Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Coloring Hair & Exciting News

What a great weekend! I had a chance to visit a couple of fabulous stores in the Phoenix area, meet the new Spellbinders Design team, and assist Jennie at the Certification. Today I want to share some great news, show you a simple tutorial, and give you a chance to win a PRIZE!

Hair Colors
One of the questions that came up a number of times was how to color hair. We were coloring a really cute Hero Arts stamp of a little girl (which I didn't have here at home, so I drew a similar picture to color). I've talked about coloring hair before, but it's a subject that is always handy to review.

First of all, hair comes in many colors. You can choose almost any color combination of browns, yellows, YR, R, grays... you get the idea. Experiment with lots of colors, and write down the ones you like.

How Much Dark?
You can use the same colors and get different results depending on how much of a color you use as well. Look at these two examples of brown hair. When coloring hair, start light, then work in your darker tones. Streak color in the direction of the grain of the hair.

On both of these examples I started with E31. For the lighter hair I left more white, whereas on the darker head I darkened the E31 by coloring slower, still in streaks, and not leaving as much white.

With the lighter hair, I used less E35 and E37 on each step than I did in the second example. As you can see, the results very greatly just by how much darker color you use.

Note: On hair, I don't usually layer more light over the top of my darker colors, or else the colors will blend together. In this case we want to keep the streaks, since it makes the hair look more believable and natural.

Base Tones
Hair color can change dramatically if you change the base tone or add another color. People frequently ask how to get black hair. Since Copic makes so many shades of gray you would think that you could make black from any of them, but carefully test each color combination. Look at the example. The cool grays make a very different gray than the warm grays. In my opinion, I think the cool gray looks more black whereas the warm grays look more like her hair is fading to gray. Again, it's personal preference.

In the red head example here, you can see that the hair with a yellow base tone looks very different than the hair without. I like to add a yellow base simply because I think the color looks richer, but again, it's a personal choice. Don't be afraid to experiment!
Lighting
When you want to show dimension, choose your light carefully. Since the girl's face in this example is turned to the Left, then I am going to have my light coming from that direction, that way the front of her face has the strongest lighting. Then, the side of the hair closest to the light will have less color, whereas the side in shadow will have slightly more dark color. This helps give dimensionality to the image.


Now, let's get on to some exciting news...

With the popularity of the Certification program we found we needed to add another person to our team to cover the South Central area of the US. We are so excited to be adding someone that many of you are already familiar with, and who is great at coloring and teaching fabulous card classes. Let's give a big welcome to....

Jenn Balcer!!
Jenn has been in papercrafting for quite a while. Most recently, she worked at Splitcoaststampers, helping with all the hidden things that make it such an exciting place. Now that she's had a bit of a rest, she's ready to jump in and help Sharon and Lori with Copic Certification classes in the middle of the country.

If you don't know Jenn, you can get a chance to meet her this year at Summer CHA in Chicago, along with many other members of our fabulous team.

GIVEAWAY!!
To welcome her to our team, we are offering a giveaway. Leave a comment on my post today for a chance to win a free Copic empty 24 pc. Wallet (retail value of $15). Tell us what YOUR favorite colors to use on hair are (give us some good ideas!), and give Jenn a big welcome. I will draw a winner on Saturday morning. (contest open in North America only, sorry). Be sure to leave an e-mail address so I can contact you if you win. Check out the blogs of our other team members sometime this week for a chance to win as well (some of them have other contests and sneak-peeks going on, so look at all the exciting things happening in the blog world).

LoriSherrieSharonJennie JennDebbieSally LynnColleenMish
(whew! our team keeps getting bigger)

Meanwhile, I'll be heading up to demo tomorrow in Seattle at the new Blick Art Store- I hope to see you there. Have a great week and thanks for welcoming Jenn!

101 comments:

Michelle Quinno said...

Love the yellow-based red and the light blonde the best! My son has nice red hair.

Welcome Jenn!!

Cassie said...

Congratulations, Jenn!

I would have to say my favorite hair combo is the Med. Brown combo. I always seem to color them that way ;D

Laney's Legacy's said...

I really like the way you did the red hair, thanks for the great tips.

Shana said...

