Copic Tips for September…..

Ann’s Copic Tip for September……..

How to test your papers to see if you can color with Copics on them:

On your untested paper draw a circle with your multiliner OR you can use something stamped with Copic friendly ink (ie Memento). You want to make sure it’s not your ink bleeding.

Take a lighter colored marker and color in the circle or image in a circular motion

What you are looking for is to see if the color stayed where you put it. If it bleeds then your paper might be too soft for Copics. Also, flip your paper over you want to see it soak through the paper

You can color over your paper again with a darker color and feather half the image and see if you can blend it.

You should also test your colorless blender on it. Make sure to let your coloring completely dry first. Then take your blender and touch it to the paper. The ink should move out of the way and become lighter. Some papers will give more crisp edges than others.

Lisa’s Copic Tip for September…………………………

Okay, so eventually you’re going to have to refill your markers. There are a few different ways to do this and I totally encourage you to watch a couple of YouTube videos before your first attempt. If I can give you any advice …make sure you are working over a well protected area. Remember …you’re working with alcohol ink!!

1. How much ink do I add?? Well, it depends on the marker and if it is completely dry or not, but here is a good guideline:

Sketch markers – 2 cc’s.
Ciao markers – 1 to 1.5 cc’s.
Copic original markers – 2 to 3 cc’s.
Wide markers – 3 to 4 cc’s.

**each little mark on the side of the refill bottle is 1 cc.

Keep in mind …it is better to underfill your marker than overfill – be carefull!

Methods to fill….

1. Drip and dab method. This is the most direct method of refilling. Using the dropper built into the various ink bottle simply drip/dab drops of ink onto the chisel nib of your marker. To re-charge a marker it takes about 20-30 drops of ink (your drop size and my drop size are different, so the best judge is still how many cc’s you’ve added). Let each drop get sucked in before you add the next drop. Try not to squeeze the bottle or you’ll end up with a huge mess!! You can touch the end of the refill bottle to the actual marker or you can leave them a few mm apart. Just find which way works best for you.

2. Remove the nib and fill. This way is much faster! With your tweezers pull the chisel tip out from your marker. Carefully set your tip onto something that won’t get ruined or soak through while you are refilling. Be sure to check where the ink level is in your bottle before you start filling so you don’t overfill.

Take the cap off the other side of the marker (this helps to avoid getting air bubbles and allows the ink to seep in better). Carefully pour in the ink. Don’t squeeze too quickly since it’s easy to mis-judge how much ink you’re adding. When you’re done, put the nib back in and put both caps back on. Let your marker sit for a moment so the ink evenly distributes within the marker.

3. Refilling with the booster needle. The most accurate and quick way to refill markers is with the Copic booster needle. This is a large needle that attaches over the built-in dropper on a bottle of various ink. Then, you insert this into your marker, squeeze gently until you’ve added the correct amount of ink.

Some of these tips were taken from the I Like Markers Blog (http://www.ilikemarkers.blogspot.com). Marianne goes into specific detail about filling the copic markers and I encourage you to check out more tips when you have some time to peruse her site. It’s a fabulous resource for all things copic!! 🙂

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Copic Club – September Technique – Brick Wall

Happy September everyone!! Well, this month it is my turn to show you how to do the brick wall technique.  This one is super easy….all you need are your copic markers and your colorless blender pen.  I’ve done the brick wall with my samples this month – but if you think outside the box – you can use this technique to add any sort of “texture” to your cards and backgrounds!!!  Check out what Ann did with her trees!!  🙂 

So as I was sitting down to do this tutorial, I came across this YouTube video, which explains this technique perfectly!!!!   As I don’t think I could explain it any better than Annabelle….please have a looksee at this ….and then lets see your designs!!! 

Brick Wall Technique by Annabelle

Here are my takes on this fabulous FUN technique!!

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Copic Tips for August…….

Ann’s Copic Tip for August….

Things that will hurt your markers!

-White out or opaque white pens even when they are dry. They will leave residue on your marker

-Acrylic paints. They clog marker tips

-Chalks/Pastels

-Untested inks or pens. They can stain your markers. Staz On ink is bad, it’s a solvent in and will not work. Use Memento (the best IMO), Tsukineko Brilliance (if it’s heat set), Ranger distress inks (test it first, with darker colors), Memories Dye ink (heat set it too)

-Solvents or oils

-Un-fired Clay and plaster

The rule of thumb (right out of the Copic certification book): “If it is something that smears when it gets wet and is opaque, STAY AWAY or test it first. If you must color over it, Airbrush your marker on.

Things that will not hurt your marker just make the tip look yucky

-Pencil or Colored pencils

-Watercolors

Usually if you want to use another medium on your image it’s best to do the marker work first and then use the other medium (ie colored pencils) second.

