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Hobby Lobby had them 30% of so I just had to get 15 of them to bring home and try. The Mgr. said I had 60 days to return them if I didn't like. OMG! I had no idea there would be this much of a learning curve. ;) I don't really have good colors to do shading etc... though so I keep telling myself to keep them and get more. :rolleyes:
I didn't expect to come home and start making cards like the amazing ones I see in the gallery, but I had no idea it would be this hard. I do okay (not great) with my Prisma pencils but this is so completely different.
I'm thinking I should just take these back and try to "perfect" my Prisma pencil technique instead of taking it all on at once.
So, what are you finding most difficult? To get the shading down? Or is it a general coloring issue? Or bleeding? If you can explain a little more I am sure we can *enable* I mean HELP you out!
They do take time, but once I figured it out, I was is L-O-V-E and I would be in tears if I had to give mine up! I enjoy coloring with them now!
I know what you mean. I have 41 markers and thought I had enough and still don't. I have found that if you don't have at least 2 shades of each type of color, but 3 shades of each would be even better, that it is pretty difficult to achieve that fabulous look.
And if you like to have matching colors to your SU colors, you'd end up needing at LEAST 136 markers to achieve it.
The more shades you have of each type of color (for instance, 3 shades of a moss color would be light moss, medium moss and a light olive) the easier the blending becomes.
I'm not sure what my problem is with them. HL's selection is very limited so it may just be my color choices (hopefully). I think it's the intensity of the way the color goes down is a little overwhelming maybe. I have watched several tutorials online and they just make it look so easy. I think blending the line where you highlight is not easy either. I can definitely see where the marker lines are after trying to blend.
I didn't get the colorless blender that I saw on one tutorial. Should I have that???
I believe the brand is General Pacific (a cardstock) and it is available at Walmart for a decent price. In order for the Copics to blend properly you need a paper where the ink stays on top. Copic does sell its own paper (not cheap) and it does work beautifully but it is not card stock.
__________________ Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
One of the tutorials I watched where the coloring was done by an artist, said you need a thinner cardstock. The heavyweight will absorb the color to much.
Walmart has something called Georgia Pacific I think but there are different kinds and I wasn't sure what was the right one.
I know that everyone has their own preference but I just use the white 110 lb. cardstock from Staples or Office Max. It is about $10 for 250 sheets...I make far too many stamping mistakes to buy anything more expensive AND my Copics work great on it. It is going to bleed thru the back, but I believe that is going to happen no matter what paper you use. They are alcohol inks, afterall.
To the OP, DON'T give up on your Copics. I wouldn't worry too much about the shading...it will come once you get a feel for the Copics themselves. Until you are able to afford more, just use one marker to shade...don't forget that if you apply more than one layer, it will darken anyway. I am by NO means an expert with Copics, but I find that my work is "passable" and occasionally even get a comment on my "great coloring" ;) ! Trust me, once you get the hang of them, you are gonna love 'em!
I'm not sure what my problem is with them. HL's selection is very limited so it may just be my color choices (hopefully). I think it's the intensity of the way the color goes down is a little overwhelming maybe. I have watched several tutorials online and they just make it look so easy. I think blending the line where you highlight is not easy either. I can definitely see where the marker lines are after trying to blend.
I didn't get the colorless blender that I saw on one tutorial. Should I have that???
The blender is really not a blender. It takes the color away. Think of it as an eraser! LOL I like it to give a more watered down look to that section.
I am by no means a coloring guru, but here are some pics of how I blend. In the first pic, I lay down my outline. This is my darkest shade. Then, I grab my medium shade and color in some more. I don't worry about the lines right now. Some people recommend coloring in small circles, but I don't do that either. I am a Copic Rebel! LOL Then, I use my lightest shade to color the remaining white portion, then go over the darker colors to blend it out.
When choosing colors, since you have an open stock, pick colors in the same color family. So, the letter is the main color classification, then the first number is the hue and the last letter is the brightness. I pick the same letter, say RV, then use the same hue but differing brightness. I think I used RV06, RV04 and RV02 for this example.
