Sunday, November 23, 2008

Using Colored Pens on Stamped Images


I recently saw a You Tube tutorial on using and blending colored markers. I’m too cheap to buy an expensive set, but I wanted to try the techniques with the markers I have. I have some lovely LePlume markers from Marvy, some nice Martha Stewart brand markers, and recently I bought a set marketed by JoAnn’s Fabrics. I doubt these are the same quality as markers that artists like Mary Engelbreit use! As I understand it, artists use Copic markers which are alcohol based and won’t tear up your paper. My markers are cheap, so maybe I’ll ask for a few Copics for Christmas! Here’s a website that answers some of my questions about these markers http://www.copicmarker.com/faq.html

Even so, I can still have fun, and one of my new favorite activities is to color in stamped images while David and I watch television. I'm trying to learn more about color--how the juxtaposition of colors changes how they look and how to mix different colors together in pleasing ways. I use watercolor paper because it’s much sturdier than regular paper, and I can really scrub away with my markers. (Mine are probably water-based, so they soak into the paper.) I can go over the dried colored areas with sparkly pens.

As you can see, the choice of colors can really change an image! If you want to try this, start by coloring in the image with the LIGHTEST colored pen you have. Then, work a darker color along the outside edge while you keep that LIGHT colored pen open in your hand. You’ll want to quickly go over the dark color with the LIGHT pen to blend. Have fun!
(By the way, I know the circles aren't even. I cut each one out, sanded the edges and temporarily adhered them to a sheet of paper to scan them for sharing.)

3 comments:

Camille Minichino said...

Wonderful, Joanna. I never outgrew my love of crayons -- it's just that mine are now more sophisticated, like my Marvys.

Thanks for the tips.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

Coloring lowers your blood pressure. Now, that said, they don't know if it's the hypnotic back and forth motion or even the smell of the crayons. So it might not work for markers.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

I often have scrapbookers tell me they can't quite figure out how to use stamps on their pages. This shows that if you have stamps, you can literally re-use them endlessly and customize the colors.