Happy Friday and welcome to the CLASSroom! Today I'll be showing you a few tips on how to color people with your Copic markers.
I'll be using a few tips and techniques you'll find in the latest Copic Coloring Guide Level 3: People that Ellen has in stock in the store. I was extremely honored to have an image I colored chosen to be featured on the cover!
For my sample today, I used this beautiful new Pearl cling stamp by Melissa Frances, Just A Little Something:
Isn't she adorable?!! This wonderful new line of Pearl cling stamps are classic Victorian Melissa Frances style, with her sweet hair bows and period outfits:
There are currently six designs in this new product launch with more to come! Stamps are cling mount red rubber manufactured by the trusted name of Hampton Art.
General note for coloring people: When coloring people/skin/hair, you don't always have to stick with the usual suggested Copic rules of blending families. Each color reacts differently when combined with other colors, so just experiment! The guide has wonderful reference charts for coloring different ethnicities, but try out some different combinations on your own, to find what is most appealing to YOU!
Because I wanted to keep this image in a shabby vintage style, I stamped it with Memento Rich Cocoa onto Neenah Natural White cardstock and then started coloring . . .
Skin - My personal favorite combination for fair Caucasian young child/baby skin is E00 & E11; E33 & BV000 (shadows). Starting with the lightest E00, I base coated all of her skin. Then I used E11 to put shading in the creases of her arms, under her hairline and chin, and under her dress line at the upper arms and lower legs (click on any photo to enlarge):
I went back and blended these two colors a little with my lightest E00. Next, I used my darkest E33 to deepen some of the shading and added a few cast shadows with the BV000 under her chin, on the left side of her face, arms and legs where the dress would cast shadows:
The BV color really cools down the shadows and makes them look a lot more realistic:
Marianne Walker's Shadows & Shading Guide goes into great detail on where and how to place cast shadows and shading on any kind of object and includes templates to help you do so!
Hair - The coloring guide also gives wonderful suggestions for coloring different types of hair. One thing to remember when coloring hair, is to NOT blend (very much or at all) and use a flicking motion (for straighter hair) with your marker. This will help to define strands of hair and the naturally different shading you find in hair. I used the suggestions on coloring curly or wavy hair for Pearl, using E21, E23, E25:
I base coated all of her hair with the lightest E21, then drew in squiggles of the next two darker colors.
The guide gives wonderful suggested color combinations for many different hair colors.
Dress - R81, R83, R85, R89: The guide gives tips for coloring different types of fabrics, draping, pleats and folds, as well as different fabric textures and how to create patterns for clothing. I used the mid-tone (R83) first along the valleys or folds of the fabric (see, we're bending those original Copic blending rules of starting with the lightest color first!):
Then I used R81 to color in the other areas, leaving the space next to the folds that I colored above white. This will end up being the highest "point" or peak of the fabric:
Next, I used my darker R85 to deepen the folds of the fabric:
And R81 was used again to help blend everything together, but still leaving some of the original white spaces. The Coloring Guide goes into much great detail, with color photos, on how to accomplish this technique.
Finishing Details:
I finished Pearl by leaving the dress sash around her middle and collar white and shaded them with C2. The flowers were colored with Y23 and Y26, stems Mint Atyou Spica Glitter Pen; eyes B21, lips R20; shoes E25, E25. Gift: E41, E42, Y23, Y26.
Pearl was die cut and matted with My Favorite Things Die-namics-Traditional Tags and mounted to a Vanilla Bean Memory Box Notecard. A Distressed Doily die cut was placed behind the tags.
All three levels of the Copic Coloring Guides are stocked in Ellen's store HERE. Each level focuses on different topics that will help bring your Copic coloring to new heights!
Thanks so much for joining me today!
~ Sharon
Other: Ivory seam binding
