If you don't have copics...

[larue]

what is your favorite thing to color with?

[tinyfeet]

Watercolor pencils!!

[meeyore151]

Prismacolor pencils and goo gone (don't like Gamsol)!!

[katroush]

I love my watercolor pencils. But how do you use goo gone?
Kat

[meeyore151]

Quote:

Originally Posted by katroush

I love my watercolor pencils. But how do you use goo gone?
Kat

Same way you use the Gamsol or odorless mineral spirits. I have a great big spray bottle of goo gone and I spray that onto a piece of felt in a small plastic bowl and press the blending stump onto the felt to absorb the goo gone. Did that make any sense at all? I like to use the goo gone because the Gamsol gave me a headache.

[justwritedesigns]

Tombow markers! And sometimes Prismacolor pencils. I don't usually use the gamsol w/ them because I love their colorless blender pencil. But I love my Tombows!

[Cook22]

Anything I can watercolour with - pencils, watercolours, Twinkling H2Os, re-inkers now I have built up a reasonable range.

[PH in VA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by katroush

I love my watercolor pencils. But how do you use goo gone?
Kat

Bear in mind that Goo Gone, or any brand of odorless mineral spirits (such as Gamsol), or baby oil, are meant to be used to break down the pigment in "regular" colored pencils. This technique won't work with watercolor pencils.

I'll confess that I'm not all that fond of coloring in images, but I do like using my Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits.

[jutta]

I have Prisma pencils, SU markers, Lyra crayons and SU chalks. I don't need another coloring medium and certainly not one that is as expensive as the Copics series. Maybe if stamping was my business, it would make financial sense.

Jutta

[katroush]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeyore151

Same way you use the Gamsol or odorless mineral spirits. I have a great big spray bottle of goo gone and I spray that onto a piece of felt in a small plastic bowl and press the blending stump onto the felt to absorb the goo gone. Did that make any sense at all? I like to use the goo gone because the Gamsol gave me a headache.

What is the purpose of using goo gone? I'm really new to card making and not up on techniques.
I've only used it to get ink out of my dryer.
Kat

[jkstieber]

I have Prismacolor markers, SU watercolor crayons, and the SU watercolor pencils. I use the markers the most, but I do like the others as well.

[meeyore151]

Quote:

Originally Posted by katroush

What is the purpose of using goo gone? I'm really new to card making and not up on techniques.
I've only used it to get ink out of my dryer.
Kat

It breaks down and blends the colored pencil. There's a tutorial here: Splitcoaststampers - Gamsol Magic Technique Tutorial by Cecilia Ross

I just use goo gone in place of the gamsol.

[katroush]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeyore151

It breaks down and blends the colored pencil. There's a tutorial here: Splitcoaststampers - Gamsol Magic Technique Tutorial by Cecilia Ross

I just use goo gone in place of the gamsol.

Thanks, I'm learning there is so much more to stamping than just coloring in the shape!
Kat

[meeyore151]

There is as much or as little to stamping as you want there to be... that's why it's so much fun!

[MariLynn]

Prisma colored pencils.

[mamaxsix]

I love to use Watercolor Crayons with an Aqua painter. You get a softer, water colored look and it is really easy to blend colors.

[maryrose]

Prisma colored pencils and Prisma markers. Prisma markers do everything that COPICs do, and they're a fraction of the price. I also love to use the markers, and then go back and layer on more color with the pencils. This is actually the technique that a lot of commercial artists like Mary Engelbreit use in their coloring.

[mof118]

Does anyone have a good site to buy the Prisma markers from?

[stitchinstampin]

I just love working with my SU markers, SU watercolor crayons and aqua painter too!

[buggainok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mof118

Does anyone have a good site to buy the Prisma markers from?

I have a few that I got on ebay, but let me tell you about some wonderful markers that absolutely compare to Copics or Prismas, at a fraction of the cost.

