Digital Printouts, Testing Inks, & Giveaway

I know many of you like to print out blank pictures and color them in with your Copics. This is the technique I use when doing an Illustration, I draw it then scan it in, touch it up, and print it out. However, a lot of you still have questions.

Digital Printouts
Copic Marker inks will not destroy lines printed out from a laser printer or standard photocopier. This is because they are toner-based devices and the toner is fused to the paper so the alcohol ink from the markers will not destroy it.

Many of you are working with inkjet printers though. This gets a little more tricky and I can't say it will work or not. Each printer uses slightly different inks and you really need to test your printouts before you color and make a mess. My mom uses a really old inkjet and any kind of moisture will destroy a printout from her machine. However, we have a newer, large format Hewlett Packard printer with archival, pigment inks at work and the markers color just fine on things I've printed from there.

Testing Inks
Testing a printer ink is the same as testing any other inks. Print something out on the same paper you would regularly color on, then follow the steps on this older post to see if your ink will hold up without destroying your marker nib.

Another technique I frequently use is to make a blob with my marker next to the ink I'm going to be testing and "push" the marker into the ink line by over-soaking the paper. Here I am testing a cheap ballpoint pen ink to see if it will bleed with my markers. I'm careful to not let the tip of my marker touch the ink line. Work with a light colored marker so you can easily tell if it's messing up the line. This is the technique I show during Certification Classes.

As you can see, cheap ballpoint pens do not work well with Copic markers. However, if you have a large colection of ballpoint pens you can donate them to kids in Africa who need them for school through the nonprofit organization Pens for Kids. This would help them have a happy Holiday season and help you clean out some of the clutter in your drawers.

Happy Holidays Giveaway
Meanwhile, I have an early Christmas gift for you. Your very own blank picture to download and try coloring with markers.

I'll be coloring this later this week, but I first need your help coming up with something for the little bird to say.

You could be the lucky winner...

Simply leave a comment today with:

1. A suggestion for what the bird should say .

2. If you have an inkjet printer let us know what model (or kind of ink in the printer) you use and how well Copics work when you color printouts. If you decide to print this out and color it then you can also leave a link here to your finished piece.

Thanks for playing! On Thursday I will choose a random winner from the comments to get a mixed goody bag worth about $40 in Copic products. And I'll show some of my favorite things for the bird to say.

By the way, I was going to have the bird say "Now all we need is a Dame singing love songs..." You could probably come up with something better :)

Good Luck!

Note: This Contest is now closed. Comments are still welcome on printer types but prize winners have already been chosen.

Stamping papers and Inks

I have not been posting much because soon this blog will be moving to the Copic Website, and I don't want to give more work to myself in the switch. That being said, I have been waiting for too long to post this info. Once I move locations I will elaborate on each point, with photos AND I'll have a great blog candy (trust me, there is some FABULOUS blog candy to go with this info). Until then, this is for people who want to know the best cardstock and inks for stamping. I posted this on SCS, but I think everyone should have access to this info. For fine artists, your paper comparison and blog candy will be about a month after the stamping (this also will be some GREAT goodies, so be patient).

Cardstock for Stamping
For people who want the BEST results for stamping then coloring with Copic, these are the cardstocks that consistently keep popping up as being good:

Georgia Pacific (a little soft for my taste, but use less ink and it won't feather as much)
PaperTrey Ink (PTI) This is a thick paper. To get an image even looking on the front side takes more ink. Because it is thick paper it might not soak all the way through. This is OK, as long as the frontside looks even.
Gina K 80# Good, clean, very smooth bright paper. Takes less ink to evenly soak compared to heavier stock.
Gina K 120# Like the PTI, this is a thick paper. The marker colors very evenly, but like the PTI, it might not soak all the way through
Neenah Classic Crest 80# this is thinner than PTI or Gina K. Not as smooth as Gina K. 80 # but still very nice (my personal favorite since it's what we print on at work so I can steal it from the printer )
Copic Stamping Illustration Paper this is a new paper released at CHA. It is thin (like 50#) and slightly off-white. Takes very little ink to evenly color, then you layer it with your favorite cardstocks
Prism Simply Smooth this is VERY smooth. color may not evenly go through the back. Color shows up vibrant and smooth but blending is a little different than on other papers (you really have to try it to understand. People either swear by it or swear at it)

So, does this mean that there aren't other good papers? No. You need to test each of your papers and find which one works for you, which one matches your coloring style. Sometimes you have to slow down when coloring so you don't oversoak the paper. On Neenah or the new Copic paper it's easy to put too much marker down and then it feathers out beyond the line. with practice you learn how much or how little marker to use.

