Coloring a black cat

Coloring black objects can be tricky, so I wanted to leave you an example of coloring something black that's got some shape and detail areas to it.



Coloring a Black Cat
Around the Copic warehouse live 6 cats that were abandoned and are now adopted by our crew. Four of the cats are all black, so sometimes just walking to the door at work I'll have a couple black cats cross my path, but I never seem to have an unlucky day because of it. Each of the cats now has a rich, glossy winter coat of fur.
If you've been making Halloween cards with a black cat and you've been coloring in your cats solid black and they just don't look right then this may help. The secret is to color it with grays, not black. To understand the difference between shades of gray you might want to look at this older post about coloring black things.


Here is my cute kitty, ready to go out trick-or-treating. This is a picture that I drew specific for this tutorial, so no, you won't find it anywhere to purchase. I am working on color laser copier paper, since that is what I do most of my original illustrations on. I began by coloring his mask and cape with BG02 and BG05, and added R83 for his little pink nose.

To begin coloring him black I choose a good middle gray. If you remember, the last digit on any Copic marker tells you how light or dark it is, so a marker with a 5 on the end will be a middle value, 9 will be dark, and 0 or 1 will be light (except grays go up to a value of 10 being the darkest). Start light and go darker. If N5 is too dark for you then try an N4, but don't go darker than a 5 for the first color. Try to work smoothly and quickly so you don't get streaks. Note: If you are working on a soft cardstock I have a word of caution later in the post for you.



If you look closely at his ears I left them white and I slightly feathered the gray into the white area. This will make it easier for me to add my pink ears in later.




Next I add my shadows with a slightly darker gray, N7. See how I feathered the edges of the darker color into the light color? This makes it much easier to blend.

After I added my first layer of shadows then I go back with my middle gray, N5 and blend in the colors. Notice how the whole cat got darker. This is why you don't want to start too dark - the whole picture is going to get darker anyways. Any place that I went back over the cat with the N5 is now closer to an N6 in color. I tried not to add any extra N5 to the top of his head or face. This area has the most detail and the strongest highlight, so I want to leave it slightly lighter.



After blending the two grays together you see I lost some contrast. To get the contrast back I am going to add in a hint of N9 to just the deepest shadow areas - under his cape and each of the far legs. Do NOT blend the N9 with the N7 or it will loose contrast, instead, try blending with N5 so you don't lose any more definition to your colors.

Then I took my BG05 and darkened the shadows on his cape and mask a little more.
Last, I feathered in a hint of the R83 to his ears. I made sure his face was dry then I added the little pink cheeks by dabbing with the brush end straight up and down a few times until it pushed the darker colors out of the way. If you do this while the face is still wet you'll get softer cheeks.
Now my kitty is ready for a night on the town. You can still see all the detail lines, but he is a nice, dark cat.

Working with Dark Colors

On soft cardstock the dense dye particles of dark colors want to spread more than those of light colors. This includes dark browns, deep reds, and intense purples and blues, as well as grays. Be careful! Only use as much marker as you need to get it smooth, don't worry so much about soaking the paper. Try to avoid coloring all the way to the lines if you know your paper will feather easily (Georgia Pacific or Neenah with a few layers of color both do this). Let your paper dry completely between color blends so the dye particles don't spread outside the lines as easily.


Look at my little gray cylinder. I made two little mistakes and I want to fix them with my colorless blender. If you make a mistake and go outside the lines with dark colors there are a lot of dye particles that you need to push back into your image.

However, if you remember from high school physics, dense things want to flow to areas that aren't so dense. Once you touch your colorless blender to the dark gray the dense particles are going to spread all over and they won't want to go back inside the lines. If you try to soak it more to push it back inside then the dye from inside the shape will start flowing out onto your paper as well.