They are called Shinhan Touch markers and you can currently buy them here:

ShinHan Touch Twin Marker Sets - JerrysArtarama.com

The set of 12 is only $19.99, and they come in several color variations. They did have larger sets, but have sold out of those. You can also get the individual markers for only $1.89 ea. when Copics go for $5 or $6.

I got a set of 36 a couple of weeks ago and love, love them.

[maryrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mof118

Does anyone have a good site to buy the Prisma markers from?

I get mine from Dick Blick's website. Occasionally, you can hit a sale and get an even better price!

[Luci in AZ]

I recently purchased the Letraset Promarkers from Carpe Diem store. They are also alcohol based and are less than 1.75 each and that includes shipping...well at least for me. I like coloring again!

[hoptownracer1]

I've been using the Bic and Sharpie markers, colored pencils (Prismacolor and other brands with baby oil instead of goo gone), watercolor pencils and watercolor crayons with blender pens and also chalks. I found that I like mixing it up and using more than one coloring medium on my images. If I don't have the color I want in one medium, I just use another. It made the images look more unique and gave them a little texture difference. I really like using the chalks and colored pencils together.
I've put myself on a spending freeze (with the exception of necessities and an occasional purchase from a friend who sells CTMH.), and it's made me rediscover things I haven't used in forever.
This site and also YouTube have some awesome tutorials on how to do different coloring methods; not to mention all the blogs. I find I am learning new stuff all the time. (If I could just retain it in this brain of mine! lol.)
I won't even start talking about glitter and Stickles. I LOVE Stickles.

[LaLatty]

I love my SU markers! It took me awhile to learn how to color and get the results I like, but over all they work well for me. I'd love to give copics a try, but they are just too expensive for me.

[jovian7]

I love my ShinHan Twin Touch alcohol markers and use them more than anything else, they really are comparable to Copic at a fraction of the cost. They are introducing a new style early this summer which is refillable and replaceable nibs so stores like DickBlick.com, Jerry's Artarama, Pearl Arts have the current style on clearance. I'm OK with getting the current style and replacing one at a time with the refillable style as needed. Super great markers and an unbeatable price! I just ordered some from Dick Blick for $2.09 each. Jerry Artarama marker price is cheaper than Dick Blick but their shipping to Alaska is much higher than Dick Blick so for me, Blick is cheaper. Blick doesn't sell sets, just individual markers and I don't think they have every color. Dini has gotten some nice sets of Twin Touch markers on Ebay for a good price.

I have seen Prisma Markers at Michaels. I don't have any Prisma markers but Touch markers smell less than Prisma's, based on when I checked them out at Michael's last week.

I really like my Prismacolor/Dick Blick Studio pencils and gamsol or a Prisma blender pen. I use these for smaller detail work.

BUT I'm really looking forward to receiving my recently ordered Derwent Inktense pencils! They are used with water, like watercolor pencils but instead of washing down the color, the water actually intensifies the color so they are very vibrant! I got the 72 set at Dick Blick for about $80 on sale, about $30 less than other online prices!

**I see that above it says that gamsol/oms/googone/babyoil can't be used with watercolor pencils but I know I have seen a tutorial where they were using either gamsol/babyoil or goo gone with watercolor pencils and it worked wonderfully...??

[mitzi]

I use my SU markers for something quick and my Prismacolor pencils with Gamsol when I want to take my time.

[Allistamps123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maryrose

Prisma colored pencils and Prisma markers. Prisma markers do everything that COPICs do, and they're a fraction of the price. I also love to use the markers, and then go back and layer on more color with the pencils. This is actually the technique that a lot of commercial artists like Mary Engelbreit use in their coloring.

This is good to know. I was sold on copics but changed my mind and I've never gotten any. I may check out prisma. Are the Prisma pencils watercolor pencils? Thanks

Thanks everyone for the answers about goo gone, mineral spirits, etc.!

[Allistamps123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by buggainok

I have a few that I got on ebay, but let me tell you about some wonderful markers that absolutely compare to Copics or Prismas, at a fraction of the cost.

