Creative Ladder and simple Sky Tutorial

I am so excited!!! Creative Ladder, our new online class resource is now open for enrollment. We have two classes to start, with more on the way.

Check it out and register today!  www.creativeladder.com

Coloring sky behind trees
A quick tutorial today, as I look out at the beautiful summer sky. We have had a rather dry Summer so far, and I am starting to miss the rain. However, this is a great time to go over how to color a beautiful blue sky, peeking behind some trees.

I drew this quick little sketch of a tree with one of the new Copic Warm Gray Multiliners. I love how light and sketchy these feel- not as dark as drawing with black, or as brown as the sepia, but it also doesn't feel like I'm drawing with a pencil (The cool gray multiliners look a lot like a light, fine-line pencil sketch). We have new brown multiliners as well, so check out our website for the full range of new sizes and colors. 

This was drawn on Copic Sketchbook paper, which is the same paper you can find in our new Mini Paper Packs. 

I added my sky first by layering some B41, then I came back with BG000. What I want you to note is how the BG brightened up the whole image. Also, see that I was not very careful about the edges of the tree. I went all over the lines. This is not a big deal, because I was trying to color fast and keep my paper from getting streaks or lines in the large blue area. A little blue under my green isn't going to bug me at this point. Also, it helps with the foliage behind the trunk, as that should be a little less vibrant in my final picture anyways.

Next, I colored the leafy areas with a scribbly base of G12. In this case, I scribble fast in the center of the tree with the side of the brush. Then, I slow down around the detailed edges. I do NOT want that green to get out into the blue.

Whenever I slow down, the paper gets soaked more, so those areas will be darker. This is fine, as it is pushing that lighter blue out of the way in unwanted areas. Down by the base of the tree, do you see the plants in back? They are already darker and less vibrant than the plants in front because of the blue base.

Now, think about where you are going to have shadows. I am keeping this tree simple, so mostly my light will be from above. I actually am not too worried about shadows in this image, I just want a range of contrast on my doodle.

Next, I dabbed in G24 and G28. I kept layering, dabbing, dotting, and adjusting the tones to get the look I wanted. I am careful to leave the brown trunk alone, as that area would look strange with green undertones. Don't forget the foliage at the base of the tree as well.

Just keep dotting in colors until you are happy. To brighten up the top of the tree, I dabbed in a lot of Y11. Look at how it really warmed up the top of the tree.

Tomorrow I'll put the finished tree up for you to see how I completed it.

Meanwhile, if your really want to learn about REAL light and shadow, not just me goofing off with markers on a doodle, head on over to Creative Ladder and register for the Light and Shadow class taught by Sandy Allnock!

Limited Edition! It's Here!

A couple days ago, a special delivery arrived on my desk. I can't tell you how many YEARS I've been waiting for this...

25th Anniversary Sketch Marker Set

But, what makes this set special is that it has a Super Brush nib on one end and the other nib is a Standard FINE!!

People have asked me for years, "When are you going to make a marker with a brush nib and a fine nib?" Now that marker is here. This nib is identical to the one found on a Copic Original marker.

I can use the firm, fine nib for small detail areas, and I don't have to go searching for another marker to be able to smoothly blend larger areas. The colors in this set are carefully chosen to include blending groups, but it includes colors that you can't find in Copic Original markers. I know some of you have sets of Sketch and a few Copic Originals for the fine nib...This set won't duplicate the Copic colors, but it does include some of the most popular Sketch colors, including some of the new 2012 colors.

Here I drew a quick sketch of a tree with my .5mm multiliner, then unwrapped the new marker set and gave them a try.

I think I'm in love! 

The sleek black bodies were first introduced in a special anniversary set from the year 2000, and were chosen again to celebrate 25 years of Copic Markers. However, the set from 12 years ago didn't include fine nibs. The black body also helps you tell the difference between these markers and your current collection of Sketch markers.

We are so excited to have the new anniversary set! The first few stores that had pre-orders are just now receiving these in stock, so ask your local retailer if they have them in stock, or see if they can order them for you. You cannot buy individual colors...they are ONLY available as a set. I think you'll love these just as much as I do!

