Little One is missing the warm summer months but is getting used to the change in season. It’s now Autumn and the leaves are changing colors. She finds that really cool to look at! Today, she was in the mood for a walk through the park on this unusually sunny day. A bit of clouds about but pleasant enough for a stroll. And what has she with her? A little red handbag she got during the summer sale the other day! How cute, it even features a small pink teddy bear on it. And of course, I wanted to paint about how happy she is!
Copic Marker Sketch
For the first time in ages, I decided to sketch with Copic Markers. Am not particularly a fan of these markers since being alcohol-based they tend to penetrate through paper easily and leave residue on the reverse side. However, I discovered smooth surfaced paper like Copic’s own range as well as Bristol paper if you, like me, prefer thicker sheets. They are less pourous and hence less likely to absorb a lot of ink unnecessarily. This particular one I used is Strathmore’s pad of paper for markers. At 190gsm, it’s reasonably thick enough. And hence a rough sketch straight from my head. So here we have it, Little One in her cute pink frock walking in the park amongst the autumn leaves!
Colored Pencils
So far so cute! But how about the background? I prefer not to use my copic markers to color it as they are quite expensive. Painting could be an option but this type of smooth paper is not always suitable for wet mediums as it may wrinkle. How about colored pencils then? Let’s give it a try! Here, I went for Caran d’Ache’s Pablo range. This set is quite pleasant to use as the pencils come out reasonably strong though not as opaque as I was hoping and hence I needed to work in layers. Not looking too bad, but let’s see what further can be added…
Sparkles and More
Typical of me to want to add some glitter and sparkles in my work! Here I used Ranger’s Stickles Gel for the clouds, and a bit of Stickles gel for the collar of the dress. And look how the clouds pop out! The polka dots on the dress and some of the leaves were filled in with Glitter Gel Pen by Tombow. More fun with gel pens again on the eyelashes in metallic shade and for the details of the leave in white. The whites of the eyes were adjusted with white Uni Posca pen. And here we are!
Using Copic Markers is not too bad after all! I had them stashed away in the back of the cupboard which is a pity as they will eventually dry out over time, and they are quite pricey too. Now great to discover that they can be of use as Mixed Media work when combined with other mediums like colored pencils and other kinds of pens like gel. Of course, shine and textures can be introduced too! I shall definitely be experimenting more with incorporating Copic Markers in my work. And now, doesn’t Little One look ever so adorable with that little red handbag?
My Kawaii Quarter 