Baby Blue Outfit

I’m starting to discover mediums in my drawers and cupboards I haven’t used for some time. That includes my sets of Copic Markers! I’ve been so focused on painting and sketching with pencils that I’ve totally neglected them. Perhaps it is because you need special paper to work with them, given they are alcohol based. Thin paper means they will soak through the back and even mark the surface underneath. Then if too thick, the paper would merely absorb all the ink, especially with mixed media or watercolor paper which lack the top coating to keep the ink on the surface I however discovered I also had some paper in my drawers made especially for markers. In fact a couple of sketchbooks found were from Copic itself, obviously intended for this purpose. I bought them in Japan a few years ago and totally forgot about them! So let’s put it to the test.

I have boxes of Copic Ciao markers as well as the Copic Sketch. Here I will be using the latter. The quality of both types are more or less the same, the only difference being that Ciao is recommended more for beginners and hence has less ink in the pen. Furthermore, the range of colours for Ciao is limited because Sketch is more for professionals who naturally demand a wider choice. I made a quick sketch and used the blender that was included in the set. It is again a kawaii drawing of Little One dressed in baby blue including a big beret with a cute bunny sewn onto the front. She is holding a small teddy bear, looking so cute!

This was just a little warm-up as it’s been some time since drawing with Copic markers. I realise I need more practice, particularly with the strokes to minimize the streaks and with the blending so the colours merge better. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun and wondered why I hadn’t used them again earlier! I most definitely like to sketch with Copic markers again and more often especially as they are not cheap and would be a waste if not used. What a good idea it would be to incorporate them in mixed media work! For instance, they would be great as collages or layered on top of acrylic paint or medium. Let’s experiment soon!