My New Book!

Copic Coloring Guide, Level 2: Nature

After months of work, and then months of waiting, it is finally here! Colleen Schaan and I have just released our second book in the Copic Coloring Guide series. You can pick up your very own copy direct from Annie's Attic, or from your local retailer.

The Copic Coloring Guide, Level 2 teaches you how to color things in nature, from rocks and plants, to water and sky. Best of all, each image we step out in a tutorial is included on a CD that comes with the book, so you can print the image and practice along. Colleen and I worked hard to make sure directions are clear and simple. I carefully drew each tutorial image to teach the coloring concepts as concisely as possible. This book is a perfect companion for the bestselling first book, and will look great in your growing Copic library.

I will have more fun details about the book in a few weeks, and each of the contributing designers will be sharing some neat things from the book. Meanwhile, go ahead a pick up a copy or ask your local store when they will be getting it in stock. Enjoy coloring!

New Foam Tape

Today I get the chance to talk about another new item we are bringing in for CHA. I am so excited! For the last few years I have been using X-Press It High Tack double-sided tape, and I love it. Now, Imagination International is going to start distributing X-Press It Foam Tape.

What has me excited is that this tape is super strong, and comes in two economical sizes: 1/2" for larger things, and 1/4" for narrow objects.


The narrow tape is for popping up a strip of ribbon, or something else really long and narrow. I also love it for popping up detailed embellishments that really need tiny pieces of foam tape.

Here is a quick birthday card I made with the narrow foam tape. I wanted to hide the border on the lace with a strip of paper, but I didn't want to use a really wide piece of paper. The 1/4" foam tape was perfect for hiding the lace and glue used to hold down the lace.

If you are coming to CHA, be sure to visit our booth and see the new tape. If you are not going to make it to California, check with your local Copic supplier to purchase tape for yourself. Tape is now in stock and has started shipping!

Stamp: Our Craft Lounge, Vintage Roses, Memento, Kaisercraft Pearls, Assorted markers (i forgot to write down the colors, sorry!) X-Press It 1/4" Foam tape, X-Press It Double Sided High Tack tape. Wyla Lace, dyed with assorted Copic Various Inks, Cosmo Cricket paper.

New 12 colors artwork

I promised last week when I posted the new 12 colors that I would show the artwork I drew for the new colors. I just finished coloring it, so I figured I would share, before I forget which colors I used.

Drawing the Marker Set
For this illustration, I was having a hard time getting the angles right on the marker set, so I created a guide in Adobe Illustrator to draw from. On something angular like a set of markers, this works well.

I don't like using rulers when I draw, since the computer does it better anyways, so rather than sketching this by hand and messing with a ruler or straight edge, I drew it all on the computer, scaled it to the size I needed, then used this as the base for my drawing.

I sketched it with my light table, using a o.o3mm multiliner onto nice paper. Then I scanned the drawing in and cleaned up the lines slightly. I printed it out onto thin, nice paper. I prefer coloring larger pictures on thin paper, as it uses less ink. This final artwork is about 7"x7"
I colored the final with T2, T4, T6, BG93, BG90, BG58, B000, B00, E81, E84, E89, E04, R56, V20, V22, V25, BV35, RV52, G43, G46, YR30, YR27.

For those of you who are starting to notice shadows, pay attention to the B00 and BG93 that I threw into the shadows. I did this to liven up the shadows and liven up the artwork. Note that I also added YR30 and B00 into the highlights. I added the rough sketchy lines in the background to liven those areas up as well. You probably don't notice much of this at first, but it helps to add variety to the whole. I did very little blending on this illustration, except for the purple/gray marker label, and even then I tried to keep it sketchy.

Again, new colors should be available in February, so get ready!

New Colors for 2012

358 Marker Colors
As many of you have noticed from our designers last week, we now have 12 new colors for 2012. This means that Copic Sketch markers and inks are now available in a whopping 358 colors!
I will be posting more information about these new colors, along with some illustrations later this week. Until then, you can drool over the luscious colors :). Below are some of the thoughts that went behind the development of these colors. G43 & G46: These complete the G40 sequence. These are great greens...not too bright, not too yellow, not too gray. A new must-have green sequence.

