Sunday, June 21, 2009

HHC36 Use Up Those Scraps! Copic tip: Coloring an Elephant!


Today's challenge at High Hopes is hosted by our fab Diva Jeanne! She wants us to dive into our scrap heaps and pull out unused cardstock scraps to make our card/project! If you check out her creation for this challenge, you will see that it displays the stamps that are up for grabs in the weekly blog candy giveaway on the High Hopes Blog! To enter the contest, simply join in the challenge and link up a photo of your creation to the comment section on the High Hopes Blog under this week's challenge. Why not join in? You could have a chance to be a winner!
I stamped Elmer Elephant in Tsukeneko Tuxedo Black ink onto Canson Manga Drawing Pad paper and colored him in with Copics.

Tips on Coloring an Elephant:

Most people reach for grays when coloring an elephant. I don't. I find it gives the animal more life to give it a bit of color, and why not, we aren't exactly going for realism here! LOL
I was at African Lion Safari a few years ago, and remember noting how brown the elephants looked. I actually rode one with my daughter, and it was truly painful!! What hurt was their HAIR! It was like wire, and it was SHARP! And I was in shorts!! Weird, I know.
For Elmer himself, I used:
E70, 71, 74, 77, RV34, and C2 for his nails and C4 and 5 in the shadows on him.
On the ground and grass I used E21, 25, 33, G12 and YR24 and again, C4 and 5 in the shadows.
There is a stamp that says, "Thanks a ton" at High Hopes, but it was straight and I wanted mine to curve along the edge of the oval I used (found in my scrap heap!) and so I hand printed that.
For the highlights on his trunk, I waited til the ink was very dry (about fifteen minutes) and used the colorless blender to remove color. I just swiped it gently, using only the end of the brush tip (hold it straight up to get the thinnest stroke line) . Don't hold it down onto the paper for a long period of time or the solution will bleed out and cause a really thick line. I went over each line I wanted highlighted about three times till I was happy with how much color I had removed.
For most of the other highlights on him, I just avoided adding darker shades of the E70's grouping of colors I used. I think this is the most efficient way to highlight, esp. when you want a good blend and no lines of demarcation. Sometimes lines of demarcation are appropriate to have on your image, like for example on the trunk here, because I wanted them to suggest wrinkle lines, which are not blurred and blended but are more distinct.
Notice that sometimes there is a highlighted edge, even in the areas where there are very dark shadows. For example, the left side of his face, at the jaw line. This gives a more three D effect and makes an image pop!



Thanks for looking today, or should I say, thanks a TON for looking today!! ;-)
Happy Father's Day to any Dads reading this!!!!!!!!!!
God's richest blessings be yours today!!!!!!!!!!

27 comments:

  1. Fabulous, Crissy! Love your tips, thanks so much for sharing.

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  2. Thanks for the tip! And I'd have to say the card looks awesome, as if the elephant is breathing! :)

    Happy Father's Day to your hubby Michael.

    Hugs,
    Lexi

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  3. Gorgeous card, love your colouring! Your right it really brings him to life. Have no High Hopes Stamps yet so can't enter this, wish they did digi stamps lol.
    Pinky

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  4. Oh my, isn't he the sweetest elephant ever! Your card looks stunning again Crissy and thanks for the Copic tips I'm still practicing and learning a lot;-)

    Have a wonderful sunday,

    Inge xOx

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  5. Crissy this is really gorgeous, it looks like the elephant is coming at you, colours are perfect, i so love elephants, perfect job with this one, {hugs} pops x x x x

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  6. What a gorgeous elephant, I love her face (has to be a girl, lol). I love how you draw in grass and the perfection of your colouration. Your tips are just brilliant and I wish I had copics so I could use all this wonderful advice!! Hope you have a great Sunday, was so nice to pay you a visit!
    -x-

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  7. Oh, I love Elmer.....so adorable and as always so beautifully coloured. Hope you're having a great weekend
    fiona xx

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  8. Crissy, this is so adorable! I love the coloring and thank you so much (a ton!) for explaining how you do it.

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  9. This is absolutely adorbale Crissy! Love your layout and your pretty leaf embelli's. Of course your coloring just blows me away as always! Hugs, Lisa

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  10. A fabulous card Crissy, the colours you have used are fabulous. hugs rachxx

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  11. This is so cute, Crissy!! I love your coloring as always!

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  12. Fantastic card Crissy and thanks for the fabulous Copic tips!

    Hugs, Kelly

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  13. What a beautiful card Crissy,l love the image and colours.
    So gorgeous papers.

    Hugs Riet.x

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  14. Ooooh love your card, sweetie! Fab image and you have coloured it to perfection.
    Hugs Tab xxx

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  15. Oh me darling this is so wonderful your colouring is trully amazing, your ever so talented......first class huggies June xx

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  16. That elephant is just adorable!! Love your card!

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  17. Hi Crissy, such a fun card, love the elephant and the sentiment is fab too. Thank you for all your tips using copics, I need all the help I can get lol. Hugs Dawn Marie.xx

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  18. Your blending/shading is amazing!!!
    Thank you for your tips, I was a little too impatient, next time i'll know what to do.
    Thanks again,
    Joe

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  19. Your card is gorgeous Chrissy and the colouring is perfect. Love all the shading and blending, you have it down to a fine art!
    Clairex

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  20. Well you dug through and found awesome scraps and I love the card!! Colors are wonderful and the image is too cute!!
    XMicheleX

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  21. This miracle an elephant. Simply remarkable animal)

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  22. Gorgeous card Crissy, so beautifully coloured and the papers and detail are beautiful. Hugs Nikki x

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  23. Awesome coloring as usual! Love that sweet elephant! I have a mega scrap pile and no excuse not to do this challenge! Great card Crissy!

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  24. Chrissy this card is so sweet!! Your coloring is super awesome!

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  25. Simply stunning Crissy. I love the way you have coloured the wonderful Elmer.

    Thanks for the fabulous tips too. You are totally right, elephants are far more brown in the flesh - wonder why we all colour them grey?! ~x~

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  26. Super Cute and Fabulous!! I love the way you colored this elephant...and your scraps and handwriting look Wonderful!!...Thanks so much for your comment on my last post Crissy...I only use copics under the prismacolor pencils...but after reading your post I all of the sudden realized I do not clarify that enough...and had visions of many people ruining their copics..Yikes!!..not a good thing. Thanks to you...I've made it very clear that I only use the copics for a base....Hugs, Ila

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