Welcome to class! I’m so glad you’re here. I worked on this class for so long…well let’s get you prepped for the lessons to come with some basic information. Even if you’re an experienced colorist, I hope there’s some interesting information here for you that will make your journey in Copic coloring a little easier!
I retain the copyright to the content you are learning in class. That means…
However…I love to see students making strides and taking this teaching and personalizing it with your own skills.
At the bottom of each lesson you’ll see some ways to share your homework and ask questions, so that’ll be handy for you.
I wanted to share the product info with you, but many of you know this already – so I came up with a fun way to entertain you a bit while I chat about marker bodies, etc….if you’d like to color it yourself, see the resources section at the end of the lesson!
Creating basic color charts may not be the most interesting part of class – but you’ll want to have at least one on-hand for reference as we work. I always keep one of the numerically-oriented charts on hand, as well as my hex chart. If you colored yours ages ago, it’s a good time to make yourself a fresh one; Copic ink fades over time, so making a new chart can be helpful. Besides, it’ll show you if you’ve misplaced a marker or two (ask me how I know!) Links to all these charts are in the Resources section below.
Got a few streaky markers in your collection? Pre-class is a great opportunity to get them all inked up. Blending works SO much better when there’s plenty of color in your markers. Check your nibs, too, and order in a few extras in case you get a “booger” like I show in the video!
Since many folks coming to take this class are crafters, I’ve included some basic information on stamping – papers, inks, and ideas for the kinds of stamps you may want to try out based on line weights. See the Resources section at the end of this lesson to download the 3page pdf and examine the line weights for yourself.
Before beginning you may want to your markers in order, refilling and cleaning as you need to, do a little shopping, and get your charts updated if needed. Otherwise – get some stamping and coloring done!
Please feel free to download these for your personal use, but no materials provided to you in this class may be posted as blank PDFs for others to use. (Feel free to link to this class, however, so your friends know how you got to be so smart!) Just please be considerate of my content and the owners of other charts below as well. Thanks!
The markers listed below are the ones that will be used by me in the class. HOWEVER: You may have markers very similar to some of these! Please do not feel you must have exactly these pens. I’ve created THIS little PDF to provide just a few suggestions of colors that will probably be just fine to replace those, so when you hear me say “B24” you can look at this chart to find another similar color.
I’ve had emails from a few of you about not having any Copics yet – and this list is daunting from that perspective! Please don’t despair. What I would recommend is one of these two options:
Understand that if you just go for the 16 colors in either group above, you’ll find yourself limited in some situations in class, of course. But if you have a friend in town you can pair up with, that’s a great way to share colors with each other – and learn together!
Here are the color groups I’ll use; I get my markers and refills at Blick.
While my favorite is Neenah, you can use YOUR favorite paper in class. You need to get to know it better, so what better to do than practice! If getting neenah be sure to get the right one – the kind sold in office supply stores is generally NOT correct; if it’s too cheap there or on Amazon, it’s the cheap office version they make.
This section is filled with a variety of Copic supplies – many of which we won’t be using in class but you may find them interesting. As well as the products I used to make the cards for the lessons. I’ve included the Airbrush supplies (the class covers no airbrush) – but before purchasing, please see THIS post for more information on which set you may want to try out.
In the first lessons as well as the final, we’ll be using all downloadable digital images and making a number of charts to refer to as class moves on. The next five lessons will be cards using specific stamps, but if you have a stamp set similar, please feel free to use that instead. You can decide if you need these specific sets or not. Coz they’re cute. Ya know. Far be it from me to hide cuteness from you!
Non-stampers need not worry about becoming stampers! Just draw images with similar shapes for practicing blending techniques.
Paper Smooches: Vegtastic and Great Chemistry – are used but are no longer available; there’s a digi stamp to download instead, or use any stamp with round images to practice!
When I make cards with a lot of amazing coloring, I keep the cards themselves simple – so there’s not a lot of embellishing on the supplies list!
Where you’ll be right in Sandy’s pocket for quick feedback and answers to questions
Our closed group is a safe place to share for those in all our classes who love the ‘book!
Post wherever you like to share, and let your friends know which class you’re taking. They might like it too!