Marker Tutorial.....such as it is!!

Okay, now don't be too disappointed with this little attempt at a tutorial!! I honestly don't think my colouring with markers is all that hot, but maybe I will be able to share some little tips with you that you can try!! And never let it be said that I don't give the people what they ask for!! Baaaaaahahahahaha!!



So first off I chose this cutie pie High Hopes stamp called Cowgirl Candice that I haven't had a chance to play with yet. There's nothing sadder than a neglected stamp!! So I stamped it on Shimmery White cardstock which I find is the best paper to use with this technique.

I chose this yummy Tres Jolie patterned paper by My Mind's Eye. The colours and texture of this paper really lends itself to the western theme, I think. Then I chose the SU markers that most closely matched the paper.



I generally start with the lightest colours first, so here I began with the skin tones. One tip I can share with you is that I try to only take my marker off the paper when I have to. In other words I try to go back and forth on the image without picking my marker up. Of course there will be little spots that you miss, but I go back and dot those in with the very tip of my marker.



I also try to cover as much space with each stroke as possible, so I hold my marker more at a side angle than straight up and down. And I try not to overlap the strokes too much as that darkens the lines between the strokes because you are layering your colouring at the edges. Does that make sense??



You can sort of see that I didn't do such a hot job towards the middle of the horsie. I overlapped a little too much there and you can see the lines. This is the downfall of water-based markers. I have some alcohol-based markers (Copic Markers) on my Christmas wish list for this exact reason.....they don't leave lines and they are blendable....but they want your first born child in exchange for them!!! We've grown kind of fond of Emileigh over the last 15 years, so I figure I'll just ask everyone I know for them for Christmas and they can each buy me a couple!! Hahahaha!!



The blue in the patterned paper is rather an odd shade of blue. Sometimes if you are limited in colours, you can layer two different colours to create another. Here I did the first layer of the girl's jeans and hat in Tempting Turquoise. Then I went back over it with Bordering Blue to dull down the brightness a bit and it seems to match much better!



Now I always do one layer of each colour first and I try to be careful so I don't smudge it......TRY being the operative word here. Then, after a couple of minutes, it's dry and then I go back in with the SAME colours of markers and do a second layer ONLY in the areas that I want to be shaded. I'm not too skilled at the whole shading thing yet, but I try to picture the sun shining from one particular direction and darken the areas that would be shaded. I also drew in the green oval for them to stand on.

And that's all there really is to my big "Marker Secrets" tutorial!! Heehee!! I hope you picked up a tip or two that will help you out with your colouring!

Here is my finished card. I added some sparkle on the metal parts of the harness and the button on her sleeve with my Sakura Stardust gel pen, then 'stitched' around the edge of all pieces with my Chocolate Chip marker. The card is a 6 inch square with Old Olive matting underneath the paisley patterned paper. I sponged each of the dp's using Chocolate Chip ink and a cosmetic sponge. I added a Hodgepodge buckle along with the wrinkled brown ribbon and also an antique brass heart brad. The tag is a chipboard square with another of the dp's layered on top, distressed and sponged and then tied with the ribbon and some linen thread. I stamped the Giddy Up sentiment and then went over it with my SS gel pen to make it sparkly too.



Well, the deadline for the Kard Kontest was last night and NOW I have the daunting task of choosing winners!! Let me tell you, this will NOT be easy!!! There are some amazing creations!!!