One of the tutorials I watched where the coloring was done by an artist, said you need a thinner cardstock. The heavyweight will absorb the color to much.
Walmart has something called Georgia Pacific I think but there are different kinds and I wasn't sure what was the right one.
I agree with "don't give up"! The copics just "pop" with their color itensity. I have had mine for about 3 months and there is a learning curve. You will find what works for you after you use them a while. I am using the 110# GP CS from Wal-Mart most of the time, but I actually prefer the Neenah classic natural white available from Ellen Hutson, LLC. This is just too expensive for me to use all the time.
The other CS absorbs too much of the ink and I don't think it blends as well. I only color with straight lines on very small spaces. Coloring with a circular motion reduces look of lines. Also, as you become more experienced and can color faster, the blending is easier.
Not only will coloring in circles help to reduce any lines, you want full color saturation which means you want it to bleed through the back. Good saturation through the back will leave you with more even color in the front. Don't give up. Keep working at it. It is possible to add shading using the same marker color as your main image. You just have to wait for the alchohol to evaporate in the main layer of color. Then go back and add layers of the same color to add shading until you get your desired effect. It's not as good as having multiple shades of a color but it'll get you by. I also use GP Cardstock from Walmart. Works great for me.
quote"When choosing colors, since you have an open stock, pick colors in the same color family. So, the letter is the main color classification, then the first number is the hue and the last letter is the brightness. I pick the same letter, say RV, then use the same hue but differing brightness. I think I used RV06, RV04 and RV02 for this example."quote
""Copic Rebel"...lol..lol is right... you want to have some in the same hue with the numbers 2, 4 or 6 apart. Don't just run into the store and grab a bunch of random colors.... even if our minds tell us to...lol..lol
You are working with alcohol base markers... you need to watch what ink, paper, etc., that you stamp on or you are going to have bleeding results, (which means frustration)
Do a Copic search in the forums here and you'll be able to gleem great useable information of trial and error...
One option, if you don't have several hues of the same color, one option is to "color" on a piece of acetate (or even CD case) with the dark color, and pick up the color with your lighter marker - will make the contrast a lot less. Hopefully, this makes some sense.
Paper-Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 80lb CS ETA: I get mine at PAPERS PLUS 250 sheets for $25. So try a paper or stationary supply stor
Ink- Adirondak
I choose two colors for each colored area.
Color entire area with lighter color using a circular motion, Then take darker color and outline where I want the highlight or shadow to be, then take lighter color again in a circular motion and go along the edge where the two colors meet until it is blended to my satisfaction, then still with the lighter color in circular motion cover the entire are a again.
HERE is an example of my technique. I am NOT an expert but am happy with the outcome. Don't give up!
I use papertrey's 110 lb paper for all of my coloring. I love the bright white. I use palette noir, brilliance graphite black or momento black inks. The first two need heat set and the last one doesn't. My best advice would be to check out some of the great tutorials out there. It helped me a lot when I was learning to use mine.
I used Stampin' Up Whisper white with no problem at all. I think that they will work well with just about any quality white card stock. You do have to practice with them, that's for sure. Don't take them back yet. If you have 30 days, use them all and keep trying. I colored this picture with only four markers, a tan, gray, burgandy, light grey and then I used the colorless blender to make the bag look more suede-like.
You don't need a million markers to get good vibrant color.
Keep trying!
__________________ Be polite to those who are rude to you. Not because they are nice, but because you are.
Owner- Gina K. Designs
I agree with everyone else. Practice, practice, practice! I've been collecting since last summer and buy mine individually at Dick Blick and have about 77 or so now :-) I buy in groups of 3 to blend and generally buy 6-12 at a time and just practice, practice, practice. I am by no means a coloring expert but have gotten to be pretty good at it by practicing a lot.
