Friday, March 3, 2017

Growing In Unity Day 5

Whew, it's Friday!  It was pretty touch and go there!

(I'll be honest, I started to write this post on Sunday, Feb 26th.  AFTER brunch- I thought that I needed a liquid encouragement to get my brain cells moving.  Instead, it just made me want to nap! And yeah, the nap will always win out!  I mean, who doesn't like a good Sunday afternoon nap!)

Anyway, I have pretty much exhausted all the fun ways to color Unity Stamps. Sure I could have discussed standard color pencils, graphite, and charcoal.  But, I ran out of time. And who uses charcoal to color in a stamped image for a card or scrapbook page?  You are a better person than me if you do!  However, I did leave time for some non traditional, non-blending coloring supplies. Sharpies.  YES, I did say Sharpies, Gel Pens, and Art Markers.




Unity Stamps:

  • Main Image- Forest of Affection- Possibly my all time favorite image.  These little trees scream happiness to me. But, colored in different tones, they could be perfect for any occasion.
Paper- Smooth Bristol paper. A smooth, heavy weight mixed media paper would work well in these applications as well.



Coloring Mediums-
  • Gel Pens
  • Art Markers
  • Sharpie




Let me preface all this by saying: These mediums take some time to achieve that gradient, color blending look that make Unity stamps stand out even more. However, you can achieve value and shading by using techniques more suited for pen and ink.  For example, hatching, cross hatching, scumbling, contour hatching & stippling. 


Gel Pen- Gel Pens are a popular medium in the coloring book community.  You can find large sets nearly anywhere.  There are a wide variety of colors and effects available.  Sparkle, neon and standard are the most readily available.  The ink does go on smoothly, but can smear on smooth paper if you do not give it time to dry. This type of ink can be difficult to blend smoothly unless you have colors close on the color wheel. Keep your ink strokes all going in the same direction.  Feather the two colors together where the ink colors meet.  The positive is they do add a nice vibrancy and sparkle to any image. Just a side note, make sure you get a good quality gel pen. Lower quality pens come out scratchy and do not flow well.  Spend the extra money and avoid the frustration and gray hairs!

Art Markers- Art markers or any of the standard markers are a great way to lay down a solid color, semi-transparent pigment. They do not blend with water, alcohol or even with a blending pen. The best way to achieve a gradient color is by just adding on more and more layers of  pigment and use one of the techniques I mentioned above. Art markers come in a variety of nibs from bullet to brush tip. The ink in some of these markers work well when you color directly on a rubber image then stamp. If you find the ink dries on the stamp before you can lay down the color onto the paper, just "huff" on the rubber side of the stamp a couple of times.  The moisture from your breath will remoisten the ink. If you don't know how to huff, think of how your breathing is when Unity has a great sale!  Or Brad Pitt nekked.  Mmmm. Brad Pitt nekked.

Sharpie Markers- Now, I know you all think I am crazy, because Sharpie Markers isn't the first supply you think of when you sit down to color a Unity Stamp.  But consider this: Sharpies are a type of alcohol marker.  Now you can't blend them like a Copic or Spectrum Noir marker, but when combined with rubbing alcohol, you can create some interesting textures. Add the alcohol onto a piece of denim or terry cloth towel, press the moistened fabric firmly onto the area of choice, and wait a couple of seconds.  You will see some cool bleaching effects creating some interesting textures. Similar to a standard Art Marker, you can get some decent shading by just adding on additional layers of color.  Just like with an alcohol marker, the ink will bleed though your paper, so take precautions.  Seriously, Sharpies-give them a try.

Could you spot which medium I colored which image with?  I'll admit, none of these are my "go to" art supply, but if you are just starting out, on a limited budget, or are looking for a new medium to master, these supplies may be worth trying.

Final Answer:
Top- Gel Pen
Middle- Artist Marker
Bottom- Sharpie

I'm sad it's Friday and our adventure together is over.  I'm a little disappointed this week was more like a ride on the carousel, and not a rollercoaster , However, I didn't get trampled by a pack of dogs out for an amours time, and you didn't have to say "Bless her heart" too many times.(Well, I hope not anyway).

I also want to thank each and everyone of you for the warm and supportive comments.  Except for you Fallulah. You just bug me.  I am NOT responsible for your new Unity addiction.  

I also want to thank the Growing In Unity girls.  I appreciate the opportunity to share my creations.

As I mentioned EVERYDAY this week.  Please be sure to comment.  It's your ticket into the drawing for an AWESOME Unity prize.  I'll draw names on Saturday!

Thank you all again for the warm welcome & great support.

-Annie




32 comments:

  1. Love the funky colors - great final project for the week, and it's been fun learning about all the crafty techniques! You are very talented!

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  2. Fantastic way of showing the endless possibilities with coloring!! Great cards!

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  3. Your blog is both entertaining and educational. Love your frankness and the level of detail you share on these comparisons. You did a fantastic job as the Unity GIU Girl this week. I will miss your humor next week.

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  4. Thank you so much for sharing this week! Wonderful creations. I admit I have a pot of Sharpies sitting on my desk. Sitting. Not using. Maybe I will change that this weekend. Your blog has been a great read and I hope you had great fun.

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  5. I love this! I've never noticed that set and it is wonderful. You are a better woman than I. I could never achieve your results. It has been a great week. I love your sense of humor and got some great tips while following you. Thanks!

