Dec 26 2008
Prismacolor Practice
Hello! I hope you all had a very nice Christmas and have settled down to bask in its afterglow. It’s always nice when the gifts have been exchanged and the dinner is done. It seems like the house goes quiet for a while on Christmas evening and everyone does their own thing. My thing, of course, was to go to my room and do a little stamping.
I can hardly express how excited I am to be sharing something other than a Christmas card. For this card I brought out an old All Night Media stamp just so I could color something pretty. I cannot tell you the name of this unlabeled stamp, other than it’s an Anna Griffin design. Its beauty is timeless, and I’ll just bet you’ve got lots of old stamps, too, which haven’t seen ink for quite a while but would look wonderful with today’s papers, colors and accessories. I’ve decided to make an effort to work my way through those old stamps. After all, there must be a reason why I kept them, right?
This is the rose basket stamped in Palette Cognac. I colored this image with my Prismacolor markers. When I purchased my first set of these solvent-based markers, I wrote about them here. The image I colored in that post was my very first attempt with these markers and I was extremely impressed with how easy it was to achieve beautiful results. Subsequent experiences have been more frustrating than successful and I was all but ready to give up when I said, “wait a minute; there has to be a reason for this”. What was the difference between that first image and everything I tried afterward? Then it dawned on me — the one difference was the paper.
What I know about Copics you could fit in your eye, but one thing I remember hearing (and I could be wrong) is that they work well on Neenah Classic Solar White paper — better than Stampin’ Up!’s Whisper White. Naturally, I immediately bought a whole ream of Neenah paper, and I love it — so white, a good weight, and it’s fabulous for stamping on. Now, I don’t know exactly what the difference is between Prismacolor markers and Copics, but I have found that I have better luck with Whisper White paper when using my Prismacolor markers.
The most remarkable difference is that the ink blends smoothly with no bleeding on Whisper White. It seems I have more control of the ink, and since I’m an extreme amateur with these markers, I need all the help I can get. The following is a comparison of the marker ink on the two papers:
You can tell by the difference in the line width how the ink soaks into and spreads on the Neenah paper. I was having a heck of a time trying to stay within the lines of my stamped image!
So, now I’m happier with my Prismacolor markers and I dashed right off and purchased more here. You can either buy them in sets or individually. When you buy six or more markers, they’re only $1.85 each. I share this information, not to dissuade anyone considering Copics, but as an option if Copics seem too expensive to experiment with. I also realize there are a lot of Prismacolor owners, too. I had no idea how many folks had these markers until I’d brought it up the last time!
Anyway, I’ve got a lot to learn yet, but I’ll keep working with them. I sure did enjoy coloring this pretty rose basket — so much, in fact, that I’m very excited to sit down with them again! I can fully understand why everyone loves their Copics so much!
I promise my next post will be less wordy. I’d love to just do some stamping and share the results. I can’t resist sharing the information, though, when I learn something new — just in case it’s new to you, as well. Finally, the card recipe is listed below. Thank you for visiting! Happy stamping in these remaining days of 2008!
- Stamps: All Night Media Anna Griffin Rose Basket
- Ink: Palette Cognac, Prismacolor solvent-based markers
- Paper: Really Rust, PTI Spring Moss, Wild Asparagus designer paper
- Accessories: PTI ribbon, copper Kaiser flat-backed pearls from Flourishes, 3/4″ square punch (to make the photo corners, cut on the diagonal), Scotch brand foam mounting tape
And….you certainly did a beautiful job of using your markers!! This image is just beautiful Leslie…Thank you for you inspiration…I SO enjoy receiving your subscription and learning from you
wow, Leslie! This is absolutely gorgeous!
Absolutely stunning! I too got my prismacolors at Dick Blick’s. Great to do business with. I have had good luck coloring on PTI white as well.
so pretty, it has that victorian, watercolor look to the coloring!
Absolutely gorgeous coloring…beautiful card! Very interesting to read about Copic and Prismacolor markers. I have a friend who has a lot of the Copics, and I have a couple of Prismacolor markers I use to outline (French Grey and Warm Grey 10%) when I watercolor. I like them, and they are much less expensive. I will definitely be watching what you do with the Prismacolor markers. Thanks for all your wonderful inspiration…I love to learn from you! Happy New Year!
This is just beautiful and it looks like you are getting very close to having these mastered!!!!!
Hope you enjoyed a beautiful Christmas!
Vicki
Beautiful work, when the information is as informative as yours is, its not too wordy.