Lisa’s Copic Tip for August……..

The best way to color with copics…..

Colour in small circles, keeping all your edges wet.

To give depth to an image, choose 3 markers within the same color family (B00, B02, B05 for example). Use the lightest (B00) for highlights, and start with this colour first. Add the next darker colour for the midtones (B02), then use your darkest shade for the shadows (B05).

For best results, it’s ideal to use only high quality paper, there are a number on the market and recently, Donna started a thread about a new paper revealed at this summer’s CHA. Avoid colouring over whiteout as this may discolour your nibs.
Happy coloring! 🙂

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Copic Tips for July……

Ann’s Copic tip for July…………

Did you know that you can use your Copic refills as alcohol inks? Just like the Tim Holtz ones. They do the same thing AND they come in 334 colors. So it would be easy to make custom backgrounds that match your stamped image colors exactly.

Imagine the possibilities.

Lisa’s Copic tip for July………………

Replacing Nibs
When you are refilling your markers this is also a good time to replace damaged nibs, so keep a supply of replacement tips and a pair of tweezers. Copic tweezers have little gripping teeth to get hold of the nibs better. There are nine styles of Copic interchangeable nibs, from broad to calligraphy, that provide greater freedom of technique in your renderings.

How to Change Marker Nibs

•Using the tweezers pull the large nib out of the marker.
•Insert the new nib slowly back into the marker.
•The ink will wick form the inside out to the end of the nib. This may take a few minutes.

Here are the different nib types:

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Copic Tips for June….

Ann’s Copic Tip for June…..

Pick a color and then “build” around it. That way you can keep gray scales the same if you want. I often pick all the colors I’m going to work with first and then color, usually starting with what my biggest area is to color. Then I pick colors to coordinate.

Lisa’s Copic Tip for June…

Digital Printouts….
Copic marker inks will not destroy lines printed out from a laser printer or standard photocopier. This is because they are toner-based devices and the toner is fused to the paper so the alcohol ink from the markers will not destroy it.

Inkjet printouts need to be tested because each printer uses slightly different inks. Testing a printer ink is the same as testing any other inks. Be careful not to get untested ink on the tip of your marker.

**this excerpt taken from the Copic Certification Student Manual 2010-2011.

Hope you find these tips helpful!!   Have fun coloring!! 🙂  Make sure you post your masterpieces to the Savvy n Sassy gallery!! 🙂

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June Copic Technique ~ Direct To Paper Blending

Direct to paper blending.

You will need 3 colors in the same family (same gray scale and about a number apart) to try this out. I used B00, B02, B04

1. Color you image with your lightest color. Make sure to color in circles to avoid streaks. I leave some areas uncolored in my first coat so that when I go over it it will be a lighter area.

2. While it’s still wet, add your darkest color to your “shadow side”. Do this by doing strokes and lifting up your marker at the end of your stroke so the edge has more color than the end of your stroke.

3. Use your lightest color again and go over the image to blend you lines. Thicker papers will take more blending. If it’s not working try using colors that are closer in numbers

4. Keep doing steps 2 and 3 until you get the effect you want

5. You can add your middle color now where you want it. Then use your lightest color to blend it all together.

This takes practice. And I found to start that blues, greens and light browns were the easiest. Reds were the hardest to blend but I got it after lots of practice. That’s the key with Copics, practice.

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Copic Club – May Technique – Tip To Tip Blending…and Lisa’s May Reveal

Tip-to-Tip blending – this one is EASY – but these are gonna get harder….so lets start practicing!! 🙂

Tip-to-Tip Blending (select parts taken from the Copic Manual)

This technique really demonstrates one of the unique properties of Copic Ink.  Tip-to-tip blending is good for long, very skinny areas like flower stems, where you wouldn’t have enough room to get a blend using one of the other techniques.  Works for any color combination, though it’s easiest to learn with a light color and a dark color.  In tole painting this technique would be similar to “loading your brush”.

1.  Use your light color as your “brush”.  Carefully add a bit of the dark color to the tip.  This is the trickiest part of this technique as it is hard to figure out if you have applied too much or too little ink. 

2.  Start from the dark side of your object, and in one long stroke pull your brush across the shape.  your dark color should gradually fade into your light color.  If you need to darken or add more color apply in the same way.  In the same direction. 

This technique will not contaminate the tip of the other marker.  If you are working with the colorless blender you can also pull ink directly from the dirty barrel of the colored marker.   There’s tons of ink all over the edges of this marker.  Using the tip-to-tip technique takes care of this messy situation as you just color right from the barrel instead of the tip resulting in less waste of ink.

 

When Ann posts her images, you will see that she used the tip-to-tip blending technique on the cheeks in her images.  This really softens up the image as you are adding color and blending at the same time.  You don’t tend to get those harsh lines that way.

