Hello friends! There’s been plenty of watercolor ’round these parts latelly…are you ready for some Copic blending tips?
Supplies for this project are linked at the end of this post. Compensated affiliate links may be used at no cost to you.
Stamp selection tip
If you’re newish to Copic coloring – and especially if you have trouble with color bleeding out under the stamp lines – choose a stamp set with thicker lines. That’ll give you lots of practice at controlling how far out the ink will move.
In this “DIY Stained glass” card, I stamped Altenew’s Henna Elements with nice thick lines, and made a panel out of it. There’s some masking here but mostly just along the long strips down the sides – with a MISTI and a sticky note that’s easy to cover up. (If you don’t have a stamp set with a border, doodle one! Just use a Copic friendly pen like a sharpie.)
Watch the tips in the video – and read those written out below it too!
Copic blending tips
There are about a gajillion copic blending tips out there – this card shows mostly how to mix colors that aren’t naturally going to belong together.
- Practice the flick! That’s when you lay the marker down and as you push the pen across the paper, lift up to create either a finer point or lighter color.
- Flicking in both directions will make it easier to figure out which is easier for you – close to you or away from you. Spend time in front of the tv just flicking on scratch paper til your hand gets the hang of it. Create muscle memory!
- When blending non-similar colors, be sure to use plenty of ink. That’s probably the most common thing that causes poor blending. Be generous, but know that too much will also bleed outside the lines – that’s where this stained glass project works well. Just cover up any bloops with a background on the other side of the stamp line.
- It’s harder to blend a really dark color with a really light color. Keep them within a few numbers of each other in the SECOND digit – that’s the one that indicates light/dark.
- If you’re struggling, use your piece for some zentangling practice with a white pen or black pen overtop of the coloring – it’ll add some fun to it and no one will notice the marker problems underneath!
On this card I also used my W&P parallel ruler – helpful in making lines straight! The eraser I used to remove pencil lines is a kneaded eraser – super nice eraser on Neenah cardstock!
Supplies
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- Altenew, Hennah Elements stamp set
- Copic Markers: EH – Blick
- Jet Black Lawn Fawn Ink Pad
- Neenah Cardstock, Solar White: 25pk – 250pk
- Weems & Plath rolling ruler
- Copic friendly pens:
- Kneaded Eraser: EH – BLICK
I cannot believe I missed this post! This card is GORGEOUS! Love the vibrant colors!
Your card is fabulous – so bright and amazing. And no apologies needed for the sweet kitties…
I’ve had no luck with Signo white gel pens… they always seem dried out to me. I live 30 miles west of Boston at about 300 feet (I think) above sea level… Maybe it’s the humidity – we have extremes here (as you might have heard — I still have a fair amount of snow in my yard 3 weeks into spring!)
In the UK and about 6 meters (20 ish feet) above sea level. Use Signo Gel Broad. When I get them, they work fine but soon one day stop working (plenty left in the pen) and I can never them working again. Would be very great if you share the results of your “sea level” idea or indeed any way of getting the pens started again – thanks 🙂
Looooove the card!
Sandy your card is amazing. I WISH I had Copics! Grrr!
Anywho, I have always only had gelly rolls, some of them work well others not so much. (No matter the colour!) BUT, today we are talking white ones and I have not been having good luck with mine for a while. Probably because its old now. I live in Nova Scotia (Canada) and I am well above sea level, if that answers your question.
Have a great weekend.
Beautiful card Sandy! I live in central Illinois and have both the Gelly Roll and Signo pen. My Gelly Roll has always worked fine without any problems. I had one Signa pen that didn’t work very well. You would start and then it would stop for no reason. I ended up throwing it away. For Christmas I received another Signo pen, and this one works fine. I think I may have just had a bad one to begin with. Although the first one I had was in the summer, and this one I have only used in the winter…..I will find out this summer when it gets warm and humid.
