Which are better, Sketch or Ciao markers? This is often the number one question people have when getting started with Copics. It's basically...

I have been spending a lot of time lately compiling popular color combinations from various different discussion boards and blogs. I decided to make a page for my copic sketchbook and thought I would share all the great combos.

I wanted to share some of my favorite Copic combinations for skin and hair with you. Please feel free to print this out, link to it, and sh...

I’m often asked what my favorite blending groups are – and today I’ll be sharing that with you as well as coloring up a fun little camping card! EDITED 2020: The stamps are no longer available. Video The card is clean and simple – but you’ll see a little of my fave color choices in […]

mijn creatieve uitspattingen

Here is a very simple technique for rendering bushes, and can be applies to trees, or other plants. I use this technique more for bushes tha...

Back by popular demand. This was posted several times here on my blog, but it has been requested a million times that I repost.. so here it is.. hope it helps. Remember! people are often intimidated by coloring images that have faces. LOL.. it's just paper, if you mess up there is usually a round bin near by to toss it into and start over..... the only way you will bet better at coloring anything is to practice.. trust me, many of my images get tossed to the round file (needs emptied quite often...LOL). Hugs, Jennie

Let’s talk about choosing Copic green colors. Greens are a color that Copic doesn’t do well; I’m not particularly sure if it’s not the color’s fault – they’re a bear to mix yourself. Or maybe they’re a frog, not a bear! This fun new Frog set from Art Impressions just makes me laugh so hard […]

Yesterday I was playing around in Paint Shop Pro and thought I would make you some coloring sheets. I have a big pile of post it's with hair colors I've written down, but haven't taken the time to color them yet. So I though hey I'll get started on that. I colored them all the same way. The order I colored them: On top we have: Y28, Y26, Y23, Y21 and: E55, E53, E51, E50 For this one we have: E19, YR18, YR14, YR15, YR12 and: E18, E19, E07, E15 I'm thinking of making up a little journal or album to put all the sheets in. Maybe making up a coloring book to put in the store so you could follow along too. What do you think? You can find the cute digital image I used over at Saturated Canary. Krista does wonderful images! Thanks for stopping by. I hope your having a great day!

Hello Everyone and welcome back to another Copic Oz Tutorial! This week marks the beginning of a series of posts designed to inspire you ...

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I have been working on this for some time. I am a visual person and I have accumulated lists and lists of Copic blending families from my f...

Blank Skin Color Chart When we go to Comic shows, people are always interested in our most popular skin colors. Today I want to share the chart that we fill out and have at those shows. This is free for your own personal use and not to be sold or used for commercial gain. For other color charts provided by Copic, please visit our website. And, don't forget to enter your favorite skin color combo on Thursday's post for a chance to win two rolls of double-sided tape.

Animal friends are gathered together all in one stamp – so I don’t have to mask them to put them all in a group, yay! I love stamps like this, so I couldn’t resist. I decided to add to my collection of No-Line coloring projects, so if this intrigues you, go check out some of […]

So you want to get into Copic art markers? Well, this beginner’s guide is a great place to start! You’ve probably drawn with Crayola markers before but

I discovered copics only in August 2012 and am so glad that I did. They are fantastic markers and some people can colour just beautifully with them (I hope the more I practice the better I get!) Since they come in such a range of colours (and I do have a few now) I have found it hard to keep track of what colours I used for which pictures and what colour combinations I like the best. I found myself (not sure if the word is wasting time, learning or playing :-) ) with my copics for at least 30 mins before I got around to actually colouring my picture because it took me that long to go through my copics and find the best colour combinations I liked for the particular picture I was colouring at the time. So I started a little A5 size book just for my copics where I tried to start keeping track of colours and techniques that I was learning / discovering. Ideally copics need to be used on special card, such as X-Press It blending paper, however, I couldn't find a "book" with just this paper and I was too lazy to go bind my own! So I just bought a plain art diary with 110 gsm card. The copics do bleed through the paper so I either use a scrap piece of card behind the page I'm working on or complete my picture / technique on X-Press It blending card first, cut it out and stick it in my book. Imagine my joy when I discovered that X-Press Graph-X have now released a X-Press It Blending Journal - which is a book full of the X-Press It blending card! Yay! Also, on the Copic Oz blog a Copic Blending Template (get them from this site) has also been released. I have found the templates a fantastic idea. In my Copic book I was just either writing the copic colours down and making a coloured mark below the "number" or stamping a picture, colouring it in and writing down what the colours were. But I have found the template to be one step better, because I can still stamp pictures and colour them in but the template also allows me to show the blend between the colours I used and you can also see the actual colour themselves. Here are some pictures of my journal before I started using the template: As you can see the copics don't blend very well on this plain 110 gsm card. Stamps: Sizzix and Hero Arts Stamp and Die cut set #657852 This tree is one of the digital images you get on a CD when you buy Annie's Attic (Paper Crafts) Copic Colouring Guide Level 2: Nature by Colleen Schaan and Marianne Walker. The colours that I have used are not the same as the ones they show you in the book as part of the tutorial. Stamp: Flourishes "Cherry Blossoms" And now... this is some of what I have created with the Copic Blending Template: Stamp: Sturt's Desert Rose from Flourishes "Bloomin Aussie Florals" I find this sooo much easier to see the difference between the colour combinations and am able to more easily pick which colours I want to use for my pictures. As you can see I have left room for more colour combinations. Stamp: Part of the tree from the Penny Black "Teddy & Company" set Stamp: AnnaBelle Stamps "Ballerina Rose" This is only the beginning :-) Entering this post (showing my use of the copic blending template) in the Copic Oz: Technique Journal #1 Colour Swatches competition to win a free X-Press It Blending Journal! See more of my copic colour combinations and techniques: Skin Colours Colourless Blender techniques Hair Colours More colour combinations Copic combinations added to Journal in 2014 I have also started a Copic page - you can view it here.

