Coloring is one of my favorite past times, especially flowers -- I love all the bright, vivid colors found in nature! Imagine my excitement when Marianne Walker came out with a new Coloring Foundations series of instructional books (published by Imagination International Inc, the North American distributor for Copic markers)! One of the books in the series is Coloring Flowers with Copic Markers:
This amazing guide will walk you through coloring both simple blossoms and complex flowers (such as the pink stargazer lily image I colored, shown with the book in the above photo), and how to expertly finish your colored images, using an included unique Color Matching Chart! You'll also learn some great tips, like different ways to create texture, patterns, and variegated colors; creating dimension and depth, along with how to work with one of my favorite (but sometimes a little tricky) colors -- red!
Also included in the book are blank practice images which you can photocopy onto your own cardstock as many times as you'd like, so you can keep practicing different color combos, etc.!
The pink star gazer lily image I colored (above) is from a separate Coloring Flowers Line Art Pack, which includes 12 assorted floral images already printed onto high quality marker paper, ready for you to color!
As I said, the Coloring Flowers with Copic Markers book will walk you through each step of coloring the flowers, along with the suggested Copic marker colors:
I colored my image away from home, so I just grabbed some markers that I thought would work for the image (not thinking to check the guide for the suggested colors!), but came pretty close to the sample image! Normally I like to take stepped-out photos of my coloring process to share with you, but since I was away from home (and my good camera!) while coloring, that didn't happen this time -- my apologies. I assure you, the book is wonderful at guiding you through each step!
Here are the Copic Sketch marker colors I used (different from those used in the book):
When selecting different color combos to try, just keep in mind the concept of the Copic color wheel (which is also included in the guide!): Colors along the same ring on the wheel will most likely coordinate well together. Or more simply -- color numbers in the same numerical range will coordinate well together, such as the YG60 series and RV60s I chose.
To finish the image, I trimmed it so it would fit within the Taylored Expressions Picture Perfect-Horizontal Merry Christmas die, which I cut out of green cardstock closely matching the greens in the colored image. The frame was popped up over the image with X-Press It 1/4" Foam Tape and mounted to a pink card base.
I hope you'll give these new Coloring Foundations books a try -- I think you'll learn a lot of very useful information, tips, and expand your skills!
SUPPLIES:
Coloring Flowers with Copic Markers & Coloring Flowers Line Art Pack (printed on X-Press It Blending Card)
Copic Sketch Markers: YG61-63-67, RV55-63-69, Y11, C1, 0
X-Press It 1/4" Foam Tape
Paper: Bazzill Gumdrop & Cotton Candy cardstock
Die: Taylored Expressions Picture Perfect-Horizontal