Monday 25 January 2010

To Copic or not to copic???....which medium to use?




For anyone who is interested, i thought i would do a post about different colouring mediums.
At the moment wherever i look it seems to be copics everywhere! (BTW all you copic lovers..lol..this post isn't to diss copics,as i happen to love them too:)
.....However *Lol* when i was running ff i had plenty of cash to be able to buy whatever craft products that i wanted.If i saw something that i wanted...i simply bought it...the cost didn't matter.
I did buy myself a load of copics...which aren't exactly cheap *If my OH knew how much those things cost he would have a fit..lol* As much as i love my copics...there is always a down side :( and the downside to copics is the cost.I'm now no longer in a position to buy whatever craft products that i want...so iam trying out things from my stash...haha  Staring with different colouring mediums.A couple of years ago i was quite happy using my marvy le plume pens,i used to scribble the colour onto an acrylic block then use a water brush to pick up the colour.I then switched to water colour pencils.I have tried since to go back to watercolour pencils,but for me the colours just aren't bright enough..if ya know what i mean...not since using copics anyways...lol
The 3 images above are all coloured with different mediums *The cute image is two tash from mo's digital pencil btw*


Iam NO expert at colouring, this is just to show the results that you get with the different mediums.
The image above is coloured with copics. Buying yourself copics won't suddenly make you fantastic at colouring images...as with everything it takes practice. Amazing copic colouring can be seen here by Maddy Hill  The problem i have with copics is that they don't last all that long, i definately don't have the cash to buy refils for every colour that i have,which means that as each colour runs out i have to replace the pen:( The only refil that i have is the blender (as my first blender pen ran out within the first 2 weeks of having it)
The copics have a brush nib and i sometimes find it very hard to get into tiny areas with them.
So if you have the cash for copics...plus refils or replacements then go with them...if you don't have the cash then look for other alternatives.
I used to have pro markers...which are great too...they last longer than copics and they have a hard small nib *better for getting into smaller areas*

This image above is coloured with prisma pencils.I've had these for a while now,and haven't really tried them enough to do them justice...until now.
I love these things :) You can use the pencils on their own, or you can use a blender oil such as sansador or zest it...*I use zest it as it has a citrus smell* you use paper stumps to blend the oil over your coloured image.
I love the result that you get using these pencils...so they are most definately worth considering.
The colours are lovely and bright.The pencils are very soft..so you just start off very lightly..then pressing harder where you want the darker areas. I have used only 1 pink shade on the above image *as i only have 1 pink...lol* but by varying the amount of pressure i applied i managed to achieve light and dark shades with the one colour.
You can buy yourself a set of these for about £20 or maybe less..then they will last you a looooong time as they are pencils,plus its easy to get into smaller areas.I think that these are gonna be my main medium that i will be using from now on.




This is a tin of prismacolor pencils and a bottle of zest it.



The image above was coloured using peerless watercolors.



This is how the peerless watercolors come. Its a book with pull out sheets of colour. You can use these 2 ways (that i know of) you can either cut a pice of your chosen colour off the page and then place it in a dish ect and add a drop of water to dilute the colour off of the paper..or the other way *which is the way that i do it* is to just take the colour directly off the page.
The colours are very bright...wich i love.When painting the image above i couldnt really experiment with using more water to obtain lighter shades as the paper i was using doesnt like water...lol  so i just had to do the best that i could.
Again i love these as you can achieve lovely bright colours.They aren't expensive either. I only have the one book which is the complete edition book witch contains 15 sheets of different colours.You can also buy different books and shades to this.....So there you have my rundown on these 3 different colouring mediums.
..I have always likes the result acheived with the distress inks...however to buy all the colour range right now is way out of what i can afford so instead i have purchased the all the colours from the range of inkidinks *1/3 of the cost of distress inks* am still waiting for them to arrive though...so i shall update this post with the results of those when ive given them a try :)
I hope some of you found this post useful.
TFL
Shaz xx

9 comments:

pinky said...

Wow shaz thanks for that, you have opened up a whole new world to me, I use copics, promarkers but mostly distress inks which is my new love. Fancy trying those pencils though, do you buy them on ebay or are they available anywhere?
Pinky

Dazie said...

Thank you very much for this! I like the prisima pencils the best, I love to see images coloured with copics but there is some thing nice and different about pencils.

I want to invest in some prisimas and I feel a little more confident now in buying them and you have also shown me what to use with them to get the great affect.

Thank you!
Dazie
x

eiyiyi said...

Thanks Shaz. Great info. Those watercolor pages are amazing, I'd never seen them before. Ah something else for the "I can't live without it list" hugs, eileen

Penni said...

Hi Shaz.

Thanks for sharing all this info. I have to say that I am a real big fan of Copics, but they are very expensive to replace.
I also have a set of 120 Prisma Pencils, but because I love my Copics so much I don't use my pencils very often. Your post has made me determined to get them out and use them, after all I did pay good money for them lol!!!

Thanks again.
Hugs
Penni
X

kaz_za's crafty corner said...

thanks shaz.. i know what you mean about having to think about what you buy... i now have loads of different colour mediums.. promarkers being my new ones... as i can not justify the money for copics...!!! i also have watercolour pencils.. whispers pens... some touch twin pens(bit like promarkers off ebay so cheap) some koh-i-noor pencils(bit like prisma's but cheaper) and some distress inks... and i just keep changin round depending on what i want from my card.. but i still need loads of practice with some of them... let me know how you get on with your new inkpads.. as i need some more colours in the distress inkpads but if these are just as good and cheaper i will opt for them...
kaz_za

Do What You Love said...

Thanks for sharing such a unique instruction with us. I love Copics but as you said, they are expensive. I would like to try something new because I'd like more of a variety of colors - you've inspired me to look for other resources AND to try my hand at other mediums. Your samples are gorgeous, btw. ;p

Sally H said...

Thanks, Shaz! That has made me feel much better about buying Promarkers!!! You have also inspired me to get my watercolour pencils out and see what else I have in my stash!

mckinkle said...

Such a great post Shaz, thanks for doing allof the hard work to show us all the difference between some of our favourite mediums.
I started off with w/c pencils (& whisper pens) then went to PM's which are ok but I actually find the small nib still too big!
TBH it's great to have a small choice so I can use whatever the mood takes me!
Keryn x

Sharon Field / Inky A*Muse-ment said...

Wow Shaz, what a great informative post! I love my prismacolors and stumps... I dont' use them often enough but you have inspired me to return to them! Thanks for the inspiration. Now.. if I just had the time to play.. busy, busy! Get that stuff off the shelf and re-invent it, that's what I do when times are tough!