Hello Everyone and welcome back to another Copic Oz Tutorial! This week marks the beginning of a series of posts designed to inspire you ...

Copic Color system Copic has a perfect Color system, no other marker in the market has it. Therefore you are able to get perfect color combinations and blending results. *** Copic hat ein perfektes Farbsystem, wie es kein anderer Marker hat. Damit ist es möglich, perfekte Farbkombinationen und -übergänge zu erzielen. There is the Copic Color Wheel and the color code at the markers. *** Es gibt das Copic Farb-Rad und die Farbnummern auf den Markern. On every Copic marker you find a color name. This is a combination of a letter(s) and two or more numbers. Understanding this code will help you to choose the color combinations you need for your projects. *** Auf jedem Copic Marker befindet sich ein Farbname, eine Kombination auf Buchstabe(n) und zwei oder mehr Nummern. Diesen Code zu verstehen hilft, die Farbkombinationen zu wählen, die Du für Dein Projekt benötigst. In our Swatch book these families are grouped together for easy reference. *** Im Copic Farbbuch sind diese Familie des besseren Überblicks wegen zusammen gruppiert. Color Family *** Farbfamilie The letter at the beginning of your color name (B, BV, V, RV, R, YR, Y, YG, G, E (earth), F (Florescent), *** Dies ist der Buchstabe am Anfang des Farbnamens (B, BV, V, RV, R, YR, Y, YG, G, E (Erde), F (fluoreszierend)) Grays & Blacks: C (Cool Gray), N (Neutral Gray), T (Toner Gray), W (Warm Gray) 100 Black, 110 Special Black gives the name of the color family. Blending colors gives a best results within a color family. *** Grau und Schwarz: C (Cool - Kühles Grau), N (Neutrales Grau), T (Toner-Grau), W (Warmes Grau), 100 Schwarz, 110 Spezial-Schwarz. Diese Buchstaben geben die Namen der Farbfamilie an. Innerhalb einer Farbfamilie erzielt Ihr die besten Übergänge. Color Saturation *** Farbsättigung This is the first digit on a color name. Colors that are 00's, 10's, or 20's will be more vibrant (B05, G16, R29), while colors that are in the 70's, 80's or 90's have more gray added (B95, BG78, G94) and are closer to the neutral/earthy end of the color spectrum. Note: E (Earth) markers don't necessarily follow this rule *** Die Farbsättigung wird von der ersten Zahl im Farbnamen angegeben. Farben aus den 00-, 10- oder 20-Gruppen (z. B. B05, G16, R29) sind intensiver während Farben aus den 70-, 80- oder 90-Gruppen (z. B. B95, BG78, G94) mehr Grau enthalten und nahe am neutralen/erdigen Ende der Farbpalette liegen. Hinweis: E(Erdtöne)-Marker folgen dieser Regel nicht immer. Both jeans are colored with Blue, the first one in the vibrant 00 group and the second one in the darkest 90-group *** Beide Jeanshosen sind mit Blautönen coloriert, die erste mit den Farben der leuchtenden 00-Gruppe, die zweite mit der dunkelsten Gruppe 90. Color Shade *** Farbton The last number tells you how light or dark the shade is. Light colors have a value of 0, 1,2 or 3. Middle tones 4,5 or 6 and the darkest have a value of 7,8 and 9. The more grey is added the more vintage a color will be. You will find them in the markers with a 7,8 or 9 at the end. *** Die letzte Nummer zeigt an, wie hell oder dunkel der Farbton ist. Helle Farben tragen die Nummer 0, 1, 2 oder 3, Mitteltöne die Nummern 4, 5, oder 6 und die dunkelsten 7, 8 oder 9. Je mehr Grau einer Farbe beigemischt ist, desto klassischer (Vintage-Look) wird sie sein. Am besten geeignet sind hier die Marker mit einer 7, 8 oder 9 am Ende. Here is the first jeans colored with the lightest shades from the 90 group and the second with the darkest shades. *** Die erste Jeanshose hier ist mit den hellsten Tönen der 90-Gruppe coloriert, für die zweite Hose wurden die dunkelsten Töne verwendet. Color Group *** Farbgruppe A sequential group of colors within one color family with the same first