A couple ways to solve this problem is to not make mistakes, hide them better, or start over. Another, more tedious method is to put a paper towel under your work and soak as much dye through the back of the paper as possible (this does NOT work with all kinds of paper). Let it totally dry before you try for a second round of erasing so you don't pull more color from inside your picture. I hope this helps. Good luck with your projects!

Water in a Pond

How to color water in a pond
Here is a reference photo from a lake. This was taken on a slightly cloudy day when the water was still. Look at each of the points in the photo that I describe below.


A couple of basic rules about water reflections-

1. Still water gives crisp reflections, moving water will be broken. The more your water is moving, the more the reflection will be broken, so it's a matter of taste as to how much accuracy your reflection has. It looks more accurate to have still water near the object and gradually make water far away more broken as the light from farther away gets more distorted.

2. Reflections are about the same size as the original object. Reflections are just a trick of light on a body of water, and from a distance the main body of a reflected object looks about the same size. There may be a few stray bits of color reflected in ripples farther out, but for the most part, keep the reflections reasonable. If there is a distortion it will usually be towards the viewer.

Don't go overboard with the reflections! Remember which part of your artwork is most important - is it the objects above water or the reflections. You'll need to make artistic choices to make the important things stand out more.

3. Water is one or two shades darker/grayer than whatever it's reflecting. This is your clue that it's a reflection. Since the sky is usually blue, your reflection water usually has a slight bluish tint to it, which is where we get the idea that water should be blue. Water is not really blue, water is clear. We just draw it blue for simplicity sake.

The mood of the water also is determined by the color of the sky. On a dark, overcast day then you'll get dark water with little light reflected. On a bright, sunny day you'll have bright water with more light reflected off the surface. In this photo you can see that it's a middle day, so the water is kinda dark, but not too bad.



Blank picture to color
Here is a line drawing you can print out & color. You can color with Copics over some inkjet printouts, so test before you print to know if your particular ink will bleed or not. Otherwise, you can print it on a laser printer or photocopy it and you'll have no problems coloring.

Water In A Pond
I'm starting today with anything above water already colored. That way we can focus on just the water. You'll see that my sky is a nice light B00 and my grass is a simple YG03 and YG07 combo. The rocks are a neutral gray and the cat-tails are a simple brown. This is a nice, easy scene to color - until you start coloring the water.

If we start by coloring the water the same color as the sky you can quickly see how flat and fake our scene looks. However, we must remember that the water will be the same tone as the sky - just slightly darker and grayer.

By adding a base tone of our sky color it will give the final picture hints of our underlying blue sky and pull the two elements together more. So go ahead, color your water with the same color as the sky (Other colors I like for blue skies include B0000 or B000, B32, BG10, BG0000)


Next, we need to darken the water and tone it down a bit.

If I add a color that is in the same blending group as the sky then our water will be too vibrant. Remember, water is more gray than sky. In this case I will need to use a blue that is grayer by about 2 or 3 families, so I reach for something in the B30's. The lightest shade is B32, the last digit - 2 - tells me that it will be 2 shades darker than our original color which ends in 0.

I shadow the edges of the pond with the B32 and I leave the middle area still light, as this would have the most direct reflection of the sky. Already this is a big improvement over the flat blue we first had.


Time to add contrast. Remember, contrast makes things more interesting so we should always look for ways to improve our work. To give the water contrast and shadows I reach for a color that is 2 shades deeper than B32, which would be B34.
I darkened things near the shore, and the shadow side of each object near the water. I'm not adding too much, just enough to make it look interesting. Then I take the B32 and smoothly blend the dark blue into the middle color (You can leave yours kind of streaky as long as your streaks are in the same direction as the ripples). I also added a hint of shadow to the ripples to add variation as well.


Now we can add the reflections of objects. This is a matter of personal taste. You might like the water just as it is.

I start with the largest objects. In this case it's the rocks. I take the same two grays I used on the rocks and I am lightly scribbling in the direction of the ripples. Note how it's not smooth and perfect and you can still see blue under the gray. This is OK. This is what increases the illusion of water. You can see that where I have a ripple I left the darker blue alone. This also heightens the idea of water.