Welcome Jenn. I can't wait to check out your blog and add it to my list. I'm just starting in the world of Copics and LOVING it!
I love the little redhead with the yellow in it. It just looks so rich.
shanaheeg@gmail.com

Becky said...

Congratulations Jenn..Yahooooo. Great tutorial on hair coloring, I just got my copics and hair is one of my difficulties.

Lisa said...

I am still struggling with getting a good "red" head. I keep adding too much brown - I will try your suggestion.

B2-kun said...

Given my passion for manga and anime, I tend to use a lot of light blue and purple markers to render hair.

Kate said...

Congratulations Jenn!

I love all your tutorials.

Tita Atterbury said...

Welcome Aboard Jenn. I love coloring Brown, Black and Blonde hair. For black I use C1 C3 C5 and C9, for Brown, I use E31, E34 and E39 and for Blonde I go with Marianne's Suggestion of Y11 and Y28. Sometimes I highlight the blonde hair with Y15.

Debbie H said...

Welcome aboard, Jenn! I am from the south central region (KY), so I am really happy to see you here! I have not been coloring as much as I want to, and need to look at more tutorials, so I don't have any really good tips for hair except that I seem to start out with Y06 for blond and E57 for brunette all the time!

dgharris573@hotmail.com

Terri said...

Thanks for the awesome tips. Congrats to Jenn! My favorites right now for hair are E31 and E33.

Barb said...

Thanks for the refresher, Marianne! Lately I've been using YR20, YR23, YR24 & E57 for hair. Kind of a dark blond look. I've definitely gotta work on the reds!

Shannon Tompkins said...

Congrats and welcome to Jenn!

I like to use E31 and E33 as my browns .... I seem to refill those 2 alot.

lilscrappers said...

lol, my fave combo is the one you used for red hair, YR23, R14 and E07. I just found it and have been creating lots of little redheads. Welcome Jenn!!!

bhelenj said...

Congratulations to Jenn!

For brown hair, I use E25 and E31 the most.

GabrielaD said...

WELCOME JENN! As for hair, I tend to go dark (maybe because my hair is dark)... I use E37 and then I use W7 for some added darkness.

Thanks for the chance!

Susie said...

Love Jenn!!! She will be a great asset to the team! I like to use E09, E29, and E27 when coloring red/brown.

Marge said...

Oh, so wish I could be there in Seattle to see your demo (and my 2 children who live there)--sigh! I am grateful for a chance to win this wallet though. I've tried brown & black hair & I'm such a newbie, I need LOTS of practice, but my fav colors are the Cool Grays for black hair so far!

Email: mer@orbitelcom.com

The Birthday Group said...

Hi! Thank you for the chance to win this great prize. The colors I like to use for hair are E35, Y23 and E00

Susan said...

Good Luck to Jenn!! I like to use the E 30's. I have brown hair and tend to lean towards browns/brunettes.

Jen K said...

This is so awesome for Jenn! I've been reading her blog for ages... and I'm so happy for her! :)

Thanks also for the awesome tips on coloring hair! :)

Anonymous said...

Way to go, Jenn! Thanks for the awesome giveaway, too!

Lori Barnett said...

Fantastic news about Jenn!!! Congrats! I like coloring blonde hair...for some odd-ball reason ;) Thanks for all the wonderful information Marianne. I really helps refresh my mind and is so useful when I teach. And I tell all my students to come here and see all the info you offer.

Laurie K. said...

Congrats, Jenn!

One of my favorite colors is a nice red-brown like E09 Burnt Sienna, I'd love to have my hair that color all the time.

The Crazy Life of a Navy Wife said...

Welcome! I just found this blog and LOVE it! I am so bad at using markers and really want to learn new things. I always just use a few browns that I have for hair... i'm going to try some of these ideas though!

Julie said...

Well I am new to colouring with copics and haven't played around with different colorizing of hair much but I did try black the other day.

Til said...

Love the way you taught the hair.....

Congrats Jenn!!!

Okay so I used to PRAY I would have a red headed kid...I love, love, love red hair, both of our girls are brunettes like me, but for my stamps that require me to color hair I give my self that redheaded kid....I use markers

YR02, YR04 YR07 Beautiful head of hair!! hehe!!

Jenn Joncas said...