digit (B91-93-95-97-99) where numbers ending in 0 are the lightest and 9 is the darkest, also called Natural Blending Group. Such a range is perfect for blending. *** In einer aufeinanderfolgenden Gruppe von Farben innerhalb einer Farbfamilie, die die gleiche erste Zahl haben (z. B. B91 - B93 - B95 - B97 - B99) sind die Zahlen, die auf 0 enden, die hellsten und die mit der Zahl 9 am Ende die dunkelsten. Diese Markerfolge nennt man auch eine "natural blending group". Zu Deutsch könnte man das wohl übersetzen mit "eine Gruppe von Farben, die miteinander natürliche Übergänge schafft". Mit einer solchen Reihe an Markern lassen sich perfekte Farbübergänge erzielen. In the unique Copic Color Wheel you will see that the colors with the lowest digit are at the outside of the Wheel and the ones with the highest first digit are near the center, near the grey-tones. You can also see which grey-tone is added to a color family. Download the Copic Color Wheel here. *** Im einzigartigen Copic-Farbrad sind alle Farben mit den niedrigen Nummern am äußeren Rand des Rades angebracht and die mit den höchsten Nummern sind nahe der Mitte angeordnet, nahe den Grautönen. Ihr könnt auch sehen, welche Grautöne einer Farbe zugefügt wurden. Ihr könnt Euch das Copic-Farbrad hier herunterladen. How to pick blending colors: *** So wählt man die Farben, die am besten ineinander überlaufen: To instantly tell if a color will blend evenly with the next darker or lighter shade, choose markers like this: 1. Match the color letters, keeping the color family the same. 2. Match the middle number, this will keep the tone the same. The last number tells you how light or dark the shade is. We advise to choose 3 or 4 markers: · For Highlights, pick a last number with a value of 0, 1, 2, or 3. · For Mid tones, choose numbers 4, 5, or 6. · For Shadows, choose colors with the last number of 7, 8, or 9. Also try to keep a 2 or 3 digit difference between your colors. Using more colors achieves smoother blends. *** Um sagen zu können ob ein Farbton mit der nächst höher- oder niedrigergelegenen Farbnummer einen guten Übergang ergibt, sollten die Marker wie folgt ausgewählt werden: 1. Wählt den gleichen Buchstaben und bleibt in der gleichen Farbfamilie 2. Verwendet die selben "mittleren" Nummern so daß der Farbton derselbe bleibt. Die letzte Nummer sagt aus, wie hell oder dunkel eine Farbe ist. Wir raten, 3 oder 4 Marker zu wählen: ~ für die Highlights im Motiv wählt einen Marker mit der Endziffer 0, 1, 2 oder 3; ~ für die mittleren Töne wählt Marker mti der Endziffer 4, 5 oder 6; für Schatten wählt Marker mit der Endziffer 7, 8 oder 9. Versucht, 2 oder 3 Ziffern Unterschied zu wählen. Je mehr Farben verwendet werden, desto besser werden die Farbübergänge. Blender The Copic Colorless Blender pen/ink. This is ethanol based and is not the same as blender pens from other companies. Used for fixing mistakes, making colors lighter and for special effects. We will come back with tutorials about the use of the blender. *** Der Copic Colorless Blender ist auf Ethanol-Basis hergestellt und ist nicht das selbe wie die Blenderpens anderer Hersteller. Der Copic Blender kann zum Korrigieren von Fehlern, Aufhellen von Farben und für spezielle Effekte verwendet werden. Wir werden bald mit Tutorials für die verschiedenen Verwendungsmöglichkeiten des Blenders zurücksein. Tip: To alter your embellishment like buttons, brads, charms, Rhine-stones use marker with a high last digit, because the Copic ink is transparent. *** Um Embellishments wie Knöpfe, Brads, Charms und Glitzersteine an Euer Projekt anzupassen verwendet Marker mit einer hohen Endziffer, denn Copic-Farbe ist transparent. Hope this will help youto choose the right color combinations, *** Ich hoffe, dies wird Euch helfen, die richtigen Farbkombinationen auszuwählen, Greetings Diny Sprakel My blog: Creadin