The rock closest to us is much bigger and closer, therefore it's reflection is much crisper and deeper. The ripples don't affect it as much when it's that close.


Now I can add the shadow of the grass. I use the darker of my two grass colors and lightly add the illusion of grass. to darken it up I added hints of the B34. This helps give the water a deeper, brighter blue-green feel, and it tones down the vibrant YG. Now our little pond looks almost done.

For the final step today I need to add white back in. To do this I took some opaque white and a very fine paintbrush (or toothpick) and I painted back in a few small highlights. I added some glints of light to the ripples in the water and I gave a dab of highlight to each of the objects in the picture as well. Now we can really feel how bright and crisp our day is with the sun shining on our serene little pond.

Please send me a link of your example if you try coloring this pond. I would love to see your colored picture! Have fun coloring.

Copic Marker CLubs

What is a Copic Marker Club?
It's a way that people come together and share boxes of Copic markers each month until everyone has all the colors they want and each person has a storage case of some type to store them in.
For example:
We sign everyone up and divide you into groups of 3. Then, we order enough markers so each person gets six markers each month. Each person's cost per month is $37.00 for sketch markers, which includes shippping & tax if local.

How many colors can I collect?
You can collect one box and stop or you can sign up again and keep collecting other colors.

What kind of Copic Markers do we get?
We are currently offering 1 club- Sketch. We feel these are the best to collect.

What's the difference between Ciao and Sketch?
Both markers have replaceable nibs, both have the same ink inside, & both can be refilled. Sketch markers are designed to also work with the Copic airbrush system. Ciao come in 144 colors, Sketch come in 39,323,456,987 colors. LOL! Just kidding, but the sketch come 322 colors & won’t roll off your table.

When will you be starting your next club?
The next one will be starting in Dec.

How do I know what box I should start with?
You can start with any color you want or leave it up to me to decide for you.

How much does it cost to join?
Currently it costs $37.00 for the Sketch club per month.

How do I pay for them?
On the 15th of each month you mail me a check. You will not be billed, you will need to remember to make the payment.

Once I join, can I quit?
You can quit when your club has finsihed accumulating thier markers. Please don't quit in the middle of a box. That just ruins it for everyone else in your club and makes it hard on us if we have just a handful of markers here and there. They become harder for me to get rid of that way. Once you've fulfilled your 9 month club committmemt, and have collected the full box, you can opt to collect more or not.

How will I know when and how to sign up?
Subscribe to my blog at http://myshesurestampsalot.blogspot.com
I will be making the announcement there and if you subscribe, the info will drop right in your email box. I hope this info has been helpful. If you have more questions, contact me.
Ciao baby , ~Karen

