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I've been stamping for several years now...but have mainly stuck to images that are relatively solid or I could color in with markers. Well, thanks to all you HORRIBLE people and your UNFROGETTABLE artwork...I had to buy the set. But now I can't make the coloring look good.
I have regular colored pencils, I have watercolor pencils, I have chalks, I have a waterbrush, I have ink pads...but whatever I'm doing doesn't look right. What is "gamsol" that I see listed on peoples "supply" list in the gallery? How does everyone get their coloring with no lines and with the differing shades? I love the artwork but can't get mine to look even CLOSE. I need a Coloring for Dummies lesson.
I've been stamping for several years now...but have mainly stuck to images that are relatively solid or I could color in with markers. Well, thanks to all you HORRIBLE people and your UNFROGETTABLE artwork...I had to buy the set. But now I can't make the coloring look good.
I have regular colored pencils, I have watercolor pencils, I have chalks, I have a waterbrush, I have ink pads...but whatever I'm doing doesn't look right. What is "gamsol" that I see listed on peoples "supply" list in the gallery? How does everyone get their coloring with no lines and with the differing shades? I love the artwork but can't get mine to look even CLOSE. I need a Coloring for Dummies lesson.
Jane,
Once you try Gamsol and prismacolor pencils, you will LOVE your coloring in. I finally started trying it about 1 1/2 weeks ago and LOVE it! It makes everything look GREAT!
I already own some colored pencils (from Michael's)...will the gamsol work with them or will I need to buy prismacolor? AND...would Michael's carry the gamsol and stumps? What stuff would it be near?
No they don't have to be Prismacolor. If you have art pencils, you can use them with gamsol. But not watercolor pencils. Those won't work. I know many people use RoseArt or Crayola pencils.
You can probably find Odorless Mineral Spirits at Michael's in the art supply section. My local Michael's has a brand with a picture of Mona Lisa on the front, I think. But they don't have Gamsol brand. You will hear different people say various things about gamsol vs. other brands. Gamsol may be better. It's what I have and use. You might find it at an art supply store (like Dick Blick). Or you can order it online from places like Inky Antics.
Stumps, I think you can get at Michael's. Mine has them. Inky Antics sells them, too.
Good luck!
P.S. I know what you mean about the Unfroggetable people! Now I have to have that stamp set!
I like to watercolor with my pencils by taking a scrap of ultrasmooth white CS, taking the colors I want and putting down a patch of that color on the CS, then I take my blender pens and pick up some of colors I just laid on the CS, and coloring my image. The little scrap acts like a paint pallet. You can keep adding more to the pallet as you use it up. However, most important of all, you have to have stamp your image with a waterproof ink! I just used an ordinary black the first time I tried to color and it smeared all over. Almost gave up! Versafine is great and dries instantly (except on ultrasmooth CS) and doesn't smear. Staz-on, once it's dry is good, too. HTH:cool:
Couldn't find anything titled "Odorless Mineral Spirits". Found everything BUT it though! Tons of little jars in the art section...not much fun with two kids! Might it be called something else? I did see several bottles with Mona Lisa on it but none said "mineral spirits". I did find the stumps and bought some.
If you're having trouble with pencil lines in your coloring, try using a lighter touch when you color in the images. If you press really hard when coloring, you won't be able to blend away all of the pencil strokes.
__________________ Rachel Proud SU! demo and Sci-Fi Geek!
My Stampin' Up! blog "I'm a time traveler -- I point and laugh at archaeologists." 10th Doctor, "Silence in the Library"
I have almost too many links I could post from my blog entries I've written on watercoloring, etc. So I'll just post my Site Index so you can browse for yourself. I hope that helps...
I can't watercolor...somehow what I envision is never what I come up with. I have Gamsol and Prismacolor pencils, I also have the watercolor crayons and aqua pens. I just can't seem to master the technique. I am so jealous of those of you that can do this technique.
Dont feel too bad. I'm in the same boat w/ you.
I cant watercolor either. I stick to coloring softly w/ Crayola Pencils.
I was supposed to take a watercoloring class at Michaels & they cancelled out on me. I was the only dummy signed up for it.
Oh well, life goes on.
I use regular odorless mineral spirits that I found at Walmart in the paint section.
It takes some time to get it. I didn't read all the sites, but my suggestion is to start with a smaller image and work up. Make a line around the edge of the image and pull some color all the way around but not all the way to the middle. Then go from the lighter shade and pull to the middle again. Check out my gallery...there's a hat I did on a corner book mark using the minspirits and pencil tech on a corner bookmark. Its a close up photo. HTH.
I don't use the pencils/gamsol thing, but watercolor with aquapainters. It's pretty easy, really. You pick your color up off your classic pads (or you can scribble some color from your markers on a plastic lid), then touch the tip of your aquapainter into the color. Have a piece of scrap paper so you can test for color saturation. You don't want the initial color to go on too dark because your image will either get blotchy or you won't have anywhere to shade to. I like to paint over my image once or twice to get a nice saturation without being too heavy.
THEN take a look at your image. If it were real and you were staring at it, where would the shadows be? We live in a 3D world, so objects aren't flat. Lightly darken the areas that you want to be shadowed. After you start getting the effect you want, use a darker color to "finalize" your shading. You can use your color wheel to help figure out what darker colors to use, or you can use Sahara Sand, Close to Cocoa or Chocolate Chip.
You can also use a lighter color to highlight an area. For example, if you were watercolor an image of something brown. Your main color might be Close To Cocoa, shaded with Chocolate Chip and highlighted with just a touch of More Mustard.
Does that make sense? Whatever your method, I think a couple of things hold true.
- Don't use a heavy hand when applying your colors. Several light coats of color will give you a better result.
- Figure out where your shadows will be and then be consistent throughout your image. Don't shade one side of an apple and the opposite side of an orange.
I recently found a good way to avoid the lines and get the different shades when coloring. I use watercolor pencils and a watercolor brush. I dip my brush in water and dry the excess with a paper towel. Then I rub the pencil tip with my brush, using the least amount of water to get bold colors, and apply to the stamped image. HTH!
Being an avid acrylic painter, I failed with pastels, pencils and markers with stamping. I kept trying to *color* the stamped object. Then by accident, I discovered if I add the color to the medium (brush, stump, blender etc.,) and then up-load to the stamped object, it works much better. Then there are no markes or lines and the colors will blend (flow) into each other. I too envy you *gifted* stampers.
I have several sets of colored pencels, none expensive, and the Gamsol (Dick Blick) works the colors like magic.
Karen
__________________ Karen
...My life is like a stroll on the beach...As near to the edge as I can go...Thoreau...
When I color with my watercolor pencils, I use a light touch, as suggested above, but I also color in a circular motion in large areas. I have several types of wc pencils. Prismacolor and Derwent are my favorites to use. The SU wc PENCILS are not my favorite. I have them but hardly use them. I do love the SU WCW crayons.
I've not done the odorless ms method but have all the stuff. (Confessions of a supply hoarder.;-) ) But, I sometimes use my regular Prismacolor pencils and the colorless blender they offer. Much, much different than the oms method but nice sometimes.
I also like to use ink and markers lately. If I don't have enough ink on the top of my inkpad, I wipe some on a stamp case or scribble marker on a stamp case and pick it up with the aquapainter. I use that method more and more.
No matter what I'm using to watercolor, I keep my aquapainter as dry as possible. Don't get discouraged, play around. The more you do it, the more comfortable you'll become. :smile:
Need coloring help!
