Saturday, September 6, 2008

My First Tutorial........



Hello everyone!
This week has been a rough one for my entire family but we have managed and through the grace of God, the worse is over! My husband had surgery last week and it was a rough time for me and the kids. Hubby is doing fine. ...still in a bit of pain but doing so much better! I tried to be strong and keep my hubby, kids and blog going but it wasn't possible! I know I haven't been around much the past few days and I apologize for that! Now that I can breathe again, I'll be making my rounds to see all of your lovely creations!

A few people have asked me to put together a tutorial for coloring with Copic Markers. This is my first tutorial and I hope it makes sense! Since I don't have a web cam, I had to resort to using pictures instead.

Copic Tutorial

I'm not an artist but I will share with you a couple of key things to keep in mind when using Copic Markers. You need good paper and a brand of ink that will not smear! For paper I use Stampers Select from Papertrey Ink or Nina Solaris from Ellen Hutson's and the ink that works for me is Adirondack's. Always begin with a light shade and layer and blend the colors as you go. (similar to using Prismacolor pencils) Get to know your colorless blender, it is a wonderful tool!

To begin my coloring process, I start with a light shade and color portions of my image. I alway leave some areas free of color.




ETA This should read "Flesh marker" instead of "blush"!

Then I make a partial outine with a darker shade that is in that same color group. Now it is time to blend these two colors. To do this you simply rub your lighter shade marker against the darker shade marker to pick up some if the darker shade. Now you take your maker and blend the colors of your image by moving in small circles and pushing the color around.

As you blend your colors, you will have to repeat rubbing your lighter marker against your darker marker in order to pick up the darker color. Repeat the process of moving your marker in small circles yet moving the color around at the same time.

When using Copic Markers, the colorless blender is like a miracle worker....it is a must to have a colorless blender! Whenever I am finished with a section, I always go over that particular section with my colorless blender. I simply rub my colorless blender against the darker shade of that section. (this picks up a bit of color) and lightly move the colorless blender to even out the tones. Do not be alarmed if you don't notice any changes at first...let the section dry a bit! As the ink is absorbed into the paper, you will notice the change. If you aren't satisfied with the results, simply repeat the proces.


To give the appearence of rosy cheeks, simply make to small dots on each side of the face. Lightly blend the dots by rubbing your colorless blender against the blush colored maker and
simply move your marker in small circular rotations.












(I used E00 "skin white" to shade in the pelicans beak and feet)







Usually whenever I am done coloring my image, I use C1 "Cool Gray to give the shadow effect.


Another tip....to remove any excess ink from the tip of your marker, simply scribble on a scrap piece of paper.
I hope that I haven't confused anyone, if so write me and I will try to answer your question. Have a beautiful weekend and thank you for stopping by!


Risa

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

awesome tutorial Risa and I sure hope your hubby is doing well. Make sure you get some rest cause you don't want to get burnt out!

Tina said...

Awesome tutorial, I think it's great! Thanks for sharing your secrets!

Tina said...

Awesome tutorial, I think it's great! Thanks for sharing your secrets!

Deb said...

sorry to hear you had such a tough week, hope hubby is recovering well, love your tutorial, thank you, fantastic pics, so clear and easy to follow!

Little C's Creations said...

What a great step by step tutorial, Risa!! I love it, and I love the way you color. I will definitely keep these lessons in mind when I get back to the craft room this weekend.

BTW - hang in there with your hubby and kids. Charlie didn't have knee surgery, but he was in pain that time he hurt it. And oh girl, I am sure yours is like mines and want you to be mommy n' nurse n' wife all at the same time..... just breath, and relax now n' then. We will be here for you whenever you get back on schedule.

Lots of Hugs n' Aloha,
Jen

Annapurna said...

Now that you posted the tutorial, can you send me all those copics and a few of those images and I will try it out :-))

Great job with your first try.

ScrapMomOf2 said...

Love the card and the tutorial, and I don't even have Copics! I'm not sure I'm going to make that investment! I'm actually pretty happy with my Crayola pencils and gamsol when I do decide to color in images. What you do is truly wonderful!!

ScrapMomOf2 said...

OMGoodness, I'm sure a goof! I got so caught up in your tutorial, that I forgot to send get well wishes for your husband! I hope he continues to do well, and that his road to recovery is smooth!