STAMPIN’ UP!® COLOR-MATCH VALUES

STAMPIN’ UP!® COLOR-MATCH VALUES
The following are color-matched values for Stampin’ Up!®’s exclusive colors. This list includes the nine colors retired in 2005. You can use these values to color-match scrapbook journaling, to create a custom sentiment inside of a card, or to create a color-coordinated element for a hand-stamped party favor. Remember when printing on vellum that it is best to print in a DARK color, layering your vellum over a lighter color. When printing on cardstock, you may wish to try different color combinations to achieve either dramatic or subtle effects, just as you would with your stamping.For those who don't know how to do this: Open Microsoft Word. Type desired text in your selected Stampin’ Up!® font & highlight. To change the font color, choose FORMAT from the top menu bar. Select FONT, then FONT COLOR. Select MORE COLORS, then choose CUSTOM. You will find a place to enter R, G, and B "values" for the color mixing. Print your text on your printer and compare to your cardstock ring to ensure they match.
SOFT SUBTLESAlmost Amethyst: R-189 G-189 B-255 OR H-170 S-255 L-222**Apricot Appeal: R-255 G-184 B-73 OR H-26 S-255 L-164Barely Banana: R-248 G-250 B-156 OR H-44 S-230 L-203 **Bashful Blue: R-215 G-235 B-255 OR H-149 S-255 L-235Blush Blossom: R-255 G-226 B-204 OR H-18 S-255 L-230**Certainly Celery: R-125 G-153 B-63 OR H-56 S-106 L-108Lavender Lace: R-215 G-215 B-255 OR H-170 S-255 L-235Mellow Moss: R-111 G-136 B-60 OR H-57 S-100 L-98Pale Plum: R-215 G-173 B-211 OR H-217 S-88 L-194 Perfect Plum: R-125 G-61 B-119 OR H-217 S-88 L-93Pretty In Pink: R-250 G-181 B-201 OR H-243 S-223 L-216 Sage Shadow: R-147 G-187 B-115 OR H-66 S-88 L-151
BOLD BRIGHTSBrilliant Blue: R-46 G-46 B-182 OR H-170 S-152 L-114 Gable Green: R-197 G-254 B-154 OR H-67 S-250 L-204 Glorious Green: R-57 G-155 B-66 OR H-89 S-118 L-106 Green Galore: R-159 G-253 B-89 OR H-67 S-249 L-171 Lovely Lilac: R-170 G-54 B-255 OR H-194 S-255 L-155Only Orange: R-254 G-103 B-0 OR H-17 S-255 L-127Orchid Opulence: R-182 G-109 B-255 OR H-191 S-255 L-182Pink Passion: R-255 G-83 B-169 OR H-234 S-255 L-169 **Pixie Pink: R- 255 G-118 B-194 OR H-232 S-255 L-187Real Red: R-212 G-0 B-0 OR H-0 S-255 L-106Tempting Turquoise: R-113 G-252 B-255 OR H-129 S-255 L-184 YoYo Yellow: R-251 G-229 B-19 OR H-38 S-247 L-135
EARTH ELEMENTSCameo Coral: R-255 G-113 B-143 OR H-246 S-232 L-155Chocolate Chip: R-66 G-28 B-28 OR H-0 S-101 L-47Close To Cocoa: R-147 G-97 B-69 OR H-15 S-92 L-108Creamy Caramel: R-214 G-160 B-88 OR H-24 S-154 L-151Garden Green: R-57 G-125 B-55 OR H-84 S-99 L-90More Mustard: R-216 G-175 B-0 OR H-34 S-255 L-108Not Quite Navy: R-0 G-79 B-118 OR H-142 S-255 L-59Old Olive: R-149 G-146 B-0 OR H-41 S-255 L-75Really Rust: R-199 G-77 B-9 OR H-15 S-233 L-104Ruby Red: R-212 G-29 B-30 OR H-0 S-194 L-121Summer Sun: R-242 G-204 B-16 OR H-35 S-229 L-129**Pumpkin Pie: R-232 G-138 B-0 OR H-25 S-255 L-116
RICH REGALS**Always Artichoke: R-68 G-79 B-55 OR H-62 S-46 L-67Ballet Blue: R-97 G-134 B-205 OR H-156 S-132 L-151 Bordering Blue: R-155 G-155 B-168 OR H-170 S-7 L-158 **Bravo Burgundy: R-100 G-15 B-35 OR H-245 S-188 L-58Brocade Blue: R-135 G-176 B-219 OR H-150 S-137 L-177 **Elegant Eggplant: R-108 G-0 B-77 OR H-255 S-255 L-54**Handsome Hunter: R-15 G-51 B-23 OR H-94 S-139 L-33Night of Navy: R-0 G-0 B-75 OR H-170 S-255 L-38**Regal Rose: R-251 G-129 B-175 OR H-239 S-239 L-190Rose Red: R-255 G-27 B-130 OR H-236 S-255 L-141**So Saffron: R-246 G-210 B-127 OR H-29 S-221 L-187Taken With Teal: R-0 G-156 B-152 OR H-126 S-255 L-78
NEUTRALSGoing Gray: R-150 G-150 B-150 OR H-170 S-0 L-150**Sahara Sand: R-149 G-151 B-121 OR H-46 S-32 L-136Whisper White: R-255 G-255 B-255 OR H-170 S-0 L-255Very Vanilla: R-249 G-248 B-224 OR H-40 S-172 L-237Basic Brown: (using Chocolate Chip) R-66 G-28 B-28 OR H-0 S-101 L-47
RETIRED COLORS*Mint Melody: R-189 G-255 B-189 OR H-85 S-255 L-222*Mauve Mist: R-255 G-194 B-216 OR H-240 S-255 L-255*Bliss Blue: R-177 G-216 B-255 OR H-149 S-255 L-216*Eggplant Envy: R-153 G-0 B-153 OR H-213 S-255 L-77 *Forest Foliage: R-22 G-74 B-56 OR H-112 S-138 L-48 *Baroque Burgundy: R-134 G-0 B-67 OR H-234 S-255 L-67 *Rose Romance: R-250 G-90 B-150 OR H-239 S-240 L-170 *Positively Pink: R-255 G-145 B-177 OR H-243 S-255 L-200 *Marvelous Magenta: R-198 G-0 B-170 OR H-219 S-255 L-99*Retired 06/30/05 -- **New Color Available 07/01/05RGB = Red, Green Blue -- HSL = Hue, Saturation, LuminosityThese colors have been customized for an Epson Stylus CX6600. You may want to tweak some of the values if they're close--remember that each printer, even those of the same make and model, will mix colors slightly differently. This information was compiled by Kaylyn Butler Conover thanks to the generous sharing of many women on Splitcoaststampers.com. Use by individuals and sharing with other stampers is enthusiastically encouraged. This information is offered up as public domain: If you have been charged a fee for this document, have been offered this document as a “bonus” for an eBay purchase, or found this among a “packet” for which you paid a fee, you have been scammed. Please contact Stampin’ Up!® at 1-800-STAMPUP to be referred to a legitimate, honest demonstrator in your area.

