Keeping an Example Book

I had a wonderful trip yesterday, and a fabulous group showed up at Artist & Display to learn about the markers. What a great mix of users, from manga to papercrafting. Note: I do have couple spots left in my Chicago 16th class left, but you have to call and register today (toll free: 866-66-COPIC) For today, this wasn't what I was going to post today, but since I forgot to take the photos I needed, then this is what you get (Actually, this is even the second option, since I was about to hit publish and I noticed a comment that was too important to not answer).

Keeping a Swatch Book
My second post on this site was a suggestion to keep a color swatch book. I can't stress this enough! You will get different results on your paper, with your stamp inks, and with your own color combos so try them today. I hope also that you are starting to keep a personal test of the techniques I share each day. This is a very important part of learning about Copic markers.

If you don't try these neat techniques on your own paper and keep track of what worked for you then you're not really learning from these tips.

So what do my swatch books look like? I have a couple of small Artist Portfolio books. I can insert/remove pages easily, and my pages are protected from all the people who want to thumb through my artwork or stamped examples.

These don't have to be finished cards, but can be the scratch examples that you experimented with, or, if you get it to work once instantly make a second copy and add it to your book. Notice how I also jot down notes. This helps me remember what I was thinking when I made these pages.

If you haven't started one of these yet, I strongly suggest you begin. This saves so much time in the future. It will become your instant inspiration and color choosing book.