Alhambra Club said...

Glad to hear that your husband is doing great and thank you for taking the time out of what I am sure is a very BUSY day to share you knowledge, love the tutorial

Anonymous said...

Risa, that makes sense? When I get my copics, I will be referring back to this. Very realistic coloring on the flesh.

Andrea, said...

I hope your hubby has a speedy recovery.
Thank you for the tutorial, your colouring is always so good.

Courtney said...

What a great tutorial!

I'm so sorry to hear of your rough week. I'll be praying for your husband's quick recovery!

Deb Neerman said...

Thanks for this great tutorial, Risa!

I'm bookmarkin' it and will be back after Mr. H-Cane Ike has left the building.

TFS; you da bestest!

~Hugs, Deb

Alex said...

Great tutorial Risa!! Glad to hear he is feeling better! *STAMPIN HUGS* Alex

Janine said...

Very nicely done Risa!! You are so good at it!!
And please don't apologize for not being around. Your family comes first!!
Janine

michelle sturgeon said...

What a great tutorial!
I really hope your DH is doing well...very stressful. Take care!

Tonniece said...

Great tutorial.Very easy to follow.


Sorry to hear about your hubby, hopeing he's on the mend swiftly.
Cyber hugs
Tonniece

Barb said...

Risa,
Sorry you had a tough week! You need to e-mail me girlie, so I can lift you up in prayer! I hope your man has a full and speedy recovery. And don't forget to get some rest YOURSELF.

Thank you for the Copic tut, you did a great job and if I wasn't so tired, I would pull my markers out and give it a go...but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Thanks too for hanging with me on my blog, your comments always make me smile and keep me wanting to create something else.

Take care now~Barb

Lisa Olson said...

Aw I am so sorry to hear about your hubby, hope things get better for you soon.

Great tutorial I love the effect the markers give the stamped images.

Anonymous said...

wow you just taught me how to color.

Lauren said...

Thank you for the tutorial - this is great!

Rita said...

I'm so sorry to hear that your hubby had been ill, but glad to know that he is on the road to a fast recovery. Life & family comes first before blogging so no need to apologize to us.

This was a great tutorial Risa, very easy to follow. Great job!!!

Allison Rankin said...

Cute images and great tutorial...I won't be going near these images anytime soon!

Mrs. Nancy G said...

Sorry to hear that you are so busy. Sounds so stressful. God bless and keep you all. :-)

Wonderful tutorial!

Thanks!

:-)

Maria said...

I'm sorry to hear about the stress in your life, Malieta. It must be rough to have your husband in the hospital. I hope a speedy recovery for him and that he is no longer in so much pain.

Thank you for sharing your Copic Marker tutorial. You did a wonderful job and always your coloring is fabulous!!

Maria

Valerie said...

great tutorial! now all I need me is some copic markers! haha!

Sorry to hear about your hubby having surgery but, glad he's doing better. I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers! HUGS!

Smriti said...

Hi Risa, I know what you mean...when it's one of your own's surgery however hard you try it's very difficult to be strong and keep everything going as usual. Hope your husband is doing better now. I always feel "all's well that ends well" :)

Nice tutorial on Copics!

Elena said...

I am glad to hear your husband is doing better! Thank you for your great tutorial! It's very helpful!!!
I wish your husband only the best and hope he will not have this pain anymore.

Teri said...

Awesome tutorial! I'm gonna have to try this! So, when's your next tutorial :)

Unknown said...

Hi Risa!! Thank you so much for this tutorial!!! I've been waiting for this! :-)
BTW, I hope your hubby recovers quickly!!

Jenn Muraoka said...

What a great tutorial. It's my first time poking around for a while. I've hit the jackpot. You've been soooo buys. Beautiful stuff! And mahalo for being such a wonderful friend and leaving such nice comments for me! Hugs, jenn

Anonymous said...

Great tutorial Risa!! I still haven't broke down and bought any Copics LOL :) I love the effect you achieve with them. You make it look easy!!

mel m. m. mccarthy said...

Fantastic tips! I just ordered my first Copic markers so I can't wait to try out your pointers. Thanks. You ROCK!!! :O)