Thanks you so much for the tips on hair!! I am still learning so I'm not sure that I have anything for you?!
Welcome Jenn!!! You must be so excited (:

Jen Adkins said...

I've bookmarked this post! I really have been trying to get a good looking red!

Kiki Ugly said...

ahh thank you for the hair tutorial, I can never get the right kind of brown hair!!

But two of my favorite hair colors I make are an orange color and a type of blonde.

for the Orange I use Yr15 as a base, then layered with Yr14 and maybe E33 or YO4. (I really like this hair colour with light blue eyes or a Yg01 type eye colour ;D)

As for blonde hair, I use a base of either Y21, Y32 or Yr31. Depending on my mood i guess XD, and whichever color i don't use as the base i use for layering over and over again until it looks like hair, :p. As an extra accent I add E11. I love how the first three colors layer when you leave each layer to dry and then add another to the last.

Can't wait for more tutorials <3

frozen.peaches@gmail.com

Natalie said...

Welcome Jenn! I'm really new to the Copics realm and I've only used E37 for hair so far! Thanks for a great tutorial on hair, what a huge help!!

nat95525@yahoo.com

Marie said...

yaaaay to Jen, welcome to the group. The tips on hair color is just great thanks

gobeagirl said...

Congrats Jenn! I am so excited for you. I wish that I could meet you at CHA, but I will have to wait for another time. I would have to say that at this moment my favorite combo for hair is golden blond (E18-E39-E99 & YR23). I just love how it works out. Hugs, Lisa G
My email is l_gobea@yahoo.com

~Lady B~ said...

Hi! I'm new to the world of copics and haven't colored much hair yet. i love the tips you gave and will have to try them out.

Stampin_melissa said...

Yea Jenn!!! How awesome! I recently colored one of my fairies blond using Y11, Y21 & Y26.

Melissa
melissa.banian at gmail.com

Mrs. Tamashiro said...

Thank you so much for the hair tips. We've been inundating our art teacher at school with questions.

Ladyactivist said...

Congrats to Jenn!
Marianne thanks for the hair colouring tips. I need to try the red hair.
I like to do black so I use C3, C5 & C7

Noreen Smith said...

I have two little blonde boys, so it seems that mostly I am coloring blonde hair! Y21 and Y11 give me a look that mimics my two little guys pretty well!
Congrats to Jenn and thanks for the chance to win!

Irit Shalom said...

What a great blog!! Great giveaway too!!

Janine said...

I struggle with hair so I don't think I can comment on colour

Michelle L. said...

I have a limited selection of "hair" colors, but one of my go-to combos is E09 and E47 for a great auburn!

Peggy said...

Awesome tutorial Marianne!!
Congrats to Jen!

Mary Duffek said...

First of all Welcome Jenn! Congrats!!!

Thank you for the awesome hair coloring tips...I will try new colors. LOL! Like the black and grey...have been scared of that color combo.

My favorite colors for blonde hair are Y21, Y26, Y28...I love how these colors work together.
My favorite combo for drk brunette hair are E25, E27, E29.

Thanks for a change to win.

Blessings!

jennifer said...

for hair I use what I have so far - barium, canary and plain yellows or chamois, light walnut and sepia to go dark

Robbie said...

I love the sun-kissed light brown hair the best. I am new at Copics and soak up every little instructional bit I can get.

Congratulations, Jenn!! You'll be fantastic and they are fortunate to have you on their team!

headricks@gmail.com

Tammy said...

Congratulations Jenn!!!

I'm so excited that I have been accepted for the cert class in June in Idaho!! WooHoo!!!

My favorite hair color has to be blonde. I like to use the E50, 53, 55, 57 and 59 combo depending on how dark or light I want it. Those seem to be my reach for colors a lot!!!!

Shirley said...

Thanks for the tutorial. I need all the help I can get.
Congratualations Jenn on making the team. One of these days I'm going to make it to a class.

PamSpradlin said...

Thank you for the tips again on hair. I have been working on the different shades of browns. But then I just saw the red head. So now I am off to practice those colors.

Unknown said...

my favourite colour for hair is mauve shadow.
I like adding it in blond hair in the darker areas as an under colour sometimes depending on the lighting :)

Nikki Schmaltz said...