You can check out my blog to see the evolution of my Copic coloring. My initial attempts from last summer don't impress me and I didn't see why they were so great but just kept trying and my most recent attempts are blended much, much better. http://kathatstamps.blogspot.com/search/label/Copics
__________________ Kathy
Proud Mama to Mason 4/3/99, Miles 5/25/02, and Maya 8/26/04
I read somewhere than instead of working dark to light....
work light, dark, then light. If you are having trouble blending, it may be because your paper is absorbing too much of the ink. Saturate your paper with the ink, so there is some on top to spread. You shouldn't see the dark line when you're done. If your light marker picks up dark color, color on scrap paper until it's clean before you put it away.
Go back to the copic thread... "Copic Problem"... there, "ilikemarkers" gives some great advice... this is Marrianne, who instructs the Copic Classes. She is GREAT!! Practice, Practice... these are nice markers... if we get back to doodling and playing around, having fun with any type of markers... I think the frustration and expectations will be less likely to make us crazy....lol..lol
You might try the new Memento ink by Tsukineko with Copics--it works great! On cardstock, the ones I like best have been mentioned: PaperTrey Stamper's Select White and Neenah Solar White. That's not to "dis" any of the others--just telling what I usually use. I adore my SU Whisper White for solid stamping, but I don't usually grab it when I want to color because sometimes my black inks seem to want to smear a bit too.
On the clear blender, (again, already mentioned), I use it primarily to lift out highlights (almost like bleaching a spot), or for blending a very light shade into the white of the paper. But to blend two shades, I almost always simply use the lighter of the two shades to blend with.
On choosing colors that go together, I just explained this last night to someone in Google chat, so please forgive my copying and pasting it here--saves time! :-D
On choosing colors that go together, look at that first number after the letter--that's your clarity vs. grayness number. [Now, a disclaimer: I don't always follow the rules. :-)] BUT the safe way to choose colors that go together, according to Marianne, Copic theorist extraordinaire, is the make sure that the first number is the same or close to the same. Then you will have compatible brightness or muted-ness, if that makes sense. A V00, V02, and V04 will go together because they are all very pure, clear, clean colors. You could safely mix in the V1's as well, because they, too would be relatively intense/clear/clean.
On the other end of the spectrum, a V92, V95, V97 would all be very grayed-down colors--NOT intense but muted. The second number (or numbers in the case of 00) are your values, with a 00 being the lightest value and a 9 being the darkest value. You generally aim to have 2 to 3 steps difference in value numbers, though I have noticed a few colors where a 1 step difference seems to be plenty.
I hope this helps! There are a LOT of resources out there for learning how to use these babies, so don't give up until you give yourself time to really try them. I truly love mine! (They're a couple of notches behind my husband and son, tied with my laptop. . . ;)
You might try the new Memento ink by Tsukineko with Copics--it works great! On cardstock, the ones I like best have been mentioned: PaperTrey Stamper's Select White and Neenah Solar White. That's not to "dis" any of the others--just telling what I usually use. I adore my SU Whisper White for solid stamping, but I don't usually grab it when I want to color because sometimes my black inks seem to want to smear a bit too.
On the clear blender, (again, already mentioned), I use it primarily to lift out highlights (almost like bleaching a spot), or for blending a very light shade into the white of the paper. But to blend two shades, I almost always simply use the lighter of the two shades to blend with.
On choosing colors that go together, I just explained this last night to someone in Google chat, so please forgive my copying and pasting it here--saves time! :-D
On choosing colors that go together, look at that first number after the letter--that's your clarity vs. grayness number. [Now, a disclaimer: I don't always follow the rules. :-)] BUT the safe way to choose colors that go together, according to Marianne, Copic theorist extraordinaire, is the make sure that the first number is the same or close to the same. Then you will have compatible brightness or muted-ness, if that makes sense. A V00, V02, and V04 will go together because they are all very pure, clear, clean colors. You could safely mix in the V1's as well, because they, too would be relatively intense/clear/clean.