It's all About the Queen

New Copic Colors

You may have heard rumors on the internet this Spring about new colors coming from Copic.The rumors are true and confirmed!!Copic is coming out with 12 new colors, available in Sketch and Various ink only. This will bring the total to a whopping 334 colors of markers available. Wow! That's a lot of choices.They are NOT available for purchase...(yet)...just keep reading...

The fabulous new colors are:

COPIC Sketch BV0000 Pale Thistle

COPIC Sketch V0000 Rose Quartz

COPIC Sketch RV0000 Evening Primrose

COPIC Sketch R0000 Pink Beryl

COPIC Sketch YR0000 Pale Chiffon

COPIC Sketch Y0000 Yellow Fluorite

COPIC Sketch YG0000 Lily White

COPIC Sketch G0000 Crystal Opal

COPIC Sketch BG0000 Snow Green

COPIC Sketch B0000 Pale Celestine

COPIC Sketch C00 Cool Gray 00

COPIC Sketch W00 Warm Gray 00

Then the question comes, What do I do with all those super pale colors?Well, I know that our design team will love the pale yellow (Y0000) and pale blue (B0000) , as they have been making their own markers in these colors right now. The color "Snow Green" is perfect for...well...snow. That pale red is going to be great for subtle, rosy cheeks, and I would use YR0000 for a pale skin color. Once I get my hands on these I'll try to color something and use these soft colors (see, I can't even play with them yet!! my patience is wearing thin...)So when will they be available??!!!Soon. I know you want them NOW. It is very hard to know exactly when the boat is coming over from Japan, but the first few may arrive in time for an Anime Expo sneak peek (July 2-5, Los Angeles Convention Center)
I will be placing an order for any that want them in their club after they finish the ones they are doing.
Have a great weekend,
Ciao,
~karen