Crazy for Copics!

Hey everyone! I am so excited to share with you that I bit the Copic Bullet and ordered 12 fabulous colors of Copic markers for the store. As you may remember I took the Copic Marker Certification class this past weekend and really feel in love with these markers and what you can do with them and how wonderfully they blend out. I am giving you a short introduction to coloring with them below.


Before we get to that I wanted to share with you the colors that will come in the set we are going to sell and tell you the difference between the to most popular types of these markers. First is probably the most popular "Sketch" which has a brush and a chisel end, and the second, which we are going to start carrying, is the Ciao. The Ciao has a brush and chisel ends as well. What is the difference? Well really not much... first is the price, the Sketch marker is going to run you about $6.00 or so and the Ciao is going to run you about $4.00. They both have the same size brush and chisel tip (which can be replaced), but the Ciao is a smaller marker and was originally marketed for children. Also, the Ciao has fewer colors. Oh did I mention that both types of markers are refillable?... so that means it does not matter if your Ciao is a bit smaller and holds less ink, because it is refillable.


My suggestion is to start collecting the Ciaos and then when you have all of those colors, fill in with the Sketch. At least that is what I plan on doing! It is cheaper that way and these Ciao's are a great way to start on your Copic adventure without breaking the bank!

The set we are going to start selling is a 12 piece set that has 6 color combinations that we think are going to be perfect for coloring in our rubber stamping images. Here is what it will include;

Flesh tones - E00 Skin white
E02 Fruit Pink
Green tones - YG41 Pale Green
YG63 Pea Green
Red tones - R27 Cadmium Red
R22 Light Prawn
Yellow tones - Y11 Pale Yellow
Y21 Buttercup Yellow
Pink tones - RV21 Light Pink
RV23 Pure Pink
Purple tones - V12 Pale Lilac
V15 Mallow

This set has these 6 handpicked tones that will blend perfectly together so the guess work has been taken out of which colors to purchase. We are also going to carry the blender pen and accessories including replacement tips. These were ordered today and they should be here in about a week... I can't wait!

In the meantime look below for a beginning coloring Copic tutorial that should give you a good introduction to the markers and how beautiful they color.
We are going to use our new July Flower Of the Month image Cherry Blossom... I love this image!

You will need to use a dye based ink pad with these markers. An ink pad like the StazOn is a solvent based ink and will run with the alcohol in these markers.First color the flower with your lightest color which is R22. Use small circular motions but you don't have to worry about going all the way to the lines.
Now use the darker red color R27 to go around the edges and shade lines. Also you see that I did what they call the "feather/flick" method. Start on the edge of the flower and flick color to the middle of the flower. This will blend out beautifully in the next step.Take the original color R22 and blend the colors together. ***That is how these markers are different than dye (water) based markers. With a dye marker where you put the color that is where it stays... with the Copic alcohol based markers the lighter shade will blend with the darker shade.Now we are going to try and lighten up the inside of the flower a bit to give it more dimension. We are going to do that with what they call their Colorless Blender. Except they should not have called it a blender because it really does not do that... it really takes color and pushes it away.Here I used the blender in the middle to push away the color to make the middle look more translucent. You can do this until it looks good and these markers will "never" make your cardstock pill... never!!Here is my final flower.Want to see that again?! OK so you first have your lighter R22 color (this is the red tones in the set we are going to sell) all over the the flower and you outline with the darker R27.Now use your flick/feathering to add more color from the edge to the middle.

Now take the lighter R22 and blend in swirling motions.

Then take your blender and use circular motions in the middle of the flower to move the color away from the middle.

Here it is all colored.

Here it is in a simple card. When the image is colored in so beautifully you don't need a lot on the card to make it pretty!

I hope you liked this introduction to Copics and please email me if you have any questions melissa@thestampingstudio.com