Monochromatic Copic Coloring {Clear and Simple Stamps}

Hey there!!  I have a super fun tutorial to share with you today!  If you have visited my blog before, it is no secret that one of my most used crafty tools are my Copic Markers.  I love color, but you can create a striking effect with various shades of gray too.  I have a step by step tutorial to show you how to create a monochromatic image (I think it looks like a black and white photo!)

I chose to work with Rag Doll Willa: Enjoy, Rag Doll Scenes 2, Rag Doll Scenes 3 and Rag Doll: Tea Party.  People images are perfect for this technique!

Because there are so  many pictures, I have several collages.  Each will start in the top left, then go to the top right, then bottom left and bottom right.  You can click on each collage to enlarge the image.

1. I used various shades and tones of gray from the T and W families, plus 110 black and the colorless blender.

2. I stamped Willa on white card stock with Memento Tuxedo Blank ink.

3. I started with T0 and T1 for Willa's skin. I colored all skin areas with T0, then shadowed with T1 and blended over it again with T0.

5. For Willa's hair, I started with W5, making flicking motions with the marker where I wanted the darkest part of her hair (as seen in the top right photo).

6. Then using W3 and W0, I continued to color her hair, blending into the W5, and using W0 where I wanted the highlights in her hair.

7. Then I went back with W5 again to darken some areas that got blended out.  You can see her hair finished in the top right photo.

8. I used 110 Blank to color in the stripes on Willa's shirt.

9. I colored in Willa's skirt with T4, and then shaded her skirt a bit with T6.

10.  Using T0, I lightly outlined Willa's shirt for extra dimension.  

VIOLA!  A black and white Willa! :)  

I used the same colors to color in her coffee mug and then cut her out and sat her on top.  This is a really fun technique and a nice change from my normal brights.  If you find that you are having a hard time choosing appropriate shades of gray for certain areas, pull out a real black and white photo and take notice of the different hues and shading.

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and will give it a try! :)  Thanks for stopping by!!