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Marker-Guru — Dynamic Skin - copics
Published: 2010-07-21 23:34:12 +0000 UTC; Views: 22601; Favourites: 329; Downloads: 232
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I have more tutorials in my Tutorials gallery folder! [link]well blow me down, there's a shading category, Hyuk Hyuk...
Anyways, after watching millions of video tutorials on colouring with copics, 99.99999% of them are "how to colour skin", but they all show the same way.
I wanted to show you that with a little effort, you can have more interesting, or dynamic skin colouring. I didn't go deep into adding tons of colours and multiple light sources, but we gotta start somewhere right?
Next I might do different types of skin tones... or something. Send me some suggestions if you like... on my blog... [link]
I used Copic markers for this, but this would apply to any medium really...
Anyways, Whatever... I hope this is useful or something...
And as a side note: I don't mean the nose thing to be terribly offensive, only a wee bit. Enough to make you THINK about style choices before doing them, Okay?
If it upsets you, toughen up your hide a little, then keep doing what you do.
Useful Links:
[link] - a great pile of blogs about lighting
[link] - my own marker blog (FOLLOW FOLLOW!!!!!!
)[link] - my livestream where I often (weekly usually) stream my artistic endeavours live for all the chat with me. It's usually markers, but sometimes animation, and usually mondays.
[link] - my sketch blog where I post sketches, works in progress and art journey information (folllowwww!!
)[link] - my youtube
By the way, The character is Demi from my WIP Comic #Conflagration-Film
It's not Anime or Manga, but maybe you'll like it anyways? ;3;
I did a tutorial on Darker skin tones on my blog. Check 'er out [link]
Related content
Comments: 81
I use Xpress it Blending Card mostly for my illustrations, or Aquabee Marker paper (slightly cheaper, and thinner - I use this for comics). [link]
The "marker Paper" on the market is that thin stuff, that's better for quick rendering and colour sketches.
Bristol is OK but it makes everything seem darker and will dry out your markers really fast.
The key is to not have something too heavy or absorbent (though some people like it).
The heavier/more absorbent the paper is, the more ink it will take. You'll be refilling constantly, and since they never stop absorbing, you can get a lot of feathering issues.
Cardstock is best.
Copics Sketchbooks are pretty amazing too. - [link]
Hope that helps
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Thank you very much. I've spent a fortune just on paper in the past 6 months while trying to find something suitable. I did one of my drawings on bristol, and hated it when I started to lay the marker down because it feathered so much. I kept having to use the blender to push it back in between the lines. Never doing that again. I enjoyed using the thin layout paper with my prisma color markers, but tried it with my copics and hated it.
Your link helped a lot.
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yay, I'm glad
I've done a lot of teaching and guest blogs so I've gotten to know all the tools really well 
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I was an intern for an art class last year, so I know just about everything besides markers. Paints, pastels, chalk, etc, is easy to deal with. I've got a closet full of quality art supplies. Everything but card stock.
I've yet to upload any of my really good work because they're commissions and I use just about everything on them. I'm not too good with manga or anything cartoonish, but I can draw realistically with charcoal really well. I've started a ballpoint pen drawing of Snape, and a sepia charcoal drawing of one of the old movie ladies.
The charcoal drawing is on 9x12 bristol and is too big to fit on my scanner. lol.
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Yeah, I specifically meant markers (though I have branched out a LOT)
I avoided card stock for a long time, its actually hard to get good COLOURING card stock in a real art store. sometimes have to go to craft stores. Hooray for Online shopping? In Canada shipping becomes a monstrous problem though :/
The scanner problem was always one of my problems too, HAHA! I hated that scanners were always so small. I broke down and finally bought a 11x17 scanner. Its the best thing I ever bought and wasn't that pricy (as far an good scanners go anyway)[link]
It was torture to have to scan all my comics in 2 parts and stitch them together in photoshop.
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I live in the U.S. so I don't have a shipping problem. It's just finding the items in stock online. Every time I get the money to buy what I want, no one has it online or in the store. I had to piece one of my older pictures together using the Photoshop at school and I ended up really messing it up because I don't have any photoshop/digital experience.
It really looked hilarious. My teacher printed it off and wrote below: Don't drink and draw. Everyone got a laugh out of it because my traditional pieces are pretty good. I love going to art/craft stores just to see what they have.
I looked into the X-Press It and some is currently on it's way, along with some more card stock. I'm trying out different brands even though X-Press it will probably be the one I end up liking anyway.
And it is really hard to get good paper. Even though you can feel of it before you buy, it's not the same as taking your pencil and drawing on it to see how it reacts. They should have little pads of paper like the kind they sell. They are catering to some picky people, right?
Thank you for the link for the scanner.
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This is great, thanks so much! I used to mix colors a lot when I used to paint, but I've only been using markers for a long time so that I could practice. I didn't know you could blend totally different colors like that, even in the skin. Anytime I've tried, it looks horrible. I guess I have a lot to learn about copics still.
