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An experiment with marker pens

3/5/2017

4 Comments

 
Happy Sunday everyone. I am still in experimental mood and l thought l would like to share one of my recent experiments. I am really keen to try and get more vibrancy into my work. I have seen a few other coloured pencil artists use marker pens as a first layer. Usually done with the aim of saving time, but l was just curious to see what would happen.
So l shopped around, read a lot of reviews and finally decided to invest in a few Copic markers (l will do a page on those at some point). Okay, it was really scary laying down the first marker! I doubt l could properly remove any mistakes, l wasn't at all sure that l could cover it with coloured pencil ..... and wooa! How ugly it looked! See the first picture below.
Picture
Well, it was really interesting at this point. I found that my colored pencils layered very easily over the top. I could indeed achieve more vibrancy. To get the feathers to the color seen in the photo above would take a lot of layers with colored pencil and so fill the tooth of the paper quite a lot before l could add more color. Here l am starting from a good base color with no tooth filled, which meant lots more additional colors could be added on top. I was really happy with how much more l could make the work pop.
Picture of a Lilac Crowned Amazon Parrot drawn using colored pencils and Copic markers. Coloured pencil bird drawing of a green macaw.
I didn't find that it made it any quicker for me (but truthfully l never think about saving time, l want to create the best art that l can and that takes however long that it takes). I think it could be a time saver if you wanted it to be. I just loved being able to work so many additional colors on top. When l was finished there was no original marker visible anywhere, it was all completely covered and the same beautiful, burnished finish was there. So this was a successful experiment and l will be doing this again in the future, particularly if l need to cover a large area with bold color.
l will be back with more experiments next time, l am in that kind of mood! Have a wonderful week.
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4 Comments
Carla Austen
3/7/2017 08:34:06 am

Hi Sallyann, Thanks for the info on using your Copic markers:) The colours on your parrot are certainly vibrant! I am currently working on a rose using watercolour as a base as I too have wanted to try this for awhile. I always appreciate and enjoy reading about your art experiences:)

Reply
sallyann walker
3/7/2017 09:34:42 am

l would love to know how you get on with your watercolor base. Are you using watercolor pencils or paint? l have watercolor pencils but they really don't work well used as a base (which is what l bought them for!) ?

Reply
Carla Austen
3/7/2017 10:58:43 am

I am using watercolour. I don't really like watercolour pencils either. I have Dr. PH Martins liquid watercolours, Daniel Smith and Winsor and Newton. All are gorgeous and I combine them depending on what colour I need but the PH Martins are very concentrated like an ink and If I did need a very strong base colour these would be the best choice. I have also used Jet Black Gouache for the background and it is amazing, solid black without a single streak showing. I learned this from Julia Trickey. Today I will begin using the pencils. I am using Arches HP watercolour paper.

Carla Austen
3/7/2017 05:17:00 pm

The watercolour as a base is working really well:) Like you, it is not really saving me any time but it does somehow seems easier to have a base for the colours and values beforehand. I am doing what some people would consider a finished watercolour painting for those who paint very loosely ( not me) and then applying the depth and detail with the pencil. I am using both wax and oil based pencils and I am able to erase and use OMS on the areas that need it. I like it!!




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  • Home
  • Shop
  • Original Artwork page 1
    • Original artwork page 2
    • Original artwork page 3
    • Original Artwork page 4
    • Original artwork page 5
    • Original artwork page 6
    • Original artwork page 7
    • None animal art >
      • Broken Gem heart
  • Videos
  • Tutorials
    • Layering Tutorial
    • How to draw a Monarch Butterfly Wing
    • How to draw cat's eyes
    • How to draw owl eyes
    • How to draw feathers 1 (hummingbird/Jacamar type feathers)
    • How to draw feathers 2 (irregular feathers)
    • How to draw feathers 4 - parrot feathers
    • How to draw feathers 3 chest/breast feathers
    • How to draw feathers 5 - Wing feathers
    • Hummingbird Head Feathers
    • How to draw cat fur
    • How to draw chimpanzee fur
    • How to draw a grasshopper’s wing
    • How to draw fish scales
    • How to draw snake scales
    • How to draw lizard skin
    • How to draw fish fins
    • How to draw a gemstone
    • How to draw tree bark
    • How to draw rose gold
  • Tips and Techniques
    • How to get white
    • What pencils should I use?
    • All about sharpeners?
    • How to blend with colored pencil
    • How to burnish
    • Erasing colored pencil
    • How to mix colors
    • Keeping your work clean
    • Reference photos and copyright
    • What to draw
    • How to make your work look real
    • I can't draw
    • What paper should l use?
  • Blog
  • Contact