candice!!

[stampinjewelsd]

Candice you ROCK!

[PickleTree]

WOW! Great tutorial, Candice!!

[texasjodylynn]

Awesome! I love it! Thank you for the great tutorial!

[StampOwl]

awesome tutorial Candice

[ReeStamps]

Fantastic tutorial! I learned a lot!!

[hsuresh]

Originally Posted by CandiceL

I finish up with her lipstick – I used R29 (Lipstick Red) for the perfect red lipstick and added just a flick of shading with R39 (Garnet) – a little tip about adding shading to small spaces is to use a color that is much darker than your base color to shade - this will make the shading more prominent in a small area.


Here she is after all of our shading and make-up – I colored in her clothing and she’s ready for my card!


To finish up my tutorial on coloring skin tones with Copics – I’d like to share a couple of more Copic skin combinations that I like to use – while the E00/E02/E11 is my “go-to” color combo for skin tones – let’s not forget that our Who’s That Girl? And BC Dyzns girls can be anyone – they are our “every woman” and after all – diversity is what makes our world beautiful – so here are a couple of more skin tone color combos that I like to use – and these are just the tip of the ice berg – with the so many “E” colors of Copics – there are colors for just about any skin tone you would need!!

Here is a beautiful African American skin tone color combo – E25 is going to be your lightest shade and E29 your darkest – you would follow the same shading process as in this tutorial – just change your colors. For her - I used E04 (Lipstick Natural) for her lips.


And here is one more example for you – a very pretty Asian skin tone – in this combo E51 will be your lightest and E57 your darkest color – again follow the same coloring process with these 3 colors – remembering to only use just a hint of that E57.


I hope that you’ve enjoyed my tutorial today and that you’ve found some useful information here. Not only are we releasing 2 brand new sets – but Kim is running some awesome specials for What’s Up Wednesday? as well – the first 50 customers on Wed. will receive a Memento Dew Drop ink pad (the preferred ink to use with Copics) and if you buy a set of Copic Ciao markers (which are on sale for $125 a set) then you’ll receive a free pak of Perfect Paper Panels (24 sheets) with your order *no gift vouchers may be used in conjunction with this promotion*. So Kim has got you all set up for all of your Copic needs!! Now that you’ve seen my tutorial – are you ready to apply what you’ve learned?? Pop over to the What’s Up Wednesday challenge thread for a skin tone challenge!!!

Wonderful tutorial ! I learned so much and thanks also for the different variations of skin tone .

[vmancha]

Awesome tutorial!!! I orderd a set right away!! Can't wait to get my copic ciaos!!!

[Shel9999]

Great tutorial, Candice! Thanks for those different skin tone color numbers!

[GardenDiva]

Wow...........what an awesome tutorial. Fantastic.........thanks so much.

[CandiceL]

Thanks, everyone!! I'm glad you guys are finding some useful info here!!

[Stamper K]

Fabulous tutorial! Thanks so much for all your detailed pictures and the different colour combos too!

[cindy_haffner]

Awesome work Candice, thanks for sharing with us.

[cerridwen3301]

Excellent tutorial candice!!

[wmoore1]

This is a wonderful tuturial. Thank you for the work you put into it. Had no idea how to blend skin tones and you have made that possible for me. I will go and practice now!

[jackie1]

This is such a great tutorial thanks for sharing. I was wondering if you have a tutorial on Native American skin tones?

[Judyw]

I am coming over for my lesson next week, make room!

[CandiceL]

Originally Posted by jackie1

This is such a great tutorial thanks for sharing. I was wondering if you have a tutorial on Native American skin tones?

Hmmm...this is one combo that I haven't done yet - I would say start with that E11 (Barely Beige) for your light colors for this skin tone and then maybe E13 and E15 for the layering. Those E's are the best place to find your skin tone combination - HTH!!

[ReeStamps]

Which colors would you use for Hispanic skin tones? Use the same as for Asian??

[CandiceL]

Originally Posted by ReeStamps

Which colors would you use for Hispanic skin tones? Use the same as for Asian??

Definitely!! I was actually thinking the same thing as I was coloring my BC Dzyns gal for this tutorial with the E51/E55/E57 combo - that it would be a great combo for Hipanic skin as well!!

[jackie1]

Originally Posted by CandiceL

Hmmm...this is one combo that I haven't done yet - I would say start with that E11 (Barely Beige) for your light colors for this skin tone and then maybe E13 and E15 for the layering. Those E's are the best place to find your skin tone combination - HTH!!

Thanks I will have to try that.

[ScrappingMommyof3]

WOW!!! That is wickedly awesome! And I thought I was doing well! You're going to take my colouring to a whole new level...and then some!

[loxykelly]

I love how you did different skin tones. I often see light skin tones used on cards all the time! Thank you!

[stamp_momma]

Great tutorial, Candice!

[aprilchristine]

Wow!! What a great tutorial...

[TruCarMa]

Finally getting a chance to check this out -- FABULOUS, Candice!!!

[love5523]

Fantastic! I know this is an other thread but I was just linked to it and missed it the first time. I'm sure I'm not the only one

[meyersa]

Wow! That was great, you made it look possible. Thank you!

[passionskrapper]

Thanks so much for these tutorials!!! I was just looking for different skin tones! Great explaining so not-so-experienced can understand too!

[Ironlady]

Thanks for the tutorial. I never knew which colors to use for skin tones.