You can substitute color combos for whatever you have this way you don’t have to run out and buy more markers and can actually use them more often. For example if you have B91, 93, and 95 for blue and I’m using B12, B14 and B18 for the water.. use what you have. Try to replace however many markers I’m using with your combo. If you were to follow a class or tutorial and do not have those colors used you can still follow along. If you are watching someone color a brown bunny and they are using E30, E31, E33 — and you have E23, E25, E27 you can color using those. Yeah your bunny will be darker and different shade, but you’ll still get to follow the rule of applying the ink to the paper in the same way as the teacher. You can even make a pink bunny! 🙂

First, I’d like to say that you should learn from as many different people as possible. Then take the techniques and tips you learned, that you like the best, from each artist and combine them so you can create your own style! I think it’s so important to stand out and create your own look. In other words, I encourage you to do just that. There’s no pressure to color it exactly the way I did, whether you didn’t want to go as dark, or if you wanted to do some extreme shadows. You need to create the look YOU want! I’m just there to help you learn how to use the markers and teach you some freehand backgrounds.

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First, I want you to first make sure your paper is Copic friendly, I use Copic Xpress it Blending Card. Sometimes, you’re not doing anything wrong but the paper isn’t heavy or smooth enough. After that, make sure you aren’t going back over the dark colors with the light, in short, making your darker color separate and causing blotchiness. On the other hand, another thing that might be happening is you’re not adding enough color to the paper. So, if you’re using R81, R83 and R85 to color and it’s not smooth. Add another layer in that order exactly how you laid the color down the first time.

Try thinking of your image in a fully lit room. Where would shadows make sense? If she was wearing a hat there would be a shadow on her forehead. If a kid was holding their arms in front of them, there would be a shadow casting onto the shirt under the arms. To sum it up, it’s easier to start by doing this rather than focusing on a certain direction where the light is coming, while you’re still learning. Above all, it will soon just come to you and you will color without thinking.