It's been a while since I posted on here, but that isn't because I've simply been hiding out. This Saturday, April 28th I will be teaching two Coloring Flowers classes in Salem, OR at Runaway Arts & Crafts. Spaces are still available! These are perfect beginner classes and are pulled directly from my book "Coloring Flowers with Copic Markers." Come join me! In the meantime, I have been drawing and coloring a wide range of beautiful images. I'll post a few just to give you an idea. These are more of my complex drawings, so I won't go into the colors used, as it was way too many to keep track of! This iguana took forever to color, as I started with a base range of blended greens and other shadow colors, then I added the individual scales with a colorless blender. Between the blender dots I added extra color enhancing specs with yellows or darker greens to just make the scales pop a little more. This bright red stag beetle was a test of a paper someone had given me. At first I liked the paper, then I decided it wasn't my favorite, but it took me coloring for a few hours to figure out what I didn't like. I made the shine on the beetle pop by working with a wide contrast range, from super light working into the darkest tones. You can really see the sheen on the shell by keeping the high contrast. Then I finished by adding thin white touches of Opaque White with a brush. Have a creative weekend!

Ready to go to school? Today I’m answering a question that I get a lot: what’s saturation and why should I care? I’ll give you the Copic numbering system application – some swatches – and a scene incorporating saturation levels! Let’s get rolling! First: the Copic numbering system. There’s a letter, and that’s pretty obvious […]

These infographics will serve as a reference for transfer placement and sizes on your apparel including placing numbers on uniforms.

I have been working on this for some time. I am a visual person and I have accumulated lists and lists of Copic blending families from my favorite guru's but, never could visualize them. One day I was in my LSS... Be Creative in Pitt Meadows, B.C. and Lisa Strahl had hers there. I thought what a wonderful idea! So...I began. I started with 4-1/4 by 5-1/2 but the pages were going to be too small and the book would be too thick so I started over and went with half-sheets. I decided to use my stock of Gina K Pure Luxury as: 1) I was not a fan of the paper (I know people rave about it but, I have way too much trouble blending on it) and 2) It was nice and thick with no bleed-through to the other side....perfect for my book. I got all the paper cut to size, my binding coil at hand, my Cinch ready to bind and I picked up a sheet of heavy-duty acetate/mylar stuff...cut it in half and it was perfect for the front and back protective covers. I started at the internet with digital clip art. I could have stamped it all but, I am such a newbie at stamping and there were so many images to do....I decided to go with digital instead. I searched until I found the images I wanted to represent my swatches....blank faces, hair, flowers, leaves, etc. I created my templates and printed off all my pages.....sat down one night with my Copics and colored the pages in. I split each section by color and representation. I was not concerned with the actual representation of....say a leaf or a barrel but, with the laying down of my color blending families. I am really, really happy with it. I can sit down now...open the book...look for a color family I want...see the main color, the highlight and the shadow....grab my markers and color. No more guessing! Have a wonderful day!

1. First stamp your image using copic-friendly ink of choice - I prefer Memento Tuxedo Black ink (or print out image if using a digital image). The image I am using is a digital image from Some Odd Girl that I cropped for a tutorial/class on coloring hair. She is called Alice Mae. 2. I start with my darkest color. In the sample below I used E25 as my darkest color. Color the deepest shadows and roots using a very light flicking motion or feathered stroke. Your strokes should always begin at the darkest part of the hair and brush outward. You should also color in the same direction as the strands of hair. 3. Take your next darkest color or your mid-tone, in this case E31, and very lightly flick from about a third of the way into the darker color toward the "highlight", covering part of the strokes you already colored. 4. At this point, I go back to the darkest color (E25) and darken up the edges again using the very light flicking motion. 5. Then I go back in with mid-tone, E31, and blend the E25 edges out using the very light flicking motion. You could be done at this point if you prefer a lot of highlights or white space. For this class or tutorial, I chose to continue on with another step. 6. For the final step I used the lightest color, in this case E50, to lightly blend out the mid-tone color E31. Again I used a very light flicking motion starting about a third of the way into the mid-tone color and flicking into the lightest area. I used very little of the E50 to blend. 7. I finished coloring the entire head of hair using the same technique throughout. If you have any questions, please let me know. Hope to see you all coloring again real soon! Marcy

