Copic Ground Work

I thought I might give you a peek into my process of choosing the best Copic colors for a project.  I’ve had people say that picking colors is the hardest part. I don’t think it’s hard as much as it is just one of those jobs that have to be done before you can actually start creating. Sort of like having to do the dishes, not hard, but not all that rewarding either!

I use my cheapie card stock which is usually that old whimpy Georgia Pacific card stock from WalMart. It doesn’t work great for making cards but for making patterns or figuring out color choices it’s okay and it stretches my budget a little farther. Once I have my colors figured out I will stamp on Bazzill’s Copic Friendly paper from Bear. Keep in mind the colors will be a bit different on the good stuff.

I stamp at least three times and then heat set the ink with an iron set on a low temperature setting for about 5 seconds. This is working great and I’ve not had any ink smears or runs since I started doing this. I pull the colors I think I want. Notice I said “think”. Most times this changes and every artist needs to be flexible. Then I color. I don’t try to be perfect or neat and often I will switch colors on same image. In the middle image I have shaded one side of the red coat with one dark red and another on the other side. After I’m done I will figure out which shade color I like best.

I make lots of notes because it might be several days before I can get back to work on this project and I surely won’t remember!  Plus the colors change a bit after they are dry. Sometimes a color is perfect only to fade too much later.  I scribble a swatch of color on the same page and write the number. I used to just list the colors but I like the swatches better.

This system works best for me and while it’s not much fun to take the time when you are ready to play it’s well worth it in the long run. And remember, no artist knows the perfect color when they sit down to work. It’s all “put it on the paper and access”. One last note, save your color sheets for the next time you want to stamp this image. Work smarter not harder!