Can you use Copics on cheap paper? Yes, if it works for you then go for it. I've done some great work on cheap copier paper (not even color copier paper), I just need to be aware of how much the marker will bleed and feather, then compensate for it.

However, the shortlist of BAD papers includes: Watercolor, SU! (SU! is intended for blending water-based markers so Copics are tricky on this paper), and stampers should not get fine-art Marker paper (it's too thin for your use and you can't fix mistakes).

Inks for stamping
I must confess, I have not tried all of these, but these are some of the favorites out there. You need to test your own inks to see what works for you.

Best (IMO)
Memento, Tsukineko My favorite, and the favorite of many around here. No heatsetting, works great on most cardstocks, dries quickly.
Brilliance, Tsukineko Many people like this because the black is richer than the brilliance, however, it needs to be heatset. You can use this on fabric, heat-set it, then color it with your Copics and it works great.
AMuse No heatsetting, dries quickly, nice rich black

Good
Memories Dye Ink This needs to REALLY be dry. stamp a few days in advance, heat set it a long time, whatever it takes, but some people love it.
Palette Noir Hybrid Ink I haven't used it much, but heat-set it is what I've heard
Ranger I personally have had some good results, while other times this feathered out and got a yellow halo around the line (even heatset), so I don't use it.

BAD!!!
Staz On. Just don't use it. It will stain your marker tips and bleed.
SU! This is meant for water-based products and won't work

This being said, if you don't touch the stamped line then you will never have problems with any ink. Granted, it's much harder to blend without touching the stamped line and I'm sure you won't make mistakes, but to each his own.

You need to try these inks with your papers to find what works for you. Each paper/ink combo will react differently. When you find a combo that works for you, stick with it! It can be tricky switching paper types, particularly for newbies, and frustrating if you choose the wrong ones. For newbies, read what people are saying on this thread. Some combos will keep popping up (Like Gina K. and Memento, or PTI and Memento, or Heat-set brilliance and Neenah), so that's a good place to start for the least frustrating experience.

If you have any other inks or papers you like, please add to the comments here, so that when I do move to the new location I can make my comparisons more complete. The last time we did this survey we got these results.

Working with the 0.03 multiliner

This week here in America is Thanksgiving. There are many things I'm thankful for in this world, but I'd have to say that besides my family, I am happy to work for a company that has high quality art supplies that I love using every day. They feed my creativity. This month, 8 years ago I first met with the fearless leaders here at Copic and made a brochure for them. So in honor of my Anniversary of working at Copic and because I want to share with everyone I am offering a prize. Post a comment on today's blog and you will win a Multiliner 0.03, and also get a chance to win other fun Copic products.

0.03 mm Multiliner
One of the unique tools Copic makes is the finest point sized inking pen in the world, the 0.03 mm Multiliners or Multiliner SP's. If you've ever tried them, they take a very delicate hand. These are a high-quality art supply that is a joy to use.

As you can see from this comparison, this is one fine line. Look at how chunky the 0.3 pen looks compared to the fine delicacy of the 0.03. These are not for the heavy handed artist.

So what should they be used for?
I use them for fine cross hatching or drawing hair.

Stampers use them for adding details to stamped images.

Calligraphers use them for micro-writing competitions.

What you probably shouldn't use them for: Writing a check (my husband figured that one out for me). If you have a heavy hand and break even the strongest of tips, then this pen should be avoided. If you are heavy handed and want a fine pen then go for the 0.1 mm or 0.2 mm pens.

Prizes
What do you use these tiny pens for? What would you use it for if you had one? Leave a comment with your answer. The winner of this blog candy will receive a free Multiliner 0.03 with some other neat goodies, so leave your comment with e-mail address on today's post and we'll draw a winner on Friday!