Since I discovered Copics, I have spent a lot of time trying to compile information so that I could learn to really use these professional art markers to their fullest potential. I figured I would share all of the information I have come across in my travels with all of you in cyberland! (Note- I am not copic certified. The information that follows is just my opinion and information I have found on the web and learned from classes.) COPIC MARKERS- The Basics- What are copics? Copic Markers are high quality alcohol ink markers, refillable , color consistent, non-toxic, acid-free when dry, and come in 358 colors. The ink is permanent but will not cross contaminate - or in other words, you will not ruin one marker by touching it's tip with another or coloring over another darker color. These alcohol-based dye markers make it possible to color over an image multiple times without making the paper pill. That is their super power which allows them to blend so beautifully. The result is smooth, even color-no more stripey unevenly colored images. There are four types of Copic Markers- Original (3)- square body, chisel tip and standard fine nib good for detail work, refillable Ciao (4)- round body, brush nib and chisel tip, holds less ink than sketch and original, refillable Sketch (2)- oval body, super brush nib and chisel tip, fits copic airbrush system (8), refillable Wide - inch wide stroke, 36 colors, refillable (good for coloring large areas) Sketch Markers are the most popular and are available in the most colors, 358. Copic also makes a Multiliner SP fine-tip pen in 10 different tip sizes. The preferred tip size is the black 0.3 it is acid-free, archival safe, and most importantly won't bleed when you color over it with Copics. This is a must have for journaling, and touching-up stamped images. Storage- Copics can be stored upright or on their side (Spicas Glitter Pens need to be stored ontheir side or the glitter will clog). Here is how I store my copics. Aren't they beautiful! Let's talk about the Colorless Blender Pen- You must have it! But the name is misleading...it is not so much a blender of ink as it is a pusher of ink. With the colorless blender, we expect blending, but it really does the following best: Lightens Color, Pushes color ,Great for Special Effects, Blends Colors when used with tip to tip blending method ,Fade to white by pushing colors. The colorless blender is your magic helper. If you have colored outside the lines of your stamped image, no worries, just use your colorless blender to push the ink back toward the line. Color Coding System- The Copic color coding system is made up of letters and numbers. Letters- The letter(s) represents the color family. R = Red YR = Yellow-Red Y = Yellow YG = Yellow-Green G = Green BG = Blue-Green B = Blue BV = Blue-Violet V = Violet RV = Red-Violet E = Earth N = Neutral Gray W = Warm Gray C = Cool Gray T = Toner Gray The First Number - This represents the color saturation or intensity/gray scale. Lower numbers are more vibrant. Higher numbers are more gray. The Second Number - This represents the color brightness. Lower numbers are light. Higher numbers are bright/dark. Example- B00 will be light and bright blue where as B99 will be dark and gray blue. This color coding system helps when picking which markers can be used together as a "natural blending group." Look for markers with the same letters and first number. For example- R24, R27, R29 work great together. When blending two markers, it generally works to pick ones that are two to four digits apart. So, B00, B02 and B05 would blend well. Some colors don't follow the rule (example- RV11 with RV14). General Tips- Since Copic markers can be a rather pricey initial investment, it is best to have a plan when selecting which color markers to get. UPDATED POST REGARDING CHOOSING COLORS CAN BE FOUND HERE !!!! Copic Online lowest advertised price for markers is $5.24 sketch, $3.59 ciao, refills $5.99 MSRP retail price is $6.99 sketch , $4.79 ciao, $7.99 refills Registered members of oozak.com or icopic.com receive a discounted price...membership has its privileges! For beginners on a budget, I would advise not to get the basic pre-made sets as they usually do not provide multiple colors from blending families. To really get the most out of your Copics, you need to have 3 or 4 markers that can be used together in "natural blending groups" - various shades, light to dark, of the same color. * The Copic Papercrafting sketch sets do offer some good color choices if you have a larger budget- specifically the Papercrafting set of 36, Papercrafting set of 72 and Papercrafting set 72B.* If you can only afford to start out with 10, for example, just pick 3 sets of 3 markers in your usual go to colors along with a Colorless Blender Pen. (Example- If you color mostly floral stamps- get 3 reds, 3 purples and 3 greens + your colorless blender). ***If you can’t make a large initial investment, try buying your markers in groups of 12. over time.*** Each month spend about $60-65. You may have to brown bag your lunch or give up your makeup or Starbucks habits like I did, but it is worth the sacrifice. Period Style- is an online store that allows you to create a custom set of 12, 36, or 72 markers and it will come with a nice plastic case. This is great because you can get exactly what you need + they do free shipping for 12 + markers. Suggested Colors to start with: 0- colorless blender, the Quad Zeros or triple zeros for blending (ie- Quad Zeros- R0000 B0000 BG0000 BV0000 V0000 YR0000 YG0000 RV0000 G0000 Y0000, E0000, C00, W00) Also select flesh tones and hair colors if are you coloring people + and a little something from all the color families The colors you choose should be complimentary with what kind of stamps you have and your personal color preferences. Do you prefer Bights, Pastels, Basics, Earth tones? I prefer bright and pastel colors (purple, aqua, teal and pink are my favorite colors) and I color mostly people and some flowers…. Colors I use often: E0000, BV000, RV000, BG000, B000 