Colorless Blender Bleaching

Create a bleached look with Copic markers and Blending solution.

Supplies

Step-by-Step

1. Step 1

   Begin by airbrushing the lightest color onto the glossy paper. You do not need to have smooth coverage; splotchy is good.
   
   

   

2. Step 2

   Airbrush a second, darker color over the first, leaving some of the lighter color showing through.
   
   

   

3. Step 3

   Add a third (darker) color to the background.
   
   Note:
   Here three colors from the same family were used. Feel free to use as many colors and whichever ones you want.
   
   

   

4. Step 4

   Spritz the colorless blender solution onto the bold image stamp.
   
   Hint:
   Do not soak... just a light layer is preferred.

   

5. Step 5

   Press the stamp firmly onto the airbrushed surface and hold for a few seconds.

   

6. Step 6

   Lift stamp to reveal "bleached" image.
   
   If you would like multiple images, clean off the stamp between each "bleaching" by spritzing it with blender solution and rubbing off the ink onto a paper towel.

   

7. Step 7

   Finish your card.

   

Video!

Variations

1. Soft and Fuzzy
   Try the technique on regular matte cardstock. Follow the same steps. The image will be soft and fuzzy versus the crisp edges you get with glossy.
   
   A little different
   For an interesting look, don't clean off the stamp, spritz with colorless blender and stamp on a different colored background. This will remove the colored background and mix the ink with the color that was already on the stamp. Here I used a bamboo image that I first did the colorless blender bleaching on a background with browns and yellows and without cleaning it off, spritzed with colorless blender and stamped on an orange background. The browns were left in the "bleached out" spaces.

   

Your Turn

You've seen the tutorial, now you try it! We've got a section of the gallery set aside for Colorless Blender Bleaching. Try this technique, then upload your artwork to the gallery. Show us your creations!

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