They are called Shinhan Touch markers and you can currently buy them here:

ShinHan Touch Twin Marker Sets - JerrysArtarama.com

The set of 12 is only $19.99, and they come in several color variations. They did have larger sets, but have sold out of those. You can also get the individual markers for only $1.89 ea. when Copics go for $5 or $6.

I got a set of 36 a couple of weeks ago and love, love them.

Thanks so much!! I'm going to try a set of those...great prices! What color set did you get? I'm leaning toward the pastel and regular colors.

[maryrose]

An artist friend told me that when picking out marker colors, go for the lighter shades. You can always make it darker by layering on more color with the same marker (something you can't do with other standard markers like SU).

I use the Prismacolor pencils, which you can use with all the Gamsol techniques. I'm not 100% happy with the way they break when sharpening, though. I'd like to find some pencils in the future that I'm happier using, and may try the new Derwent. (I have Derwent Colorsoft pencils, and they're very nice, too).

[jpmayo]

My favorite thing to do to avoid coloring is paper piecing, LOVE it and then if I have to color something I use my SU inks and blender pen.

[Paula in GA]

Oh let's see! I use Derwent Inksentials, Derwent ColorSoft Pencils, Derwent GraphiTint Pencils, reinkers, twinks, watercolor pots, watercolor papers (you touch your brush to the paper & pick up color), Tombow markers, SU & CTMH markers, Blick color pencils, Koor-I-Noor color pencils, some Prisma pencils, pen in bottle inks as watercolor, pastels & oil pastels, ArtQuest paints, and anything and everything else that looks intriguing.

[sewflake]

If I didn't have Copic I would probably cry, then go back to watercolor crayons.

[buggainok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allistamps123

Thanks so much!! I'm going to try a set of those...great prices! What color set did you get? I'm leaning toward the pastel and regular colors.

I got the set of 36, but it is sold out now. If I were getting some today, I would probably get the set of 12 primary and 12 pastel for a starting point.

And if you like to do a lot of shading, the grey set might be nice. You can use the greys to tone down the brighter colors.

[jovian7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maryrose

I use the Prismacolor pencils, which you can use with all the Gamsol techniques. I'm not 100% happy with the way they break when sharpening, though. I'd like to find some pencils in the future that I'm happier using, and may try the new Derwent. (I have Derwent Colorsoft pencils, and they're very nice, too).

I found a video on Dick Blic's website on how to sharpen Prisma pencils. The key for a hand sharpener is to turn the sharpener instead of turning the pencil and to always use the correct size hole. I also did some more research and bought a Derwent battery operated sharpener from Blick for about $9 which is made for sharpening colored pencils. It works great!

[luvofstamps]

I use the TRIART markers. THese are the same as copics but much much cheaper.

CARPEDIEM

[JoBear2]

I use Derwent Coloursoft and Prismacolor pencils with Odourless Mineral Spirits. I also have a couple of Lyra pencils which I use with OMS too I also use my acrylic paints as watercolours - but only because I used to do decorative (tole) painting and already had them. I can't afford Copics here in Australia - they are $6 each!

[maryrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jovian7

I found a video on Dick Blic's website on how to sharpen Prisma pencils. The key for a hand sharpener is to turn the sharpener instead of turning the pencil and to always use the correct size hole. I also did some more research and bought a Derwent battery operated sharpener from Blick for about $9 which is made for sharpening colored pencils. It works great!

Hey, thanks for the tip! I'll have to check this out!

[Ellibelle]

I have copics but my favorite coloring tools are my derwent coloursoft pencils blended with baby oil or gamsol.

[jovian7]

I have 1 derwent colorsoft pencil..a stray from my husband..it is amazing! I'm not giving it back.

[SophieLaFontaine]

Before I got Copics, I loved (still love) colouring with Winsor & Newton tube watercolours. Actually, I'm sure I would've loved any watercolours (except for Crayola). It's just that Winsor & Newton's starter watercolour kit was on sale.