It was only towards the end of the second picture that I got a little cut out how to draw with markers. It turned out that everything that I read on the Internet only remotely resembles the real drawing process. I began to understand why there are so many courses in drawing with alcohol markers and why a teacher is needed just by COPIC. If you look at the works of artists on the hashtag “copics” or “copics” on Instagram, you will see two types of work – unrealistically cool and flat and mediocre. It’s hard to find something in the middle. You look at some drawings and want to buy up all the copies of the world. You look at others, and you’re not so sure that drawing with markers is a good idea. Well, what can you draw with a marker there?
It seems to me that the whole point is that drawing beautifully with markers is really difficult. A little easier than watercolor (and this, for a second, is one of the most complex painting techniques!). But very different than watercolor. The principles are similar, but in practice the movements of the hand (brush) are different, the application speed, shades, miscibility, transparency – everything is different. So, markers at first give a lot of trouble and neurosis, because you want to “do it beautifully”, and often it turns out “well, okay” or even “so-so, but next time it’ll be wow!”. I began to draw my first picture with copies on plain office paper from a printer (copy paper for copics?). Here’s what happened:
I chose light flowers, which was my second oversight. Yes, paper from a printer is suitable for drawing with copies, something is obtained, but not at all what was intended when creating them. So buy yourself the “right” paper. Which one, I won’t tell you yet, because so far I have tried only two types of paper – from a printer and cardboard. But more on that later. So my second mistake in the picture was that I chose to paint light pastel flowers (as planned, they were white and dusty pink peonies), when bright and dark shades prevailed among my copies. In principle, everything is possible, but you could choose something more suitable in color.
The colors on the printer paper fit well, but they mix very crookedly and the ink consumption increases (as on cardboard paper, watercolor paper and any thick and well-absorbing paper), I didn’t even understand how they mix at all for the first time, as I drove with the tip of a brush the marker is very easy, took breaks between paintings, because it took a long time to choose the next marker, so that the previous color had time to completely dry. As a result, the pigments lay down in layers and I didn’t do any mixing at all. She painted with markers more like acrylic paints and liners. I didn’t do the line art in advance, but painted right away in color without an outline. This was my third mistake. For a novice copyist, drawing without an outline is very difficult. The technique is new, nothing is clear, so the form is not ready, you have to do everything on the go. In general, I do not advise you to do this!
The second picture pleased me much more in terms of the drawing process, I started to get high, got used to the colors, began to take copies more confidently, applying color faster and easier. For drawing, I often use references from the Internet, it is very convenient. You search by keywords for photos or paintings that are close to you in spirit, get inspired and make your own stylization. Although drawing from photos is not the best idea from the point of view of professional art teachers, even Peter Doig and Kieron Williamson draw from photos from the Internet, so it’s worth using modern tools, what do you think? I painted this picture on cardboard, and it was straight natural cardboard – on the one hand it was gray-brown, on the other – white and glossy. I painted on the white smooth side, and I really liked it.
Markers easily glide over the surface of the cardboard, the pigment does not lie very vigorously, but it can be well layered. The cardboard itself is tough and hard, does not bend or get wet from the markers. Where can I get such cardboard, I have no idea, I have left it from some kind of packaging, I just cut a piece to fit the picture. For some reason, it seems to me that my cardboard was approximately what is sold for 1700 rubles / 25 sheets and is called the X-Press It Blending Card. I read very good reviews on this cardstock, such paper or rather cardboard is usually used for scrapbooking, cards, business cards and so on. Soon I will go to an art store where I want to get a special marker paper, it will be WINSOR & NEWTON marker paper – a special paper with impregnation for alcohol markers from competitor manufacturer COPIC markers Promarker.
I also want to take a couple of sketchbooks and something else, we’ll see. I’ll surely then shoot a video about my new art materials. As for the new knowledge about COPICs, from the second work I realized that light markers perfectly blur the darker ones, they can be used as a colorless blender. Mixing on cardboard was not ideal either, but much, much better than on plain paper. The difficulty of mixing colors was the appearance of a little dirt at the place of mixing, if the darker color is already dried up, and you moisten it with a lighter color. Another important point is where the isograph drawing was clear, the picture turned out three-dimensional, where the drawing was superficial, the result in color did not come out what I wanted. I’ll probably try watercolor next time for the background.
Lineart under the second picture:
As for the choice of paper for markers – this turned out to be a rather difficult task too. In the English-language segment of the Internet prevails:
- X-Press It Blending Card,
- WINSOR & NEWTON marker paper,
- COPIC marker paper,
- Mixed media paper
- Bristol paper
- Paper for the laser printer.
In the Russian-language segment of the Internet, they are advised as the best paper for copy markers:
- Doodle & Sketch Sketchbooks,
- Maxgoodz Notebooks,
- Plain office paper.
I’m still happy with the cardboard, I’ll try to find something similar in the store, so I no longer have white packages from the equipment. I will take sketchbooks, Winsor and Newton paper for testing, and I will also test all my papers from watercolor to paper. I’ll tell you later. See you. If you have questions and just want to chat, be sure to write!
- Link to Ebay, where I ordered copies (a set of 72 markers) at the lowest price: https://goo.gl/JBMTpc :9)
- I already bought several colors individually, the price for one copy is the best here (free delivery to Moscow!): https://goo.gl/WwBVAF
See you!