For the final image today I drew on this little, mini domino with the 0.03 mm Multiliner. Once I'm done, I need to heat set it, then ideally coat it with something to seal in the multiliner. As you can see from the penny, this is one tiny little piece of work (can you solve the maze?). Happy Turkey week! Marianne

Note: Congrats to V! She figured out the trick to my tiny maze - it goes in one side and out the same side. Mazes are one of my favorite things to draw, and I like to make them a little different each time.

Inks for Stamping

Thank you for all the comments so far! Your answers help everyone who is trying to get the most from their markers. If you haven't already, please post a comment on yesterday's blog to get entered in a drawing for blog candy.

There are still a couple spots left in my certification classes next week in Seattle on the 18 & 19, so I'm opening them up to the general public. Send me an e-mail with your name, address, and phone number along with which date you prefer. Also, for those of you who don't know, there is a Kansas City certification session on Oct. 9th, though I won't be sending out applications until August.

Stamping inks- What works with Copic?
There are so many factors that go into each type of ink that it is hard to say what will work without trial and error. I know that I get great results from Tsukineko Memento Dye-based inks. Some people like the Ranger Adirondack Inks, and some prefer Heat-Set Tsukineko Brilliance. Stamp pads are not cheap, so it's frustrating when your favorite ink bleeds with the markers. Solvent inks, like StazOn don't work well, however, if you never color over the line these may work for you.

Yesterday we figured out what makes a good cardstock. If your cardstock passed the test yesterday, then your ink needs to pass as well. At least these steps are easier than the ones for paper. These rules also hold true for any inking pen you would draw with and then color directly over- see the bottom of the post for an example of a line art test with a Copic multiliner on Neenah Paper. If you photocopy your work you won't have any problems, since Copic markers don't dissolve toner.

I set these standards pretty high and test very thoroughly because there's nothing worse than using your last scrap of paper, coloring along, and you smear your ink all over! Bleagh! When I teach comic drawing classes I tell the students to photocopy their work before they color it because there is no"undo" button on artwork. With Stamp inks though, you're coloring directly over the ink, so know before you make a mess.

1. Stamp with a rich black (or other DARK colored pad) onto good cardstock. Pick an image that doesn't have

all thick or all thin, but one with a variety so you can see how well the ink performs.

2. Let it dry a while. Try a second one that you've heat set. Even good inks, if they're not dry will bleed with the markers. Some papers take longer to dry than others as well, so test each paper at different drying times. Coated/glossy papers won't dry as quickly.

3. With a light colored marker (Yellow is good) slowly color in the image up to the stamped line (not over)

Does the stamped edge that barely touches the colored area feather at all? No, go to the next step. Yes, check the tip of your marker to make sure none of the ink got on it and try another stamp pad or the heat-set swatch. If any ink got on your tip, scribble quickly onto scratch paper to get it off so it

doesn't ruin the tip.

4. Carefully color over a thin line in the artwork. Check for feathering. No, go to the next step. Yes, check the marker tip like step 3 and try again.

5. Carefully color over a thicker line. Check for feathering. No, go to the next step. Yes, check & clean your marker.

6. Really saturate the whole picture. Soak that paper until it can't hold any more ink. If you have a bottle of Colorless Blender solution you can just drip it on at this point (this will simulate some special effects I'll be covering in future days). If it survives intact, then you've got a winner. Now you can try it again, same ink, with less waiting time to see how well it works.

Inking pens: The general rule of thumb for using an inking pen with Copics is to choose a pigment based, water-based (not oil) pen that is waterproof. Pigments won't smear with Copics unless they have oil as their carrier- the oil gets re-activated by the markers and smears all over. Copic Multiliners are great and so are Pigma Microns. Still, you need to make sure the ink is DRY. On the sample I've attached I didn't let the ink dry long enough and it smeared, even though I know that Copic Multiliners shouldn't do that. On glossy, coated, or marker papers inking pens need to dry for long time before they won't smear.

Again, if you haven't commented yet on yesterday's post, then now is the time.
Stamp: Buzzy Bug by Stampabilities Paper: Copic Sketchbook Paper Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Marker: Y15