Yeah for Jenn! What an excite adventure. Thanks for the hair tut. Black is always tough for me. I am a red head who always wanted to be auburn. So I like to use E17,18,19 with a bit of 30 or 33 to soften and blend sometimes.

Diana Valdivia said...

I am VERY new to the world of Copic so I am just beginning to play around with learning the techniques. I LOVE the color combo for the red hair, beautiful.

Dawn said...

whoop! congrats to Jenn!! getting certified tomorrow with sweet Lori! woohooo!

I tend to go with browns when doing hair...like this one http://dawnanewday.blogspot.com/2010/04/jacksonbelle-tuesdaytaxes-done.html

righttrack at windstream dot net

AShu93 said...

E97 is awesome for red hair. Someone shared that tip with me.

For brown, I usually use E25, E27 & E29.

Linda W. said...

I have found that after layering a light yellow I then add an appropriate numbered lighter orange in streaks with the grain of the hair brings the browns out even more visibly. One of my fave hints at least.

Welcome aboard Jenn!

Anonymous said...

I'm a fan of the medium brown as well. I also bookmarked this tutorial. Thanks so much--and also for a chance to win. Congratulations, Jenn, you'll be a great addition to the team.

Cindy H. said...

Congrats to Jenn!

I'm still fairly new to Copics and trying to collect all the colors that I need - I've made good progress:) I need lots of practice and love all the tips you provide, Marianne. tfs

Marla said...

Congrats. Jenn!!! I love to make blonde and brown hair. Love your examples. I need to give these ideas a try!!

Unknown said...

This is a perfect tutorial Marianne! I was at the Phoenix certification class and played with Y11 and Y15 for blonde...liked it and so I'm going to go purchase these colors today. Welcome to Jenn...your tutorials are always awesome and I love your work!

ScrappyKy said...

Welcome Jenn!

This tuturial is very helpful. I struggle with coloring hair well. For colors though, I really like 2 combos especially: E57, E55, & E53 and E09, E15, & E18 for those gorgeous red heads.

Julie B said...

Congratulations Jenn! I hope there is another class in St. Louis ,Mo. Soon. the color I have used the most is E31& E35. I am not very good at coloring hair. Thank you very much for the hair coloring tips. I would love to win!

Danese said...

Wow - I really needed your tips on hair coloring. Thanks!

Welcome Jenn!

Shana said...

Welcome Jenn and Congratulations!!! I just took the copic certification in Calgary last weekend and copic instructors ROCK!

I have two children with strawberry blonde hair so I use Y23, YR21, YR12, and YR14. End result looks my little sweethearts. :)

Thanks for the chance to win! creations_by_shana (at symbol) yahoo.com

Donna said...

Welcome and congrats to Jenn. How exciting for you to join the team. My favorite combination for hair is blond and brown. Most of my kids grew up as "toe-heads" and so I use that a lot. Thanks for the chance to win!
drinckel@yahoo.com

ginger said...

w123successWelcome Jenn...Congratulaltions and Best of luck to you. The more teachers the better chances for ideas and techniques.

Coming from a family of red heads I also tried to color red on my images. I was working toward alburn and used E11,17,18,19. I am happy with the results.
Marianne, thank you for all your wonderful tips. Love following your blog.

Lori said...

Thanks for the great hair tutorial Marianne. I love to use Y21, E31 and E25 leaving white space for highlights...

Wonderful to have Jenn on the Team (I wish though that she was in the Central Valley - California...I can't wait to go to a certification course lol!)

Wonderful giveaway! Thanks for the chance to win.

Love and hugs ~
Lori

Candy said...

I feel like that robot in the ad...."I want markers, I want markers, I want markers!" Can't just have one.

A said...

I usually use browns as that is what color hair we all have in my family. I have not mastered the art of shading yet. You blog has helped a great deal though.

Bon Bob’s Delights said...

Congratulations Jenn!! I like YR12 & YR18 and E33 & E37 for two.

Janet said...

First of all, welcome Jenn! I went to Sally Lynn's cert class in St. Louis a couple weeks ago, so I know how busy you guys are!

Sally Lynn had given us just a little "peek" at hair coloring. Fun! I'd love to learn how to color redish blonde!

