No Line Coloring Archives - Rowhouse Greetings

Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher by Power Poppy

Published on March 13, 2020March 13, 2020 by Rowhouse Greetings8 Comments

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! I’m back today with another card featuring the Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher Digital Stamp Set by Power Poppy.

Actually, it’s relief that I have a card to show you today. I’ve been going through a bit of a dry spell – no card making mojo and I just wasn’t satisfied with anything I colored. So I went back to basics – I used X-Press It Blending Card instead of the Hammermill paper that I’ve been using of late. I stuck to a pared down color scheme (although it didn’t stop me from using a lot of markers!). Since I was using a digital stamp, I could enlarged the image instead of struggling with a tiny spaces to color.

I printed the digital stamp on X-Press It Blending Card. Since I didn’t want black lines, I changed the image color to gray and set the transparency at 30%. This lightened the lines enough that I could still see them, but they fade into the coloring.

I colored the image with Copic markers, using a two different green combinations so that the leaves would not all look alike. I stuck to a single combination of RV markers for the tulips and warm grays for the pitcher for simplicity.

I selected a sentiment from the Potted Primroses Clear Stamp Set by Power Poppy and stamped it with Versafine Clare ink. The image layer was cut using second largest die from the Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables set. I also used the largest die from the Fancy Scalloped Rectangle Stackables set to cut a plain white piece of cardstock.

From there, I started layering my papers. I’m often asked about the adhesives that I use for my cards. When I first started, I used a variety of tape runners but I found the layers separating on some of my cards. Then tried out various glues because I like being able to wiggle my layers a bit if they don’t go down straight on the first try. Most of the liquid glues I tried warped the paper or caused it to buckle. Tracy at Photo Scraps introduced me to Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue and I’ve been using it ever since.

Allison Cope
Broni Holcombe
Christine Okken
Leslie Miller
Lisa Johansen
Gloria Stengel
Stacy Morgan

Hope you found some inspiration. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you again soon!

Disclosure: Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) which were provided by a store or design team. I never share a product I do not like. All opinions are my own. Read more.

Where available I use compensated affiliate links, meaning that at no cost to you I receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I use this money to support my blog. If you like my projects, please consider supporting me by clicking through these links when you shop. Thanks so much! Read more.

Supplies

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110# (card base); X-Press It Blending Card by Copic; Party Patterns 6×6 Paper Pack by My Favorite Things; Tiny Check 6×6 Paper Pack by My Favorite Things
Stamps: Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher Digital Stamp Set by Power Poppy (image also available in the Loving Tulips Clear Stamp Set by Power Poppy); Potted Primroses by Power Poppy
Ink: Versafine Clare in Nocture by Tsukineko
Die: Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables by Lawn Fawn (S | SP); Fancy Scalloped Rectangle Stackables by Lawn Fawn (S | SP)
Adhesive: Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue
Copics: RV52, RV55, RV63, RV66, RV69, BV20 (tulips); YG03, YG17, YG21, B34 (leaf combo 1); G20, G24, G46 (leaf combo 2); W0, W1, W3, W5, BV20 (pitcher); BV00, BV04 (shadow) [DB]

Bundled Up by Penny Black

Published on August 19, 2019August 25, 2019 by Rowhouse Greetings6 Comments

GOOD AFTERNOON FRIENDS! I’m back today with another holiday card featuring Bundled Up by Penny Black, one of the brush stroke images which was perfect to try out some no line coloring.

For no line coloring, the image is stamped with a light colored ink instead of the traditional black ink. In this case, I decided to try out Fadeout No Line Coloring Detail Ink by Inkon3, a hybrid ink suitable for alcohol markers, watercolors, and colored pencils. The ink appears as a light tan color when stamped, but takes on the color you lay on top. As a result, Copic blends stay true and are not changed by the underlying ink.

I stamped the image and planned out my coloring. With no line coloring, you need to put more thought into depth and layering since you don’t have black lines to help the eye see the various shapes and folds. I started with the folds in the scarf and worked my way from there. At first, my coloring looked a little strange without the guidance of the black lines, but the more I colored, the more it came together. So it was just a matter of having faith that it would all work out in the end.

After I finished the Copic coloring, I cleaned up my lines a little with a Prismacolor pencil in Indigo blue, adding lines where necessary or adding a little more color as needed to push some areas back and pull others forward. I filled in the eyes with a black Copic multi-liner (0.05 tip) and added a few highlights on the berries with a white gel pen.

Once complete, I added a simple sentiment to let the image stand on its own. I love how it turned out in the end, particularly the movement and billowing of the scarf.

Have you started your holiday cards yet? Hey – it’s August already! What are you waiting for?

Supplies

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; Hammermill Color Copy Digital Cover 100#
Stamps: Bundled Up by Penny Black; Christmas Sentiments by Penny Black
Inks: Fadeout No Line Coloring Detail Ink by Inkon3; Versafine in Onyx Black by Tsukineko
Copics: BV20, BG11, BG53, BG57 (scarf & hat band); C5, C7, C9 (hat); R27, C5 (berries); C5, YG03, YG17 (leaves); C5, R14, R22, R27 (nose); BG0000, BG10, B0000, BV000 (snow)

Rowhouse Greetings | Daffodil Bouquet by Power Poppy

Daily Marker 30 Day Challenge – Team Power Poppy!

