City Sidewalks PreClass

This intermediate course needs markers and paper – no other supplies! It’s a look-ma-no-stamps adventure. Scenes will be general winter scenes, good for anytime through the cold months of winter, not just for Christmas.

If it’s been a while since you colored with your Copics, you may wish to review the Copic Jumpstart course content – including the introductory videos in the PreClass lesson in that curriculum. You may wish to refill markers and change out ragged nibs before getting started on this course!

(There are no videos in this pre-class lesson.)

Paper

You may use whatever paper you normally choose for your Copic coloring. In the class, Neenah Solar White is used. On slick papers, or really thick papers, some of the techniques may turn out differently due to the way those papers blend.

Markers

1. Get your pens inked up, especially your colorless blender!
2. We’ll use BV0000, BV000, and BV00, this time they’re not listed just for fun.
3. B000 or Boooo are fine for these lessons.
4. B21/B24/B29 are used as a sky combination – if you have a go-to nighttime blue, you can use that instead.
5. B21 is used for much of the snow; B23 or B32 could work here too, or possibly B12.
6. R27 was selected as a “general” red. Use any medium red you have – we’ll shade with greys.
7. Y000 can be substituted with Y0000, but I recommend having a light yellow.
8. YG91 and YG99 are more realistic greens; you can use others, but I do recommend these for pine trees.
9. These are the same colors as are used for the other wintry mini class, Winter Wonderland.

Other supplies

White for snow can be achieved with a variety of tools; in the videos in both classes, primarily a colorless blender marker and a Uni-ball white gel pen, and Copic Opaque White (not a great option, mine dried out fast in its bottle) in one video (but it’s not critical). However you can use other products too.

1. Copic Acrea pens came out in 2024 and are FANTASTIC to use for snow; made by Copic, it covers even reds without turning pink by soaking up color from below. Get them at Blick (they’re on Amazon for twice the price).
2. White acrylic paints, and perhaps even white gessos, may work, too; color a piece of scrap with a flood of color and try different paints you have to see how they react. Let them dry overnight to see how they absorb color. Any watercolor brushes used with acrylics need to be washed REALLY well….don’t ruin a beautiful brush just for snow!
3. White gel pen – my favorite is a Signo Uniball pen. BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS
4. Liquid Pearls can add some dimensional snow, though sometimes the dots are larger than you might wish.