Thank you guys!

Sylvia from Minnesota said...

Thanks for the great ideas. I will be getting my first markers soon in the mail-impatiently waiting.

Jan Hunnicutt said...

Welcome Jenn, you're going to have such a good time teaching! I was at the Phoenix certification class a couple of days ago and it was great. I've been practicing and my oldest son has copper red hair so my favorite combo is YR04, YR07, E09 & E18. Thanks for the chance to win some goodies my e mail is gonestampin@gmail.com

Carol said...

Congrats Jenn!

I am newly Copic Certified, yeah! For practicing hair I have been using E31, 34, 37 and add a little W7 if needed.

Carol B
www.scraphappystudio.blogspot.com

Rebecca Ednie said...

Welcome Jenn! I love the red hir with the yellow base. Very pretty

Melissa said...

Congrats Jenn!

My favorite hair color combos are:

Really Dark Brown
E49, E47, E25, E44, E43

Warm Dark Brown
E49, E59, E25, E53

Dark Auburn
E18, E17, E15, E13

Blonde
Yr24, E53, YR31, E50

Karen Brooks said...

Congrats to Jenn!! My fav color combos for hair is E49, E33 and E25. I am interested in trying to red hair combos since I'm a redhead but have to get the colors to do it! Thanks for all the great tutorials and again, Welcome to Jenn!!!

Sammi said...

Congrats to Jenn!! :D

My fav combos are the E37,35,33,31
and E53, 51, 50 - for blondes (sometimes adding Y21 as well)

Sammi
xx

Paula said...

Just recently introduced to the COPIC markers and LOVE THEM!!!

I have been using alot of E 31, E 33 and E 27 for a nice sunkissed look!

samstar@hotmail.com

Paula said...

just recently started using the COPIC markers and LOVE THEM!!!

I have been using E31, E 33, and # 37 for a nice sunkissed look!!

samstar@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

grats Jenn!!!

Copics are the best!

lennie said...

I have yet to color any hair! Can you believe that? I love the tutorial and can't wait to try it!

Laura said...

Welcome Jenn. I love this blog! I'm still a Copics virgin...so I am learning....thanks for the great giveaway!

RenƩe Storch said...

Congratulations to Jenn on joining the team! Thanks for showing the different hair coloring techniques!!

annesatx said...

I like the various shades of brown that you used. Haven't tried coloring hair yet, but now I know how to do it, thanks to you!

Elaine said...

this is one of the most helpful tutorials that I have ever seen - hair and the colors are always such a challenge for me! Thank you for showing and sharing your instructions today!

Anonymous said...

Congrats to Jenn (and to the rest of the Copics instructor team for 'getting' her). Wonderful tutorial Marianne and I've feverishly been buying all the suggested reds, blondes, blacks, and brunettes markers here in the Phoenix area lol. Now I need a wallet to carry them in. Whoo hoo! Thanks for the chance to win.
KellyRae

Cheryl O said...

Congrats, Jenn.....

Probably my favorite is Dk. Brunette, and I use E49, E59, E25, and E53.

Thanks so much for your blog, Marianne, I've learned so much from it over the last year or so....


couthier1@cox.net

Ina said...

Great tutorial on hair. I am a beginner with copic.......hope to have some time to practise soon. I like the sundrenched look, so I would probably use a mix of yellow and light browns.

Amber (bambi64) said...

Congrats, Jen!!

Love the ideas on the hair. I use yellow and browns the most for my hair colors.

Gracie's Blog said...

That's awesome news.. Can't wait to take a class when you gals are in the neigborhood!

Gypsycat said...

I have to preface with the fact that I am still not very good with hair, but my favorite colors so far to use are:

E17, E19 and E37 for auburn hair
Y13, Y19 and YR23/YR24 for blondes

I am still working on a good black hair combo and I am just not very consistent with the browns yet. :)

Brenda said...

Wonderful news!
Welcome Jenn Balcer!!!

Anonymous said...

Congrats, Jenn! You deserve the spot! You always do such fantastic work!

Love the tutorial on the hair coloring, too....thanks for the inspiration!

Suzzi said...

I am new to your blog and how exciting that you are growing and a chance for me to learn from you guys. Congrats to the new team member.

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