Published on June 8, 2018May 9, 2019 by Rowhouse Greetings120 Comments

I’m here today as part of the Power Poppy hop promoting The Daily Marker’s 30 Day Coloring Challenge. The Power Poppy design team was asked to show what goes on behind the scenes in the coloring process. So I have a work in progress for you to illustrate all the random and not so random thoughts that go into my coloring.

Background

In reality, I am a frustrated watercolorist. I love the look of watercolor florals, but I just don’t have the same control with a brush and water that I do with a Copic marker. Part of what I love about watercolor is how the colors spread and blend, creating new colors that add texture and interest. So I’ve been experimenting with a looser Copic style that mimics the look of watercolor.

For today’s challenge, I selected Marcella’s Daffodils Bouquet digital stamp. I also decided to push my boundaries by trying my hand at no line coloring. Since I will be trying out some new techniques on this illustration, I decided to enlarge the image so that I wouldn’t struggle with coloring a lot of tiny details. My paper size is 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches and the image size is 5 inches by 5.3 inches.I printed the image on X-Press It Blending Card by Copic, switching the image color to gray and reducing the saturation to 30 percent. While the lines are no longer black, they are still a bit darker than I intended. I decided to use the printed image and figure out the printing issue at a later time.

When I have a new image to color, I start by finding reference images on Google. I particularly loved the colors and style of this watercolor by Marilyn Fuerstenburg as well as this one by Varvara Harmon. Both captured the light but colorful style that I wanted to achieve. I decided to go with a similar color palette.

I haven’t really decided what I’m going to do with the finished image. It will fit on a 6×6 card so that might be the end result. I would normally start with the background, but I’m also thinking that I might fussy cut this for the card front. So for now, I’m going to leave the background alone. I can add a background later . Not the best way to proceed, but a decision that I’m going to live with for now.

And We’re Off to color!

I find yellow to be a particularly difficult color to use, mainly because you can’t create any sort of depth just by adding darker shades of yellow. I find that I usually have to underpaint with a shade of blue or violet. Here, I applied yellow (Y11) on the petals over multiple shades of blue (B000, B00, B60) to get the petals to appear to bend and accentuate the ridges. The added benefit is that applying yellow over blue creates shades of green that add to the overall effect.

I decided to start working on the stems and leaves so that I could start balancing other elements in the bouquet. Originally, I selected markers from the YG family, but switched to the G color family to better compliment the cooler tones throughout the bouquet. I underpainted the greenery with BV23 and then applied G46 and G43 over top. The combination of BV23 and G46 gave me a more realistic shade of dark green than I could achieve by adding a higher value marker (i.e. a marker where the second number was greater than 6). And it had the added benefit of creating a realistic blend from dark to light while using only two G markers.

At this point, all the daffodils are complete (except for the stamen) as well as all the leaves and stems. It’s now time to start on the grape hyacinths. This is a real challenge because I have to create delineation without the help of black lines. I may have to come back later with colored pencils to add detail that I can’t achieve with a marker.

As you can see, I’m going to have the same problem with the stamen in the daffodils. For now I’ve colored them with G40 and G43 but they’ll probably need a little colored pencil as well.

STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS…

At this point, I need to set this aside and so I can get ready for a quick getaway trip (because there are other things in life besides Copics!). I still need to add some colored pencil to help delineate the grape hyacinths and the stamens in the daffodils. I may have to clean up some of the lines with colored pencil as well, but I’ll have to be careful – I don’t want to go through this whole exercise just to add outlines back into the image.

While there’s always room for improvement, I’m generally satisfied with my progress so far.

What Have I Learned?

While I’m happy with the overall result, here are a few things that I learned along the way:

Black lines hide flaws in my technique. When done well (or done right), no line coloring produces such a realistic image that it will appear as if you drew the image yourself. That would be quite an accomplishment for me since I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler. But no line coloring requires having a solid grasp of how to create depth with layers of color. Without the black lines, your eye has to fill in the blanks to understand the image – including its edges and shape – and I have a tendency to keep adding more layers. Which leads to my next point …..
Know when to stop coloring. Some of my daffodils are looking a little overworked and heavy. When coloring a complex image, I have to learn to set it aside and give it (and me) a chance to rest. As the ink fully dries, the colors change – the yellows get a little brighter, the greens a little deeper. Instead, I kept adding layers of color, deepening a petal edge to push it back or trying to lighten/brighten another to pull it forward. After awhile, there is a point of diminishing returns. I would have had a better chance of seeing that if I had set my project aside for awhile and returned later with a fresh eye.
Spend more time in advance planning out the color palette. As my students will tell you, I’m notorious for using a lot of markers in a project. Planning out the palette in advance would have allowed me to reuse colors better. For example, I probably could have reused BV23 to underpaint the wrapper instead of introducing three new markers for a relatively small element in the overall image.

Need some more inspiration? Take a look at what my Power Poppy team mates have in store for you!

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Julie Koerber
Kathy Jones
Katie Sims
Tosha Leyendekker
Barb Walker
Nancy Sheads (that’s me!)
Elizabeth Zaffarano

Below are the supplies I’ve used for today’s project. All items were personally purchased except those marked with an asterisk (*) . I never share a product I do not like. Read more.