Feathering Technique

Hello Everyone!!  Today I'm talking about my FAV technique - FEATHERING!!!  It is often said that this is the hardest technique, but I love it and when you practice a few simple things, you will love it too!!!  :)  This technique is primarily used when you want to colour something from two DIFFERENT colour families, such as dresses, fairy wings and flowers (think pansies or irises that change from purple to yellow).  The biggest thing to keep in mind is that, when using this technique that you use colours that end in the number 0, 1 or 2!  Why?  Because they are very pale and will blend from one to the other.  Darker colours are difficult to achieve this look, although with some practice you could also use colours that end in a 3. 

If you are practicing and you are still having trouble go for the colours that both end in 0 (BV00, B00, RV10, BG10 etc).  Once you've mastered the paler colours you can move on to the darker shades.

 I find the easiest way to teach feathering is to draw a long skinny box and mark it at 1/3rd and 2/3rds.  What this does is helps you flick far enough to the opposite side so your colours will blend in the middle.

 For my example, I've chosen R81 (a colour that ends in a 1) and flicked it in from the left side.  Notice I've flicked over to about the 2/3rd line.

Next I've taken Y21 (another colour that ends in a 1) and flicked it in from the right hand side.  If you find it difficult to flick from different directions, simply move the paper around - make it as easy as possible on yourself!!

 When I say FLICK, look at the top of the image above.  Notice how it's dark on the end when I put my marker to paper and then the end is almost at a point - this is because I'm lifting my marker towards the end.

The second image, I'm not lifting my marker - notice it looks more like a rectangle?  This is not going to work for feathering.

The final image above is what I often see when people say they find feathering to difficult.  This is because the marker is not being lifted at the end and they are using a motion like the second image and not flicking far enough in, causing a blocky looking cross over.

 Let's apply this to a stamped image.  Today I'm using Princess Marci by La La Land Crafts.

 First I flick down with my R81 marker (remember you can turn the paper if it easy for you!).

 Then flick up with the Y21 marker.  Keep applying the colours until you get the look you want!

Then finish colouring your image as desired.

Copic Colours -
Hair - E50, E51, YR31, E53
Skin - E000, E01, E11, R20 (for lips)
Dress - R81, R83, R85, Y21

That's all from me today, have a play with feathering and leave a comment with a link to your blog so we can see what awesome feathering creations you've been making!!

Happy colouring
Kathy  :)