In my sample – I used the tip-to-tip method on my stem.   You can see how the stem is darker on the top closest to the flower and almost fades to white as I went down the stem.   I also used the tip-to-tip technique on the flowers, starting with using darker orange on one of my yellow markers.  

Also, I use the tip-to-tip technique when I don’t have a particular color that I want between two shades.  For example,  on my little gal’s boots,  I didn’t have one of the 0000 images to blend with, so I used the tip-to-tip technique with my blender pen and a darker copic to blend a lighter shade when fading to the lighter color.  By the way, if you note the bling on the bottom of this card – the bling was a gift in a goodie bag that I received and the gal had mentioned she bought it at the dollor store.  It was just plain clear rhinestones when I got it and I used my copics to color it to match my card!! Fun eh??

In my third image I used the tip-to-tip technique to again blend in a lighter color. This is really evident on the socks and on the top portion of her dress.  It just works really well in situations where you might not have the perfect “in-between” color. 

The copic colors I used will be shown in the gallery if you are interested.  Have fun with this technique and let’s see what you can come up with!!!  Looking forward to seeing your creations! 🙂  Also, don’t forget to check out the Copic Forum on the Message Board for tons of useful tips and techniques.  As well, its not too late to sign up for the Copic Club!!  C’mon and have some FUN!!! 🙂

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May Copic tips

Every month on the 12th we will be posting a new tip for your Copics. It may be about coloring, other uses or just some information on the markers themselves. Lisa and I will each have a tip. This month, I’ll also share our April tips too. If you want to sign up for this great club you can find all the information here.

So here are our tips:

April

Lisa: When you use your copic markers you have the chisel end and the brush end (sketch markers). There is a picture on either end of the barrel showing what “type of tip” is at each end. However……..did you know….that the BRUSH end (the one we most always use) has a GREY RING around that end. Therefore….you can tell at a glance which end to open!!!

Ann: Ok so I know we are selling Sketch markers but I do know there are a lot of you out there that have the CIAO markers, so here is a little info:

The Ciao markers were actually intended for children. The marker was made for smaller hands and the maker tops have holes in them so if swallowed or inhaled a child could still breath. Now if you look inside your marker cap you will notice it does keep it air tight. So be very careful when putting the cap on b/c there is space where you can “jam” you marker tip into the side and wreck it.

And you must make sure you hear a click when you put any of your marker tops on to ensure they are closed air tight.

May

Lisa: Copic colors have been around for 25 years and you can still get the same colors as you could 25 years ago. So you never have to worry about a color being discontinued.

Ann: If you are just starting your collection buy in the same color family number (ie, stay in the 20’s, keeping gray scales consistent). Pick a color and then “build” around it. For example: Start with B20, and then buy B22, B24 and then to add your greens add G20, G22 and then your Reds R20….etc. The first number indicates the gray scale. You will find it easier to match if you are just starting out.

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Lisa’s Copic Creations for April…..

Hello everyone and WELCOME to the first official month of the COPIC CLUB!!!  Don’t know what that is???? Go here….NOW!! 🙂  You won’t want to miss out on this screamin’ deal!!!!  Here are my creations for the month.  I focussed on grounding this month.  The first card, I just grounded my image with a grey outline (I don’t have the pen in my bucket  below, but I believe I used W3 or W1 – either will work).  You may have to click on the picture to make it larger as it is a little hard to see the detailed outline!

For the second image, I grounded by shading in W5, W3, and W1 – I worked the darkest color closest to the image and worked my way out.  Then I went over it ALL with my blender pen to really get that smudged, worn in look.  Sometimes you won’t want to blend it so well and leave a darker outline – it all depends what look you’re going for.  We’ll have more on this technique in the weeks to come.

…and a close up of the image….

For my third card, I just cut around my image.  I did ground her a little on the bottom just so she wouldn’t look like she was standing in mid air.  Otherwise, I just mounted her on my card!

My challenge this month – as we are just getting started….was to have participants show me some blending.  Just simple stuff – light to dark using as many colors as you want – even ONE.  In the first picture, I used three colors YG01, YG03 and YG05. 

and in the second photo I used just one color – B23.  I also used a teensy tiny bit of the blender pen on the really light areas. 

My copic “TIP” for the month of April seemed to be known by EVERYONE but me…..but I had no idea.  As I’m sure you know – there are two ends to a copic sketch marker – the chisel tip and the brush tip.  I am FOREVER pulling the wrong end off instead of the one I desire.  Well, did you know….there is a grey circular RING around the brush end of the marker!!!  This sure makes picking the right end easier!!  It has certainly helped me anyway!! Tee hee!!!

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