GOOD AFTERNOON FRIENDS! It’s Labor Day here in the US and we’re having a quiet day at home. I decided that I’m going to take time today to work on my colored pencil skills. That’s assuming I have any. Coloring with Copic markers came easily to me but I really struggle with colored pencils. And I’ve tried a lot of different brands. I have a full set of Prismacolors and partial sets of Polychromos and Luminance pencils. But still I struggle. So I signed up for Sandy Allnock’s jump start class for colored pencils and I’m going to work on some of the exercises today. I can’t say enough good things about Sandy – she’s a fabulous artist and I love her coloring videos. If you’re not familiar with her work, check out her YouTube channel.

Today’s Project

Supplies for today’s project are linked to multiple sources at the end of this post. Product links may also be displayed in the brackets following the product name. Where available, I use compensated affiliate links at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Today’s project features:

• Sing Joy by Mo’s Digital Pencil
• Winter Window by Mo’s Digital Pencil
• Copic coloring (see marker list below)
• Additional basic supplies linked in thumbnails below

Coloring the Image

I created the scene by merging two digital images by Mo’s Digital Pencil: Sing Joy and Winter Window. The compiled image was printed on Hammermill Color Copy Cover [AZ] and colored with Copic markers.

Yes, I used a lot of markers because the image had a lot of different elements – skin, hair, clothing plus architectural elements such as bricks, windows, etc. But if you look closely at the Copic list below in the supplies, you’ll see that I repeated several markers across the image. The skin tones reappear in the fur of the cat and the bricks. The colors from the dress are repeated in the mittens and the window frames. The colors in the window panes are used for cast shadows. I did this so that the color scheme has an overall cohesiveness rather than a bunch of random colors jumbled together.

Finishing the Project

Once the coloring was complete, I used the Antique Frames die set by Penny Black to trim the image. I selected one of the stamps from the Christmas Cheer stamp set by Penny Black [AZ] as the sentiment using Verafine Clare in Nocturne [SBC] and heat embossing it with Nuvo Crystal Clear Embossing Powder [SBC | SP]. Since there were already a lot of colors in the image, I mounted the image on Grout Gray Card Stock by My Favorite Things [MFT] using craft foam for added dimension.

This card has been entered in the following challenges:

• Mo’s Digital Pencil Challenge #295

OK – that’s it for me today! See you soon.

Supplies

COPICS: E000, E00, E11 E04, E93, R20 (skin); E23, E29 (hair); B91, B93, B95, B97 (jacket & hat); N0, N1, N3, N6 (shawl); YG61, YG63, YG67 (dress & mittens); E11, E13, E07 (bricks); YG61, YG63 (window frame); Y11, BV00, BV23 (windows) E00, E07, E11 (bricks); E000, E00, E11, BV00 (cat); BV00, BG000, B000, BG10 (snow); W00, W0, W1 (background); BV00, BV23 (shadows)

Below I’ve listed the products used for today’s project. Compensated affiliate links used at no cost to you (see disclosure). I pay out of pocket for the majority of the products — papers, inks, dies, embellishments, etc. —  that you see in my projects with the exception of the handful of products that I receive for design team work or guest posts. I only use products that I love. If you like my projects, please consider supporting me by clicking through these links when you shop. Thanks so much!