Practice, Practice, Practice

So, what we heard as kids - if you want to master a skill - practice!  This is especially true with Copic Markers.  After attending the Certification Classes, I've been practicing.  If you can't get to a class, I would suggest the book series, Copic Coloring Guide by Colleen Schaan and Marianne Walker (Annie's Paper Crafts).  They are fabulous!  Currently there are 3 volumes with Volume 4 set to come out any day now!

After returning from the classes, I pulled the Level 3: People back out. Levels 2 & 3 both come with CD's as a bonus!  The CD with Level 3 has pages with multiple faces/hair to practice coloring.  Those are the things I struggle most with.  So, I have been practicing, practicing, practicing.........

I made sure to use the same cardstock to print the practice sheets that I normally stamp my images on so that the colors will be the same.  I have been using X-Press It Blending Card, designed to use with Copics.

Some of the combos I like, some not so much.  I have 3 hole punched them and put them into my Copic reference notebook.  Now, I can just look at these pages and pick the combination that I want to use.

Now, I am going to try and take on some images to use on cards and hopefully feel better about my "people" and how they look!

So, practice, practice, practice.  It does pay off!!

Copic Certification

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to attend both the Standard and Intermediate Certification classes for Copic Markers.  Taught by the wonderful Cindy Lawrence, we had two full days of coloring and more technique than the brain could hold.

At the end of the Intermediate Class, we had a final project to incorporate many of the techniques.  It also happened to be one of my favorite flowers - lilacs!

We worked blending, shading, cast shadows and more.  I still struggle with the challenge of picking colors, especially for shading. More practice......

It was a fabulous weekend!  I'm so glad that I was finally able to get to the classes.  It was a great experience!

Best part is now being a Certified Copic Instructor!!