BG57: This goes with last year's new color, BG53. These are not as bright as the BG40's but more vibrant than BG70's family.

BG90: A new, beautiful pale, gray BG to go with the other BG90's colors

E84 & E89: These were developed as a nice, slightly greenish brown sequence to match last year's E87

BV34: Poor old BV31 has been alone for so long, but now it has a darker companion color. A lovely grayish BV color.

V22 & V28: This completes the V20 & V25 sequence. These were developed to be nice purples without hints of pink or blue, but are slightly grayish.

RV52: A bright, but pale pink to go with RV55 from last year.

R56: For too long R59 has been alone. This is one of my new favorite, must-have colors. I sequence this with E04-R56-R59. Try it and trust me :)

YR27: This is a wonderful orange, not as brown as the E90's sequence, and not as intense as YR18. It fills out the other beautiful YR20's colors.

These markers are available as pre-orders from many places, and will be shipping in February. Come to our booth at CHA and you can see them for yourself. Booth #2390
Have a great weekend!

New All-Marker Carry Case

Holds 380 Sketch Markers!
For a long time, we have wished that we had a good way to carry ALL of our markers. I have a hard time when I travel, trying to get them to all fit in cases that are not too bulky, but also wouldn't break.

Finally, Copic developed a perfect solution. This soft-sided carry case is sturdy, with reinforced sides, yet holds the markers compactly. We filled one of these cases and started turning it upside down, shaking it, tossing it around, and it held all the markers in place nicely!

In fact, the Copic carry case can hold up to 380 Sketch markers...that means your entire collection, plus room for a few of your favorite inks or other pens. The markers sit in removable mesh cups that allow you to hold Sketch, Ciao, Copics, Inks or Wide markers with ease. So, if you like to take ALL your markers with you, then this is going to be your best, compact solution.

I can't tell you how excited I was, yet, I didn't like the idea of having my markers unorganized in little cups, so I thought of another solution.

If you already have your markers in the plastic marker cases, and you only have a couple hundred markers, not the full collection, you can just pull out the carry pouches and it will easily hold your existing plastic cases.

I like this because my markers live on my desk in plastic cases but if I want to take some somewhere, then I don't have to un-organize them and put them in the cups if I don't want to. If you use 36 pc. plastic cases (like I did for this photo), you can hold 288 markers. Not bad! Otherwise, it holds 3 of the 72pc. cases, with spare room on the sides for other tools.

So, what do you think about the new Copic Carrying Case? Would you like to *win* one? Copic Marker is proud to partner with Splitcoaststampers the entire month of October for their annual Hope You Can Cling To campaign for breast cancer awareness.

Splitcoast is hosting daily challenges through the entire month of October, and asking members of the paper crafting community to create cards in support of cancer patients and their families and mail them to national partner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. Copic Marker is pleased to offer FOUR of these great new Copic Coloring Cases as prizes for four lucky participants in the Hope You Can Cling To campaign. It's a campaign of the sweetest type - you have the opportunity to color, spread a little hope with your handcrafted cards and be eligible to win!

You can find general information for the Hope You Can Cling To campaign, including information on how to play and a handy tracking sheet to keep track of your entries, here. You can find a master list of the challenges presented thus far right here. It's updated daily for new inspiration, and there are a variety of themes, so participation easy. And, just in case you aren't familiar with Splitcoast, it's a free papercrafting community where thousands of card ideas and tutorials are shared in the galleries and their resource archives. It's a fun place to be. You can find the details here. You can sign up for your free account and start sharing here.

I HOPE you'll find a few opportunities to color and participate with me this month. We'll announce our *FOUR* Copic Coloring Case winners the second week of November! Good luck!

Just a note: If you are not a cardmaker, there will be other opportunities to win one of these cases in October, so keep checking here, the Copic Blog, and the Copic Facebook Page.