On the other end of the spectrum, a V92, V95, V97 would all be very grayed-down colors--NOT intense but muted. The second number (or numbers in the case of 00) are your values, with a 00 being the lightest value and a 9 being the darkest value. You generally aim to have 2 to 3 steps difference in value numbers, though I have noticed a few colors where a 1 step difference seems to be plenty.
I hope this helps! There are a LOT of resources out there for learning how to use these babies, so don't give up until you give yourself time to really try them. I truly love mine! (They're a couple of notches behind my husband and son, tied with my laptop. . . ;)
Too funny!LOL!
__________________ Be polite to those who are rude to you. Not because they are nice, but because you are.
Owner- Gina K. Designs
Subscribing, so that I have reference for when I finally succumb to the Copic Mania.
Resistance is futile! <------The Rubbah Borg
Sorry--your comment just brought back some fond memories. . . . that used to be a standing joke around here back in the early days . . . Good times! ;)
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
You might try the new Memento ink by Tsukineko with Copics--it works great! On cardstock, the ones I like best have been mentioned: PaperTrey Stamper's Select White and Neenah Solar White. That's not to "dis" any of the others--just telling what I usually use. I adore my SU Whisper White for solid stamping, but I don't usually grab it when I want to color because sometimes my black inks seem to want to smear a bit too.
On the clear blender, (again, already mentioned), I use it primarily to lift out highlights (almost like bleaching a spot), or for blending a very light shade into the white of the paper. But to blend two shades, I almost always simply use the lighter of the two shades to blend with.
On choosing colors that go together, I just explained this last night to someone in Google chat, so please forgive my copying and pasting it here--saves time! :-D
On choosing colors that go together, look at that first number after the letter--that's your clarity vs. grayness number. [Now, a disclaimer: I don't always follow the rules. :-)] BUT the safe way to choose colors that go together, according to Marianne, Copic theorist extraordinaire, is the make sure that the first number is the same or close to the same. Then you will have compatible brightness or muted-ness, if that makes sense. A V00, V02, and V04 will go together because they are all very pure, clear, clean colors. You could safely mix in the V1's as well, because they, too would be relatively intense/clear/clean.
On the other end of the spectrum, a V92, V95, V97 would all be very grayed-down colors--NOT intense but muted. The second number (or numbers in the case of 00) are your values, with a 00 being the lightest value and a 9 being the darkest value. You generally aim to have 2 to 3 steps difference in value numbers, though I have noticed a few colors where a 1 step difference seems to be plenty.
I hope this helps! There are a LOT of resources out there for learning how to use these babies, so don't give up until you give yourself time to really try them. I truly love mine! (They're a couple of notches behind my husband and son, tied with my laptop. . . ;)
subscribing.. I'm still on the fence.. I find I don't have enough colours with my 120 prisma pencils and blending them... I wonder how many copics I would need??? $$$$$$
Okay, I just now got back to this thread. You guys are too funny! Thanks, though! :-D
Deborah, on how many colors you'd need--that's hard to say. I started with 30 or so, which grew to 48, then to 70 something, then moved just over 100, which I was SURE was enough for all I'd ever need. (And truly, the only area that I still wished I had a better selection in was browns.) But I'll take the fifth amendment on marker numbers from now on. I think they're reproducing while I'm out of the room. At least, that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. ;-)
Truly though, I DO use them almost daily. I love the clean, blended look that I can get with them. **Don't feel that you have to have a certain number to really use them.** Start with three values of your favorite two or three colors. Learn to blend well with those, then add a color or two (in three values, preferably) whenever you can, assuming you love the results that you are getting.
Just like with stamping, have fun with what you DO have. I remember a lady who kept collecting stamps and supplies, waiting for that elusive day when she'd have enough to "really enjoy" stamping. I'm not sure she ever had enough to start. . .
I just received my first Copics yesterday. I ordered from Carpe Diem and I can already tell that I am gonna LOVE them!! I just stamped out a few random images and sat and practiced with them. Not nearly as difficult as I thought they would be.
This thread has been very helpful. Thanks to all of you for your input!
Copic's are REALLY hard to use
