I have been creating art as far back as I can remember. I have also enjoyed the privilege of trying many different drawing and painting materials because my dad is an artist, and my mom is an art teacher. My parents are very supportive and encourage me to try using any materials I want. For a long time I liked just drawing in pencils. I tried using watercolors, acrylic and gouache paint, however I felt that my artwork looked messy. I began to use markers and found that I really enjoyed the control and the way it looked. My parents found that Copic markers were the very best artist markers available so they got me a small kit to try out. I immediately loved them, and within a few weeks we had a very nice collection of Copic markers. What I really like about these markers is the ability to blend my colors to add interesting effects. It really makes the drawing look vibrant and realistic, which is a look that I like. In this post I will explain the steps I follow to create a drawing using pencils, pens and Copic markers.
Before I start drawing, I look for cool images on the internet. I will search for a few references with poses that I think would look good, and colors that I really like. I then save them on my computer so I don’t lose them. Once I decide which image or images I will use, then I start making small sketches on cheap paper to design a good composition. I like to give my drawings more interest than just a picture of a fish, bird, or animal, so I will think about other little animals, flowers, coral or anything else that might look interesting in the background. Sometimes I also like to give the animals a characteristic face, to give them some personality. Once I have decided how it will look on the page, I get a sheet of our nice Bristol paper. This paper is nice and thick, and has a very smooth texture which is great for markers. The pencil I use for the final drawing is a mechanical pencil named Graphgear 1000 by Pentel. I use a 4B lead which is soft and erases easily. Once the pencil drawing is done, I am ready to ink.
The inking process is fun but it can also make me nervous because it is very hard to cover your mistakes. I really need to focus to make sure my lines are smooth and accurate. The pens that I like to use are brush pens by Tombow. They come in a couple different tip sizes and I really like them because you can make thick and thin lines with them. I have a few other pens I use that have very fine points which I use to make the small details. In case I mess up, I have a white ink called Copic Opaque White. It comes in a bottle and I can brush the ink onto my errors. I try not to use this too much. Once the ink process is done, its time to color, which is my favorite part, and when the drawing really comes alive.
The coloring process can often go very quickly. I like to make my drawings very vibrant and colorful, which is why I really enjoy drawing fish and birds. I start with the light colors first, because you can always make them darker, but it is very difficult to make colors lighter. I love building up the colors with Copic markers because each time you blend them, you create new colors on the page. The range of colors makes the drawing look very interesting. Adding the shadows and the highlights is also one of my favorite parts because the drawings really start to look 3D. Finally, once the everything else is colored in, I will add the background colors. Sometimes I will use only Copic markers for the background, but lately I have also started using pastel colors because it helps create a smoother appearance, since markers often leave streaks.
The final step is to add a black border to the drawing, and to sign my name in the corner. I love this step because it means I’m finally finished and we can share the image with the person who purchased it, as well as to my Instagram page.