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ahh, yeah markers are a big shift from paint, that's for sure! but so rewarding
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Finally! Somebody other than me realizes that you need to add purple or and other bluish tone to skin so that the shadows provide contrast and depth to the skin.
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Oops, missed the link. I'm disappointed that you didn't cover really dark brown people on your blog. 
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Ya, sorry about that! the post was getting so long, Lol.
I wouldn't use greys for shadows, what I'd do is shift your focus from shadows to highlights. Instead of really worrying about the shadows, just make sure your highlights are well placed, and the right intensity and your shadows will just naturally show up then. You might need to pick a colour for your base that is a few shades lighter than your actual intended skin tone in order to achieve this. If you MUST use greys, I'd stick to the warm greys. They're the least "un natural" grey.
Eventually I will make more tutorials on colouring and shading darker stuff including skin! I just have a great deal on my plate right now, so I'm probably not going to get to it right away, but I put a post it note on my monitor to remind me that it should be my next tutorial on my blog
I rarely post those tutorials on dA, but If I do make it I'll try and remember to let you know
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Haha, no worries.
Nice. Thank you for the advice! I'll give it a try.
Oh, it's cool, I understand. I'll save you the trouble and check back on the blog occasionally to see if you've updated any of the tutorials on your blog.
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yay
Okay, I'll do my best :>
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I would LOVE for you to cover different skin tones.
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:] Yay~ This is quite nice~ 
I remember when I was water coloring one day I added purple to the skin tone I was using and made this epic skin color~ XD I was so so happy~
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Thank you
I know, whenever people ask me how to make something better I'm like 'add a little lavender, add a little blue" and I get like this face
O.o
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You're welcome~
Ya~ Exactly
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I see that nose thing too a lot. I think it's cute for some pictures, but you're absolutely right. What IS IT? haha they must have been sitting out in the sun with just their nose out, like you said x3
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Wonderful tutorial! I don't have copics, but I have prismacolor and I'm gonna give these techniques a try with them. And I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates the darkened noses; it makes your character look like they're drunk or have a stuffed nose. And most of the time, people don't even know why they do it and heaven forbid you say that the darkened shading on the nose is totally out of place. And I hate that people use the "it's my style!" excuse. That's not style, that's just poor shading.
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I love when somebody makes a specific tutorial! Thanks for making me think!
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Thank you for posting this! I used it here: [link]
It seriously came in handy. I knew something was missing but I could never quite put my figure on it.
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OH nice to see the results of someone using it
thats fab
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Thanks!
I tried to take it beyond just skin and use general reflect light since there isn't a lot of skin in the picture. It's something I used to do all the time in my computer coloring and just got out of practice.
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ya, its difficult sometimes to transfers skills from one medium to the next XD
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Wow, this is really helpful. Thanks! I always knew people were adding more colors to the skin than like just basic shading but I couldn't figure out what they were doing xD
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Ya totally!
It took a lot of experimenting on my own, because no one ever really shares these things. so many people act all secretive about their techniques, so it's hard for others to learn this stuff.
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This is a wonderful tutorial on what is perhaps the hardest part of any drawing! Thank you.
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i lol'd about the dark noses part.
i don't get it either, and it's kinda eerie looking imo >x>;;
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Ya, like a christmas story of some kind... something about a mutant ungulate?
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xDD evil reindeer even~
Rudolf goes crazy!
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Very nice tutorial, especially for a Copic noob.
Will certainly come in handy!
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the dark noses are a bad mimic of a fine art technique called the five value system or chiaroscuro (things that are closer to the viewer have higher contrast, hence the dark nose with the spot highlight) to make things look 3d. usually the darkest shadows and brightest highlights are on the nose.
the problem arises when people use the technique without understanding what it is or why they are doing it. they tend to just darken the whole nose then slap a white dot on it.
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I know of that value system/technique however I never made that connection between that to those noses... Interesting!
HA! WOW at least now I can make some sense of it, thank you XD
... ya I would never have made that connection
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i noticed it creeping into digital painting maybe 1-1.5 years ago, then it trickled down to the novices. now you can't get away from it! ^^
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I noticed it in digital too, and dreaded the eventual shift into copics
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i've seen a couple of marker users try it, but it doesn't look right. i think my issue would be that the artist who does the nose dot generally doesn't render the whole image in the same style.
but i shouldn't complain i never work in color! XD
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That's it too, it is style mimicking. they see one person do it on a portrait then do a full body and don't know how to translate to the rest of the picture.
haha! Non colour has it's demons too XD
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i would prefer to stick with ink + tone, but i'll get my ass handed to me at my review in december if i can't show decent color images! ಠ3ಠ
i just get so bored - i start something with the best of intentions then flake out after 30 minutes!
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HA! Yeah, I used to do black and white alllll the time, until i found Copics.
I watercoloured for years but always went back to ink XD
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sometimes i just want to move onto the next drawing so i lose interest! it's also hard to find the time/money to paint as well as sculpt :/
ink, man i can't wait to finish off my thesis pages! there's nothing like tech pen on bristol..
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