Copic markers: shading and blending with dark colors?

[Jadiebird]

I find it easy to blend using light colors, but not so easy with dark. If I want to color a dark red shirt, what should be my technique? I tried to do this, and though it did not come out horrible, I was not too thrilled either. I used lipstick red and dark red to shade. Afterwords, I tried to use the colorless blender to add some highlights, but it did not work too well. What colors would you use, and what would be your technique to color a dark red shirt, while still adding some highlights and shadows to the folds? Is there a good video online? Thanks!

[Colleen Schaan]

Hi Vicki,

You are right, shading with the lighter colors is a bit easier... the darker you go, the easier it is to overpower and get a "one-shade" look.

I know there are other techniques and tips out there and hopefully others will share, but this is what I do...

I always start with a shade WAY lighter than I want the final look to be. For example, if I wanted a dark red shirt, I would start with R22... that is sort of a light salmon color. I then add R24 (medium red) to MOST of the shirt, leaving the light color only where I want highlights. Then I go in and add a darker color R27 maybe and add that to part of the shirt covering MOST BUT NOT ALL of the R24 color. By now my shirt is mostly the dark color with just a touch of highlighted areas...but I still want it to look "realistic" so I need to add shading... and to add my shadows, I go in with a super dark color R29 maybe and add just a touch to the areas I want shaded.

So in essence, I use the same technique that I would for any other color/shade of shirt, but when I want to go really dark, I just add an additional layer of color... so instead of using the typical 3 shades of red I would use 4. It's more work... but the results can be really cool! (I've even got one image where I used 6 different shades of the same color to get LOADS of contrast.)

Using the colorless blender to add highlights is good... you may even want to try adding them with an opaque white ink for even more contrast without washing out the shirt.

Hope that helps.
Happy Coloring!

[OhioMary]

Hi Vicki...Yes darker colors are very hard to blend. Red and black are very hard colors for me. What I have been doing for red is coloring the whole image in red, on one side using the colorless blender to feather in the light then on the other side using a W3 or W5 to feather in the dark. You can see an example in the hat on my card here.HTH.

[Colleen Schaan]

Vicki,

Just another thought... you could try coloring the shirt in a dark red and then adding shading in a green (complimentary color). Sounds weird... but works REALLY well.

[smallcity]

Colleen, i can't wait to take your class in September!!!!!!!!!


smallcity

[french fry toast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colleen Schaan

Vicki,

Just another thought... you could try coloring the shirt in a dark red and then adding shading in a green (complimentary color). Sounds weird... but works REALLY well.

I do that too. I usually stick to the violets/mauves colors if I'm shading darker colors.

Sometimes I'll go over things with a bit of white ink for highlights.

[peanut14]

Subbing

[MadeByClaudia]

hi. i took a copic class by a certified copic teacher.

colors that match the letters, (r, v, rv) blend better
the last number (0 = lightest 9 = darkest) needs to go maybe 0, 2, 4 etc
the middle number (0 = less gray 9= more gray) also need to cordinate 0, 2, 4, etc

start w/ the lightest all over the image, then use the middle for 3/8, then use the darkest 1/8ish and then the MOST IMPORTANT PART

color everything over again with the lightest color to blend.

you use the colorless blender when you go over the lines. it litterally has its own ink, but clear so if you color over the whole thing, it just pushes the color you already have away from the point you are laying the ink. you can see the effects if you color just a little area with a dark color and then on 1 side use the colorless blender back and forth, you'll see the color start to move away from the area u are using the colorless blender.

hope that helps