Beautiful coloring as always. I use both white pens and get a thinner, more transparent line with the Gelly Roll pen and thicker, richer line with the Signo. I am about 1000 feet above sea level. I use Scotch/3M removable tape and it is the only tape I have used that has never damaged the paper or card stock. I sure do appreciate your reviews of products. I’ve found quite a few “new to me” items that I really like from your reviews
Gorgeous card. I love the purple and yellow together! In Wyoming at a little under 6000 feet, the Uniball and Pentel were hit and miss. Sakura Gelly Roll usually worked. Moved to Colorado around 6000 feet and tried all my pens last might. Uniball and Pentel would not work at all. Sakura Gelly Roll worked great. Could humidity also be a factor? Both Wyoming and where I am in Colorado are very dry.
This was a great tutorial. The colors are beautiful. I LOVE my digital stamps because I can re-size them. However, I thought these were really pretty and clicked on the link you gave. For that many stamps I feel like the price was reasonable, but, the shipping cost was almost ½ of what the stamps cost. Do you know if they sell these at art and craft stores or are they sold only via the internet?
I would like to try the Uni-ball pen that you used. I am also at sea-level on the east coast. I have a gelly roll pen but I don’t really like the thinness of the product. However, it is all I have to use.
One day I’m going to get one of those rolling rulers. Love yours.
Altenew is a small company – they don’t seem to sell in much other than online or in stamping boutique shops. But – if you gather a bunch of things you want to buy, or go in with friends, you can get more things to go with it to make it worth the purchase 🙂
Hi Sandy,
I live in Puerto Rico, at sea level and my pen hardly ever work!!! The worst part is that I have opted not to use it, because it starts working and then it fails and I have to start all over again. I try wetting the tip, clicking it over and over on a scrap of paper to no avail. Any suggestions?
Cariños,
María Alba
If you’re clicking it, it’s not the pen I use…
Gorgeous card! I live in Philadelphia and I do have problems with the sign pen. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Despite that, it s still my favorite white pen.
Love this technique and your card. I have tried just about every white pen out there, and love them the first time I use them, but they never work for more than a dot or two when I try to use them later. I have tried storing the both horizontal and vertical, nibs up and down, but nothing seems to help. Actually had one uninstall that wouldn’t work for me but a friend picked it up and it wrote perfectly for her. Think it must be me! I live in Central OK,.
LOL! Maybe they have personalities!
Beautiful card! I live in Sarasota FL just a couple miles from the Gulf. I never have trouble with my uniball signo pen. I have had jelli rolls clog up on me but if I hold a lighter to the tip for a couple seconds and then scribble, it gets them going again. I haven’t had to try that trick with the uniball though so not sure if that would work on it.
So happy and cheerful! A definite mood brightener today in South Texas. Thanks Sandy!
Donna
I could watch you color all day 🙂 This is beautiful!
Love this so much! It is nice to see other colors blended, breaking free of the light, medium, and dark blends! Love the white pen work. I live in your neck of the woods and love my Signo.
Wonderful!
Such a cheerful card. Love the added details of the white Signo pen. I love mine and live in SW Michigan. Near Lake Michigan, if that makes a difference.
Wow! You always make beautiful cards but this one is absolutely gorgeous! I love all the bright colors.
Sandy, that is such a gorgeous card! ♥
I live in central Florida. Sometimes my pen works, other time not so much. I store them horizontal. I think it is the individual,pen. Still it is my favorite white gel pen.
I’m in Houston, Texas and we are just below sea level. I have 3 Signo pens and have never gotten more than a few dots from any of them. Very frustrating!
Hi Sandy!
I use the Uniball Signo too, and I have no problems with it. We are about 250m over Sealeavel… But I think there are other reasons why some don’t have luck with theirs… Mayby the way you hold it!? I ll do it quite flat so the fluid keeps flowing well even with my fountain pen. My daughter holds it steep (I hope it’s the right word) she has sometimes Problems with her fountain Pen… I ‘ll give her a try with my uniball and let you know!
Great card. The colors work so good together. I live in MA and a dingo does not work for me, however. I love my gelli roll.