Coloring Clothes with Copics & a HUGE Challenge!!

We all love those stamps that are really beautiful and have wonderful, elaborate clothing, BUT it can be intimidating for even the most Copic competent person out there to know how to shade correctly! Sooooo... Elaine has put together a wonderful tutorial on how to coloring the folds of clothing using Copics :0)

Susana from SCACD graciously sent the DT a stamp to demonstrate Elaine's technique, and we each used one from the exclusive line of stamps Susana has HERE. AND SCACD is offering up two HUGE and completely fabulous prizes this time so there will be TWO winners and just LOOK at what you can win: Details HERE for set #1 and HERE is set #2!!!

Yes, that's right, one person will win the first set and another will win the second set and how cute are those stamps?? Challenge details are at the bottom of the post, with a prize like this you guys need to take part!!!

**************************************************************

Elaine's Tutorial

The new Elisabeth Bell for SCACD stamp - Angel of Hope - was a perfect choice for this tutorial. Check out that gorgeous dress! Full details on the finished card can be seen in my personal blog post - Angel of Hope card.

Copic Markers used: YR0000, Y21, Y26, Y28

1. Firstly, you will need to decide on the direction of your light source, and where your shadows will be. Pick out these areas using your darkest shade - in this case Y28.

2. Using the next marker down - in this case Y26 - lay down the colour slightly overlapping the shadow areas. I tend to use light strokes, feathering out from the shadow areas. Don't worry too much about blending at this stage, it will look messy but you can deal with that later!

4. Using the next lightest shade - in this case Y21 - lay down colour overlapping the last layer, moving in light strokes towards the area where you want your highlights, leaving the desired highlight area white.

5. Go back over the image again, starting with your darkest shade (Y28) to deepen the shadows, and working back as before with your other shades (Y26, Y21), this time taking a little more time to blend the colours. How long you spend on this depends on the depth of colour and shadow you want to achieve, just be careful not to over-saturate your paper!

6. Finally, I like to soften the highlight areas and blend the last layer of colour out a little using one of the lightest shades - in this case YR0000 (I find the 0000 markers extremely useful for this). I may also finish off by adding a little more Y28 into some of the shadow areas to add a little extra depth.

Note on Wings:

Angel of Hope has beautiful wings, so a quick note on those!

I really like E40, E41, E42, E43 for a nice soft natural look to feathers. Here I have used E41 and E43.

1. Pick out shadow areas and areas where you want a little extra colour with your darkest shade - in this case E43.

2. With a lighter shade - in this case E41 - go over the shadow lines and blend outwards using a light feathered touch.

That's it! You may want to blend more and then deepen the shadows by going back in with E43. On the finished example I spent a little more time blending with E41, and then finished off with a touch more E43 in some of the detail areas to add extra depth. Play around and see what works for you! Don't worry about making it perfect - you want a slightly textured, soft and natural look.

**************************************************************

DT Samples

Amy Young

Rach

Traci

**************************************************************

Challenge Fine print:

Make a project using Elaine's clothing coloring technique
New creations only (we check)

You can use any stamps you'd like

Link it up here by October 20th

Winner will be chosen by random.org

DT will pick some of our favorite creations to showcase

Thanks for joining us!
~The CMC Team~

Elaine's Bear/Animal Coloring Tutorial + Challenge #5

Elaine from Quixotic Cards has made us a fabulous tutorial on how to color teddy bears/animals with Copics! If you have seen Elaine's personal blog or store blog, you are missing out on some of the best coloring out there in blog land :0)  Today's tutorial also marks...challenge #5!

We are sponsored today by the fabulous Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps and Sparkle is offering up a very generous prize to not only our winner but our participants also!!! The winner gets a $15 store voucher to Sparkle Creations and all of the participants can use the coupon code "10COLORME" to receive 10% off their purchases during the contest.

_________________________

I wanted to use this post to show two different styles for colouring teddy bears/animals. I like to use both techniques, depending on the style of the image.  The smooth blending technique is ideal for images like the Elzybells Teddy Bears or similar styles such as Forever Friends.  The textured style works nicely for the Critter Crew images from The Greeting Farm, or bears like Popcorn the Bear etc. 

Style 1: Smooth Blending

This is probably the technique I use most often, and the method of colouring is the one I use for most things.  I work from dark to light, and rather than laying down colour in a circular motion, I tend to work in strokes (although I do use both techniques).

Copic Markers used: 0, E41, E43, E44,

1. First I like to pick out all the darkest areas and shadows in my darkest shade, in this case E44.  I tend to use smooth strokes following the lines of my image.

2. Then I lay down my next shade, which in this case is E43.  At this stage you don't need to really try and blend, just lay the colour down, going a little over and working out from the darkest shade. I used smooth, light strokes following the direction I want to blend out into.

3. Next I lay down my lightest shade, in this case E41, not worrying too much about blending fully.  In this example I have covered all of the white spaces as I don't want really defined highlights.

4. While my lightest shade is still fresh, I work backwards and blend the layers further - first blending E43 from the darkest area into the still fresh light areas, then blending E44 into that.  You can repeat this until you're happy with the blending.  Finally, I like to go back in and add a little extra definition to some of the shadows with my darkest shade.

Style 2: Textured

The key to this style of colouring is not to try and be too precise or perfect.  I always find that the looser and less careful I am, the easier this technique comes.  Practice light, feather strokes and don't be afraid to play around.  Vary the length of your strokes a little, try not to make them uniform.  And remember, it will look pretty messy until you start blending and softening the lines.

You will notice that I haven't tried to cover the whole bear, but have given the impression of fur by applying the technique mostly to the outer edges.

Copic Markers used: E30, E34, E35, E57, E59

1. Sticking mainly to the outer edges and starting out with second darkest shade, in this case E57, I used short, light strokes in the direction I visualise the fur lying. 

2. Using E35 I went over the same areas, adding in more short, feathered strokes.

3. Using my darkest shade - E59 - I used the same light strokes to add some darker detail.  These are to add a little extra depth of colour, so add them sparingly!

4. Using one of the lighter shades - E34 - I laid down some broader strokes to start gently blending the colours. I did this fairly lightly as I wanted to soften the lines a little, not completely blend them and lose the texture.

5. Using the lightest shade - E30 - I covered all of the fur, further softening and blending, but again being careful not to completely blend out the strokes I laid down earlier. 

That's it!  Two different looks to play around with that work for teddy bears or real animals.  Hope you enjoyed the tutorials!

-Elaine

Challenge Fine print:

Make a project using Elaine's teddy bear/animal coloring techniques
New creations only (we check)

You can use any stamps you'd like (just make sure it has a teddy bear/animal, obviously)

Link it up here by October 7th

Winner will be chosen by random.org

DT will pick some of our favorite creations to showcase

Thanks for joining us!
~The CMC Team~

Color Me Copic Team - Meet Elaine!

Elaine aka Quixotic

Blog: Quixotic Cards

I was given my first Copic markers as a gift a couple of years ago.  I had been keen to try them, and spent hours studying various blogs and reviews, agonising over whether or not to take the plunge.  I was so excited to receive a small set as a gift, but it wasn't until much later that I really got to grips with them and really fell in love. 


I am not Copic certified and am completely self-taught.  Many talented bloggers have provided the information and inspiration I needed to develop my colouring skills!  I love to experiment and I still spend a lot of time studying other people's colouring and techniques, picking up tips and colour combos.