No Lines Technique

Hey, all!  It's been a few days...five to be exact!  That's right, 5 days without making a card or breaking out the Copics.  In fact, yesterday I even sat down and read a book for awhile.  What was I thinking?  The coloring bug didn't hit me until this morning and then I had to do something, so I decided to jump on the No Lines bandwagon and give it a go.  It was fun, but I must admit, it did take some time to get this image colored up.  Probably twice as long as it would normally take me and I'm no zippy colorer to begin with.

First, I had to select an image.  It couldn't be too detailed or that would be a real bear to color, but it couldn't be too simple either, because that might actually be less forgiving.  I settled on this beautiful image by Krista Smith (Saturated Canary) for Simply Sassy Stamps and it is called Fairy Tale.  Next, I needed to find a fairly light ink that was compatible with Copic Markers.  I've been hoarding stamping supplies for roughly 14 years now, so you would think this would be pretty easy...not so.  My favorite ink is Memento and while I own no less than 6 ink pads in black, the only colored pads I have are Summer Sky, Bamboo Leaves, and Rich Cocoa...none of which would fit the bill for this process.  I finally rummaged around and came up with a Memories Ink pad in Sand.  Not my favorite ink for Copics, but it would have to do.

I started as I normally would, by coloring the face, then the rest of the skin.  This is one of those techniques that you really have to stick with, because it does not look like much until you really commit and get further into the process.  The scary part was drawing all of the details back in, such as the eyes, strands of hair, and the checked pattern on the sleeves and the sash.  PHEW!  There is no worse feeling than getting deep into the process and then blowing it all by giving her a lazy eye...LOL!  Anyway, I survived and I had a good time playing around with this technique.  I'm sure I will break it out again once I forget how long it actually took me to complete this image...ha!

I want to give a shout out to one of my card making buddies who just started a new blog.  Her name is Denise and she tried this technique last week and achieved amazing results with it.  Check out her gorgeous No Lines card here.  Please visit her blog and leave her a little love while you're there.  Heck, why not even sign up as a follower?  Remember how excited you were when you first started your blog and folks started following you?  Yep, it's an awesome feeling!  In fact, to this day, I still get all goose-bumpy ;D

Okay, folks, that's it for now!  I've listed my Copic colors below.  I know it's really random when I decide to list them, but many times I just downright forget to do it.  The ol' noggin just ain't what it used to be ;D Until next time, stay crafty!

Copics used:
skin - YR00, E51, YR000, E50, R20 (cheeks)
eyes - E35, E31, G24, G21, G20
lips - R21
hair - E15, E13, E11, Y21, Y00
dress - R59, R29, R22
lace - R22, R20, C0
black details - C7, C5, C3, C1


I'm entering this card in this week's Saturated Canary Challenge.