Well, I finally did it. I've been mulling over Sandy Allnock's Copic Colouring class series for a couple of years. I really want to take the scenery mini classes but I thought it best to take the Copic Jumpstart class first.
I did take an in-person class in September 2018 with two instructors from the U.S. at a scrapbook store. They gave us the set of makers we needed to use for class. I learned a bit, reinforced some existing knowledge, and attempted to understand light and shadow but it still evades me. I understand the shadows from the main light source. It's where the light would bounce back and hit other areas kinda behind or at the edges of the light source that I always get wrong. And, for some reason, I struggle with cast shadows. Mine always look utterly unnatural.
Anyway, the Jumpstart class lets you use what *you* have. Since the in-person class provided all the markers you needed, it made it seem easy. Sandy's class encourages you to use what you have and find combinations that work. I am not a big experimenter, myself, so I've spent a number of years amassing the markers (or alternates) needed for the class so that I would not have to spend time figuring out something that works before being able to do the lessons. I've also noted down combos I've found in videos over time and, with Sandy's class, I now have a nice and neat way to catalogue them! (More on that later.)
Here's my first stamp image colouring from Lesson #2: Blending. (Click picture for larger image.)
I love these dragons by C.C. Designs Rubber Stamps. I only coloured the bodies at this point. When I finish the rest of them, I think will use them on some cards or notepads or something. I stuck to a blending group for this one. However, now that I have Sandy's catalogue system, I've found a different dragon-green combo I'll probably use going forward.
She gives a blending practice chart. I've put the combos I like on it - most are from class using the alternates that I have, and some from the internet. Then, I cut them apart and put them on a binder ring. That way, it doesn't matter what order I colour them in on the page. Plus, if I do any I don't like, I don't have to worry about "the ugly one" that ruins my page. By cutting them out, you get the added bonus of not having to worry about colouring outside the lines! I can put all the like colours next to each other and hold them to my project to see which one I want to use. It's the same idea as having ink swatches. I now have blending group swatches to catalogue my blends!
For example, the teals are my favourites (the blue-green family). BG72 was one of the first markers I ever bought. I bought it to do softened, winter rooftops on a village stamp I got. Back then, I had no idea about the blending families or even how Copics blend at all. I bought them because they were streakless markers. After this exercise, my BG72 is pretty much all dried out but at least I know what to blend it with now (once I buy a refill for it).
First, I stayed all in the BG family. Then, I tried Sandy's idea of a violet shadow. Rather than an RV, I used my BV04. The shadow has a purplish tinge, but it's okay. So, to get rid of the purplish tinge, I tried a C5 and a C7. I liked the C7 better, so that's what's on the swatch. You can see that the other two give much better contrast in the shadows than the blending family does.
(You can see the back of Sandy's brighter teal combo that uses an RV in the shadow area. Even the backside is pretty!)
I'm on to the light and shadow lesson next. It's not my first try at learning it. We'll see if this style of class helps it sink in!
I did take an in-person class in September 2018 with two instructors from the U.S. at a scrapbook store. They gave us the set of makers we needed to use for class. I learned a bit, reinforced some existing knowledge, and attempted to understand light and shadow but it still evades me. I understand the shadows from the main light source. It's where the light would bounce back and hit other areas kinda behind or at the edges of the light source that I always get wrong. And, for some reason, I struggle with cast shadows. Mine always look utterly unnatural.
Anyway, the Jumpstart class lets you use what *you* have. Since the in-person class provided all the markers you needed, it made it seem easy. Sandy's class encourages you to use what you have and find combinations that work. I am not a big experimenter, myself, so I've spent a number of years amassing the markers (or alternates) needed for the class so that I would not have to spend time figuring out something that works before being able to do the lessons. I've also noted down combos I've found in videos over time and, with Sandy's class, I now have a nice and neat way to catalogue them! (More on that later.)
Here's my first stamp image colouring from Lesson #2: Blending. (Click picture for larger image.)
I love these dragons by C.C. Designs Rubber Stamps. I only coloured the bodies at this point. When I finish the rest of them, I think will use them on some cards or notepads or something. I stuck to a blending group for this one. However, now that I have Sandy's catalogue system, I've found a different dragon-green combo I'll probably use going forward.
She gives a blending practice chart. I've put the combos I like on it - most are from class using the alternates that I have, and some from the internet. Then, I cut them apart and put them on a binder ring. That way, it doesn't matter what order I colour them in on the page. Plus, if I do any I don't like, I don't have to worry about "the ugly one" that ruins my page. By cutting them out, you get the added bonus of not having to worry about colouring outside the lines! I can put all the like colours next to each other and hold them to my project to see which one I want to use. It's the same idea as having ink swatches. I now have blending group swatches to catalogue my blends!
For example, the teals are my favourites (the blue-green family). BG72 was one of the first markers I ever bought. I bought it to do softened, winter rooftops on a village stamp I got. Back then, I had no idea about the blending families or even how Copics blend at all. I bought them because they were streakless markers. After this exercise, my BG72 is pretty much all dried out but at least I know what to blend it with now (once I buy a refill for it).
First, I stayed all in the BG family. Then, I tried Sandy's idea of a violet shadow. Rather than an RV, I used my BV04. The shadow has a purplish tinge, but it's okay. So, to get rid of the purplish tinge, I tried a C5 and a C7. I liked the C7 better, so that's what's on the swatch. You can see that the other two give much better contrast in the shadows than the blending family does.
(You can see the back of Sandy's brighter teal combo that uses an RV in the shadow area. Even the backside is pretty!)
I'm on to the light and shadow lesson next. It's not my first try at learning it. We'll see if this style of class helps it sink in!
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