Earth- E000, E00, E11, E13, E21, E25, E27, E29, E31, E33, E35, E37 , E49, plus Y21, R20 (Flesh/Hair colors) Red - R29 R35 R37 (red) R81 R83 R85 (pink) Orange -YR61 YR65 YR68 (orange) Yellow -Y11 Y13 Y15 (light bright yellow) Y32 Y35 Y38 (sunflower) Yellow Green- YG03 YG13 YG17 (bright green) YG91 YG93 YG97 (olive) Green - G21 G24 G28 (green) Blue Green- BG72 BG75 BG78 (deep water) BG10 BG11 BG13 (aqua) Blue- B12 B14 B16 (sky blue) B91 B95 B97 (jeans) Blue Violet- BV02 BV13 BV17 (amethyst) Violet- V12 V15 V17 (bright purple) V91 V93 V95 (pale purple) Red Violet- RV10 RV23 RV32 (pink) Cool Gray C1 C3 C5 C9 (black) Note- These 72 markers would cost you at least $377.28 if you bought them at the $5.24 price. Hefty Investment! But well worth the price overtime. I no longer use pencils, watercolor crayons, water based markers, etc. These markers will last a lifetime if treated right because you can just keep refilling them and replacing the tips. edited 4/18/12- Here is a link to some posts I have done sharing my favorite copic color combinations and my Copic Journal. Examples of Color Combos: The Angel Company used to offer Copic collections. Here is the chart of the 144 copics that they bundled- these are easy 'no-brainer' color combos that are proven to work together. With the exception of the RV combos I use all of these together often. (I am not a hot pink fan). Other Accessories needed for Copic success: The Right Ink- Using copic compatible ink is crucial as all others will bleed, smear and potentially ruin the tips of your markers. My ink of choice is Memento Tuxedo Black ink which comes in pads, markers, and dew drop size. Other inks that can work with Copics according to a copic certified instructor- Amuse, Ranger Soot Black Distress Ink (all dry quickly) Brilliance and Memories and Versafine ink (MUST BE HEAT SET) Non-Compatible: Stazon, Stampin Up, Close to my Heart, Inks made for waterbased markers, colored embossing powders The Right Paper- You should use a smooth, heavy , non- coated paper when coloring with copics for optimal blending. Make sure to always test your paper. These markers work differently on each style of paper. Some things your want to be aware of are bleeding and feathering of the markers. It is okay if the paper bleeds the ink through the back (you want to see a well blended image on the back of your work...this means you are blending evenly. Make sure to have a scratch piece of paper behind your work. Watch out for papers that lead to ink feathering, this is when the ink spreads outward on the paper. The new X-Press It Blending Card (cardstock) from Australia is very highly recommended by the Copic certified instructors as being extremely easy to blend with. (icopic.com, papermaniac.com, 7kidscollegefund.com) My favorites cardstocks are: 1- COPIC X-Press It Blending Card 92 lb super smooth cardstock from Australia (available at oozak, allthatscraps, papermaniac, diecutsrus, icopic) 2- Boise HD Color Copy Cover 80lb (tigerdirect.com) 3- PTI Stampers Select White (from Papertreyink.com) 4- C.C. Designs copic quality paper (allthatscraps.com) 5-Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 80 lb or 120 lb (XPedX stores or online at places such as papermaniac.com, creativeplaystamps.com, stampandcreate.com, diecutsrus.com) For me -these 5 papers were the easiest to blend with and I do not experience the dreaded ink feathering outside the stamped lines issue. Some people also recommend Gina K Pure Luxury120 llb , Cryogen Irridescent White and Georgia Pacific 110 llb. (I have not tried Gina K or Cryogen cardstock). I have a ream of Georgia Pacific and I don’t care for the grainy quality/ rough tooth and off white/grayish color. That being said, it is cheap and you can get it at Walmart, so it is great for practice coloring if you are just starting out. It is important to test your paper and ink combination as results can vary depending on what ink you use to stamp your images and what paper you are stamping on. Here is a link to a post that describes how to test your paper. * A Note on Digi Stamping- 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. However, with inkjet printers, each printer uses slightly different inks and you need to test your printouts before you color or you could make a mess. Newer inkjet printers seem to work better than the old; but to be safe you should always test them out. Some inkjet printed images will smear when the alcohol ink is colored over them. (*like with my printer Epson RX580 :0( If I color very carefully and do not color over the lines I can use my printed images.) edited 10/21/10- I have found that if I set my printing preferences to Draft and select Semi Glossy Paper as the paper type that less ink is printed out and I therefore do not experiencing bleeding/smearing. edited 4/18/12- I got the HP Envy All In One Printer and I have smearing problems with my digi images if printed with regular printing properties. I find that I need to select fast draft printing on regular paper so that less ink is printed on the page to prevent smearing. Techniques- There are many different ways to blend with copics, tip to tip blending, light to dark, dark to light, feathering....the list goes on and on. There are tons of fabulous video tutorials you can watch online if you are a visual learner. Here are two suggested techniques from the copic official site: Marker Blending on Paper 1. Color evenly, really soaking the paper. Color in circles to keep you edges wet and to avoid streaks. 2. While it is still wet, add your darker color to one side. Lift up at the end of the stroke, so you have more ink on the shadow side and less on the edge where it will be blending. You can do this step after your base color has dried, it is easier however to do it while the base is wet. 3. Go back over the darker color with your first color. Add a lot of ink and really soak it in. This is what hides those rough edges and mixes the two colors together to get a smooth blend. If this doesn’t work for you, try using colors that are closer in value to each other, or use lighter colors to begin with.

