City Sidewalks PreClass

This intermediate course needs markers and paper – no other supplies! It’s a look-ma-no-stamps adventure, though you can add stamps before coloring your scene, or substitute them for drawing portions.. 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 (ream, or 25-pack) 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

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

Other supplies

Neenah Solar White paper is used throughout both this and Winter Wonderland classes.

White for snow can be achieved with a variety of tools; in the videos in this class, a colorless blender marker and a Uni-ball white gel pen are used. However you can use other products too, and I’ll be posting a YT video soon testing some products to use for snow:

  • Copic Opaque White stays more “white” than gel pens, which can sometimes absorb color from underneath them. The brush that comes with this bottle shown below is VERY tiny, so I use a #4 brush with it.
  • 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!
  • Other white pens; Inkssentials is a favorite of many people, and I just ordered the sharpie and Dylusions paint pens, so I can’t yet vouch for how fat the nib might be.
  • The Liquid Pearls can add some dimensional snow, though sometimes the dots are larger than you might wish.
  • White sprays can also be used—but scribble a bunch of color onto some scrap and spray it first to test it. Let it dry overnight and see how it reacts; some brands may melt right into the Copic ink and disappear.

I retain the copyright to the content you are learning in class. That means you cannot sell or give away the concepts from my classes – re-teaching my instruction, or anything contained or created within these lessons, to others. Yes you may gift your creations made with these techniques, of course, this stipulation is about not giving away my ideas taught here.) You may not post a video tutorial of your own showing your redraw of my content. But please DO make your own designs and develop your own style – and rock on! I love to see students making strides and taking this content and personalizing it with your own skills.

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