Heh, Leslie, maybe prismacolor markers would be a fun toy to play with on our next playdate?!? Your colors and shading are gorgeous. I can’t wait to see IRL. The WW really did make a HUGE difference. TFS and I read every word of your wordy posts because I always learn something!!!
Wow, your card is amazing! I learned a lot from reading your post. I’ve been scrapping for years, but I’m rather inexperienced as a stamper. I would never have thought that the paper would make such a big difference! TFS!
Just beautiful, Leslie. I, too, have the Prismacolor markers..budget decision…and I’m happy with them although I need ALOT more practice.
Was wondering what weight of the Neenah Classic Solar White you purchased and if you can share where you bought it. Neenah has soooo many weights and types of paper. I started to order a while ago…even got a sampler but was so afraid of ordering the wrong weight/color.
WOW absolutely stunning!!!
This is stunning. Such a beautiful image, perfectly colored. Thanks for sharing the tips about the paper.
Beautiful card and so beautifully colored!! Thanks for sharing your tips - I can use all the help I can get:)
Hi Leslie
Your card is amazing! The image is so beautiful and I LOVE how you colored it, it looks so real! I hope you enjoyed your Christmas and best wishes for a New Year!
Hugs, Jennifer
Absolutely stunning!!! Thank you for sharing your talents and knowledge. I always look forward to seeing what you’re up to.
Happy New Year, Jean ~
Love this image! Reflecting a hint of the roses on the surface you created adds such wonderful realism. Beautiful in every way!
Leslei, thank you so much for sharing about your expirience. Your coloring is outstanding!!! Thank you again for your very intersting post!
Wow, Leslie, your coloring is fantastic! That stamp is gorgeous just by itself, but I love the look you achieved. I’ve noticed that the Neenah bleeds a bit with the Copics so I want to try Gina K’s new Pure Luxury paper. Glad to hear that you had a nice Christmas!
Your coloring is soooo beautiful!
Leslie, this is a gorgeous card! I ran across this card earlier today, on Inspiration site. So pretty. I do have a dumb question…How did you use a circle punch for the photo corners? As usual, your descriptions of your card-making process are great, and I appreciate your time & effort!
This is gorgeous, Leslie!! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!
What gorgeous coloring Leslie! So beautiful!
I really like how your card turned out. Thanks for sharing all that information. The only media I have used is pencils with gamsol and I really like how I can color and shade things. I feel like I have alot of control when I’m using them. I have been using whisper white for my stamping and coloring and really like how it turns out. Don’t worry about your words - I think it’s great that you are willing to share information and I for one really appreciate it - Happy New Year!!
The flowers look so nice I thought you used a sticker. The colors look beautiful.
Your coloring is absolutely gorgeous on that basket of flowers, Leslie!! I love the reflection you’ve created as well!! Incredibly beautiful creation!!
Girl, if you’re an amateur…I can’t even begin to imagine what a pro looks like! Wowzers, is this ever BEAUTIFUL!!!! It honestly looks like you painted it…GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS! You’re making me want to go play with my markers some more!
This is GORGEOUS!!! I’m glad you like your alcohol markers… I’m a HUGE fan. You are right though, the paper makes all the difference.
Wow, Leslie! Stunning card and the coloring on this is so vibrant! I will try to continue resisting the alcohol markers, but you make it more difficult. It shouldn’t surprise you that I’ve looked at that Anna Griffin image many times and almost bought it. Linda
Your coloring is simply gorgeous!!! Beautiful card!!
Oh Leslie, this is so beautiful! I still don’t think I would be able to colour like you will all the markers in the world! Until they start selling talent/skills along with the markers LOL! Perhaps you could deliver them personally!!
This is absolutely magical, Leslie. Your coloring is breath-taking… exquisite.
Leslie, this card is gorgeous! Please do not worry about sharing how long your post is…I love that you share all that information. I have not ventured into the alcohol based marker world yet (but am so tempted LOL!), so I appreciate the differences you bring out between Prismacolor and Copics plus your experience with the different papers.
What a fabulous card, Leslie!!! That image is SO pretty and you have done such a great job coloring it with your markers. I just love all the shadowing and outlining you do with colors — it just makes the entire image so magical — you are truly a master at what you do — with markers or any other medium!!!! Fabulous card!!!!
Your coloring is gorgeous!! This looks like a painting.
Oh, Leslie — this is pure eye candy! I’m so glad to see you took the alcohol marker plunge, it certainly looks like you’ve got the hang of it!