 Repeat steps 2 and 3, layering more and more ink until it gets as smooth as you want it. You won’t destroy your paper, don’t worry. 4. Add a third color if you wish, again, using the same technique. Start with your lightest, add your middle color, go back with your lightest to blend those two layers together, then add your darkest, then go back with your middle to blend the dark into the rest of the picture. Finish up by using your lightest color. 5. Use the colorless blender to add a highlight back in. For a stronger highlight, use Opaque White and paint a white spot back in. Marker to Marker Blending This works with any two Copic markers. If you want the color area to fade to white, use a blender pen as one of your colors. If you wanted it to fade to yellow, then choose a yellow as your “brush” color. 1. Always use the lighter color to pick up darker colors, that way you can see how much color you’re picking up. 2. Use the colorless blender as a paintbrush and pick up some of the color from your other marker, directly onto your blender pen. 3. Start with small dabs of color until you see how much/how quickly it will fade out when used. 4. Next, choose a picture that you want to color, and touch your marker at the darkest point you want. Then color out towards the lighter side. *If you’re done blending with that color but your marker tip still looks dirty, just scribble onto some scratch paper until the color comes completely off. Great Resources on the web: Here is a link to the copic hand color chart. You can print it out and color in which markers you have then refer to it when you are shopping to make sure you don't purchase duplicates. Copic FAQ thread on Splitcoast Stampers site. Copic's website. Copic Color is a new site that Copic has launched that is like a cross between facebook- an online gallery- and a tool to track what markers you own vs. which ones you would like to own. It is mobile compatible! Ilikemarkers.blogspot.com Marianne Walker is the copic guru and offers wonderful instruction on her blog regarding color theory, shading, and all the latest greatest copic info. Lime Tart has a great archive of their Marker Monday blog posts featuring tips and techniques. Youtube.com- search for copic coloring, or Suzanne J Dean- she has great tutorials- check out her vid on Scandinavian style coloring. Makeupartistkatie also has some great vids including how to color cone shaped, cylinders, cube shaped objects, and my favorite- high contrast coloring. Suzanne Dean just started offering online Copic classes through her Color Me Creative Online Classroom. You can see the details here. She has a beginner, intermediate, advanced, and fun level class. I can't wait to take them. If you sign up, please mention in an email that I referred you. Mycreativeclassroom.com – they offer a great online copic class called Everything Copic taught by Copic design team member Colleen Schaan. I was inept with my copic coloring before I took this class. It was very helpful. http://www.oozak.com/ best online prices for copics and refills for registered users (must register to see the lowest price) Period Style- copicmarkers.com - you can create a custom color set of markers 12, 36, or 72 and it will come in a clear plastic case. Great for when you are starting out. Free shipping on 12+ markers. Final Points- It is a good idea to do some research and check out other stampers’ blogs and see what colors they are using to color their images. If you like what you see, take note of the color combinations that they are using and then invest in those copics. I keep all of my favorites in my portable copic journal so I can see what the combos look like together. You can view a post with sample pictures from my journal here. Here is a link to Rachel's blog. She is the creator of the journal pages. In my blog roll of copic friendly blogs on my sidebar, most or all of these bloggers post what colors they are using. Especially Color Me Copic -this blog is hosted by a collection of great ladies who all use copics in their projects and they list all of their favorite color combinations, suggested starter colors and they even will answer questions that you email to them. The most important thing to remember is: practice, practice, practice! Rome wasn't built in a day…Copics have a learning curve. Practice, be patient, and don’t give up! Once you master your basic coloring skills- blend blend blend and remember where your light source is and you will have fabulously colored images in no time.