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  6. I have loved your posts (along with the Facebook posts on the Unity pages) all week. Since I do get all of your references, I guess that means I am old too, although not nearly as old as my kids and granddaughter think. Thank you for the laughs this week.

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  7. I have loved your posts and am following your blog now. I have learned so much on the journey this weeks with all the techniques and comparisons. I will be getting out some new mediums to play with this weekend. I have also added a couple of stamp sets to my wish list. Thank you and I look forward to seeing more of your work and tutorials.

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  8. Years ago I started with sharpies...never thought about the texture idea! Love reading all your post...love your sense of humor....thanks for the laughs!

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  9. I would've never thought to use sharpies to color in my stamped images, now I need to give it a try. What is your preferred gel pen brand, I have not found a good brand yet. Thanks for sharing all these different types of coloring!

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  10. Brad Pitt nekked.... Haha. Love the look of your artist market trees. Thank you so much for your blog posts.

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  11. Merika- Personally I like the Gelly Roll brand. I have purchased a few of the cheapo kinds from Office Depot, and they were a bust. I have seen some good reviews on the multi-pack of markers from Costco. But, that pack comes with multiples. I haven't any personal experience, but it may be a source for you. Do some YouTube research on those before you buy.

    Nice thing about colored gel pens is they are multipurpose. If you are a planner, journaler, or just like to spruce up your day with colored ink, you can use these pens for just plain writing.

    Hope that helps, and Thank you for all you kind comments this week!

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  12. I just love the shading! I am trying to learn to do that, but I'm not very artistic.

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  13. Love this blog. Thanks so much for sharing. I love mixed media and have used sharpies for a long time. But, never used it with alcohol! Cant wait to try.

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  14. Sharon- You don't have to be artistic to shade at all. It's all about light source. This weekend after my GUI stint is over, I'll put up some information about light source and shading for you.

    -Annie

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  15. Pattisa2j- if you are into mixed media. You may have a stash of Pitt Pens. If you do, give those a try too!

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  16. Denise S.- Girl you and I are NOT old. We are in the sweet spot of life! If you get the Different Strokes reference, you are the PERFECT age.

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  17. Love the challenge of trying out different supplies. Great post!

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  18. I made the mistake of buying cheap gel pens. Hated them! Never again! I've not tried Sharpies but am now very curious about this bleaching technique! Going to have to try that. I do love my Tombow markers. I learned about the huffing technique in a blog, and now use them exclusively to color directly onto my stamps. I love how they come out! Thank you so much for all of your beautiful creations and wonderful ideas this week! Your explanations of the different mediums is very helpful!

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  19. Annie, I love them all, but my favorite is the gel pens and then the sharpie. I have to admit, I have never used Sharpie markers to color, but now I have to give them a try. I also got the references in your post and I am enjoying this part of my life, as you are. LOL. Thank you for all the wonderful information you have provided this week and the good laughs! Thanks again for sharing.

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  20. lol I love you Annie :) love that tree stamp! It's so fun. Digging the sharpie technique - I know someone who does a lot with gel pens and sharpie - will have to show her this post. :)

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  21. What a super-fun image with those whimsical trees!!! Love your wonderful coloring!!
    Thank you so much for a week of interesting and helpful coloring medium discussions and comparisons. This fits right in with the 30 Days of Coloring challenge going on elsewhere right now. I bet you did not plan that, did you? Hey, sometimes things actually DO just WORK for a change!! lol....
    Many thanks for sharing your art with this week!!!
    <3 J

    jwoolbright at gmail dot com
    HerPeacefulGarden.blogspot.com

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  22. Bless your little heart. Fun. That's nice.

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  23. again, beautiful work! you're far braver than I to color with Sharpies! (in my case, the color would end up everywhere, in addition to the paper!)

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  24. I spotted the sharpies, cos I am a sharpie fan. And I assumed the gel pens were the brightest so I figure I get full marks today LOL. Love that stamp. Don't know that one so will obviously have to have another look around the Unity site. Thank you so much for sharing your extensive colouring knowledge this week. It's been fun and edumacational. Hugz

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  25. Thank you for an entertaining read each day! Love the gel pen colouring, never thought of giving them a go.

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  26. Love the stamps and shading and your expertise sharing! I am joining in a wee bit late but I did not want to miss all this weeks creativity!

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  27. Annie, you are a freaking hoot. I have loved every single one of your posts and I will miss them... or maybe I won't. Maybe I will figure out how to subscribe to your blog. You speak my language, sass, a bit of sarcasm, humor, and knowledge.

    P.S. I could not guess which card used which medium today.

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  28. Aarrg! I need to retire and craft for the rest of my days. I'll never get it all done. But thank you for some awesome inspiration.

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  29. It has been a great week hanging out with you and seeing all the different mediums you have told us about. Keep up the great work.

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  30. You do marvelous work and I've enjoyed every second of it.

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  31. his has been an awesome week of learning new things(for me) thanx fro sharing

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  32. So lovely I loved learning about the comparisons on this one I got the sharpie one right! πŸ‘πŸ˜€ I will have to try all these. I have used gel pens but has been a while. They are all so lovey. You have done so well this past week. Hope to see more of your stuff soon.

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