Testing Copic Marker Shadow Colours

Today I'm taking a huge leap and experimenting with different colours to add interest to shadows.  Now I'm not sure if you've seen this post but in it, Mandi-Lee talks about using complimentary colours in your shadows for extra wow factor.  I've previously tried using the BV family and even the occasional B, but I was wondering what else might work other than complimentary colours.

To test some combinations, I created a grid using a single Copic colour marker and a single colour for the shadow - not the easiest blending combo in many cases, but this provided some incredibly interesting results!  I was expecting many of my shadows to look pretty awful, but was quite surprised by how good so many of them looked - some of these colours even blended rather well!

Now for the best results ideally pick a colour darker than you are colouring with, (this didn't always work out that way the way I did this), as a result some of these colour combos may have looked better with a slightly darker colour for the shadow.  Also though I didn't use them here (as we know these should work),  don't forget about the complimentary colours when looking for shadow colour options!

On to the test...

First I tried some of the light/bright colours - these were a bit tricky to blend and some of the combos turned out a bit interesting, the yellow in particular proved quite fussy.

My favourites for shadows on:

• BG02 were W3, BV00 and R02 - though C3 was also ok
• YG05 were BV00, B01 and W3
• Y02 were B01 and E02
• V04 were C3, B01 and W3 - though some of these aren't really shadows but they do look great!
• E11 were C3, BV00, R02, E02 and W3

All in all, there were many more colours than I was expecting, that produced great results, though not all results are 'shadows' exactly!

Next I tried some mid tones and darker colours - I think these were even more successful, but again I ended up with some interesting combinations. 

My favourites for shadows on:

• V06 were T5, BV17, G28 (closest to complimentary colour)  and B37
• RV29 were G28 
• B08 were T5, BV17 and B37
• YR09 were RV19, TR18 and B37 (closest to complimentary colour) 
• YG67 were T5, BV17, G28 and B37

It turns out there are many more choices for interesting shadow colours than I originally thought, and not at all what I would have predicted!  I had hoped to find some pattern to what works - something like the complementary colours - but it seems to be a little random.  I would encourage you to try your own version of this to find exciting options for your shadows!

If you're a bit nervous then the amazing team at Copic have made it easy for you with the new Copic Colour Wheel.  For reliable shadows with the wow factor,  try using the complimentary colour for the marker you have chosen - you will find potential colour choices opposite your chosen colour on the new Copic Colour Wheel.

Back with more soon,

Kate

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Copic Technique Journal #2 Skin Swatches

Hi everyone, I hope you are all working on colouring those swatches for your colour journals - I know that's what I spent my weekend doing!  Today I'm going to show you the second idea for your Copic Colour Journal - it's one we all use and lots of people have trouble getting something they are happy with - yes it's Skin Colours!

But first we have a prize to give away from our Copic Technique Journal #1 Colour Swatches competition, congratulations to Alashandra who did a fantastic job of showcasing Colour Swatches in her Technique Journal, we really loved how she used one image to nest a series of different leaf and petal colour options!  Well done Alashandra, please email Sascha with your postal address and she will get your prize out to you!!

And now onto this week's tutorial.... I find that keeping a record of skin colour combinations is vital to my colouring, both those I have discovered for myself and those used by other Copic artists that I've seen online or at certification classes.  Armed with this array of choices that I know work, it makes it much easier to choose skin colours to match hair or clothing.

Once again we are providing you with a fabulous and free Copic Blending Template, designed especially for Copic Oz and perfect for trying out those skin colour combos! 
You have two options depending on which way you like to work (landscape or portrait) both templates can be cut in half so they can be glued into your Copic Blending Journal, or you can use the full A4 size and pop the pages into an A4 ring binder.

Click here for the portrait template
Click here for the landscape template 

To get you started I've completed a page of beginner friendly Copic skin colour combinations - all of which are simple combos for guaranteed results!  The only tricky one in the bunch is the very last combo - which takes a little more work to blend than the others.  I've tried to stick to the same cheek colour R20 for most of these, so you can see how different it looks against each of the colours.  R20 is one of my 'go to' colours for cheeks as it gives beautiful results against most skin combos.

Pale Skin Colour Combos

Now I have to admit to also creating a few 'play' pages, this first page is perfect for people who do not have access to a Copic safe printer.  I've made this template page by cutting a circle from some scrap paper, tracing the circle onto a page in my Copic Colour Journal 3 times, then placing the template over the drawn circle and using this as a mask.  I stamped my La-La Land Crafts stamp (New Years Marci) into the circle using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I then cut out some pieces from the Copic Colour swatch template and used these to record my colour combos.  You might like to record hair and clothing combos on the same page.

Your other option is to go a bit fancy, now I wouldn't do this for every page (as it took a while) but it might be fun to have a few like this scattered through your Colour Journal to make it look that bit more special.  On this page I've used the same skin colour for each image, but have played with different shadow colours, hair and clothing.  I am always surprised by how different the same colours can look when paired with different combinations.  To create this page I die cut a circle in pink paper, then die cut the fancy frame behind, stamped Autumn Marci on some scraps of X-Press It Blending card and cut these to fit into the circle - instant gorgeousness!

I hope you've enjoyed this peek at some of my favourite skin colour combos and that you will enjoy using our new skin colour combo template!

So now it is time for the competition details.... similarly to last time, we are calling upon participants to  show us how they sample skin swatches in their Copic Technique Journal, feel free to use the FREE Skin Swatches Templates, links above!!!  Show us how you journal skin tone options and link up your blog post via the InLinkz below.  A FREE Journal will be awarded to the most impressive post... check back here in two weeks time to see who won and be inspired by the next feature in our Copic Technique Journal series.

And for some further inspiration here is a look back at some of the Copic Oz Tutorials of past that focused on skin tone:
Copic Hair and Skin Colour Wheel
Dark Skin Tutorial
Colouring Dark Skin


Back soon with more,
Kate

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