Learn the basics of getting started with Copic Markers in this beginner's guide by Heidi Berthiaume. Learn the types of Copic markers available, how to decode the Copic Color System and how to choose the right paper for your coloring. Read it at www.sarahrenaeclark.com | #copic #copicmarker #coloringbooks

Have you seen the price for a set of Copic markers? I’d already earmarked the Copic collection for my Christmas list thinking the set of 72 would be a splurge. I had no idea there were FIVE s…

Oh my, I've spent so many hours trying to solve the problem experienced by many a Copic owner..........STORAGE! As my collection grew so did the storage dilemma - initially I used the plastic boxes that the Copic sets come in, adding more as required. I stored them on their sides to keep the pens horizontal - holding the boxes together with parcel tape. Unfortunately the pens are only gripped at the end and as you can see they dip downwards and the more boxes you stack the worse this gets - when you pull one pen out several follow!! Not to mention this type of storage is not overly stable and even after adding blu-tac to stick the boxes to the wall I was greeted several times with a cascade of Copics all over my desk. I am sure I don't need to tell you that various solutions are available - Totes, Racks, Cubbies and boxes but I wanted something that keeps the pens horizontal and allows me to store them in colour order and gives space for additional pens. One solution then caught my eye - some people were using "eggcrate louvre" as used in suspended ceilings. However, I personally didn't like the wooden dowels that were being used to suspend the eggcrate - so I challenged my hubby to come up with a cleaner solution. And here it is.............. This little beauty will take 396 Copic Sketch!! If this is a solution that would work for you too here are the details you might find useful: Storage Box - we chose a "Really Useful Box" (11 litre) because unlike a lot of boxes its square inside - no annoying internal bulges. 2 x Eggcrate Louvre - I got mine online as they aren't so easy to find here in the UK Transparent silicone sealant Hack saw Handy-man Husband (Oh boy, the mess I would have made trying to do this myself) Oh and I mustn't forget the Sizzix mat that was sacrificed..... you can see a portion of it attached to the front on the box - it was well worth cannibalizing the poor mat as it makes the whole box rock solid - I did not want the pens falling all over my desk anymore!! I am not saying you have to chop up your prized Sizzix mat, it's just what we used - you just need something of reasonable density to ensure the stability of the unit. And in case you were in any doubt here's a side view: Because the eggcrate is siliconed in at the base of the box and the top the pens are held securely and of course without the use of dowels you are not losing valuable pen space!!! *****Additional Info***** I've had quite a few emails asking where you can source the items required to make this storage unit, so here goes: Storage Box: In the UK, Really Useful Boxes are quite common, mine came from Hobbycraft. Rest of the World -use Search Engine for suppliers Any similar box will do, it just looks smarter if your box is square inside and saves you cutting your Eggcrate into a strange shape and of course maximises marker storage. Eggcrate Louvre: USA - Try Lowes or Home Depot Rest of World - use Search Engine (that's what I did) size of squares: 15mm x15mm NB. This storage system is suitable for: Copic Sketch Copic Ciao *****New Information***** I have had a couple of emails recently asking how you attach the top eggcrate to the box. Cut your eggcrate to size and before applying silicone sealant around the edge of it attach 4 pencils with wire, one in each corner. Having applied the sealant carefully place the eggcrate inside the top of your box. Now adjust/twist the wire so that the pencils lay firmly across the corners of your box, this enables you to hold your eggrate securely in place whilst the silicone sealant dries. Once dry simply untwist the wire and remove the pencils Then all you have to do is to put in all your markers ********* I am chuffed to bits with my new storage - it stands with pride on my desk and the knowledge that it has room for quite a few more pens is a bonus! What do you guys think??

Let’s talk about choosing Copic green colors. Greens are a color that Copic doesn’t do well; I’m not particularly sure if it’s not the color’s fault – they’re a bear to mix yourself. Or maybe they’re a frog, not a bear! This fun new Frog set from Art Impressions just makes me laugh so hard […]

You do not have to be a genius to make beautiful Copic Marker blends!No Mensa membership required! Coloring with markers is a skill. That’s good news; because if it's a skill, that means that it’s completely learnable!Everyone can learn to color well with Copic markers.But there is a learning curve-- and how quickly you progress depends upon your ability to diagnose the flaws in your technique…