Vanilla Undercover: Underpaint with Copic Markers for Beautiful Realism - Copper Coin

August 13, 2020 Elena Cazares

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A Worn and Weathered Penny

Real shade is not darker color, real shade is desaturated color.

To create the desaturated colors that Copic Marker does not make, Vanilla Arts Company teaches Online Workshops and Livestream Coloring Challenges using the underpainting method. Students learn to layer colors realistically rather than blend.

Underpainting creates natural colors found in everyday life.

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Copper Coin

Elena’s Advice:

I loved developing this swatch! I zoomed in on the photo reference to examine every color in this penny.

I immediately spotted the patina, a hint of green. That inspired my underpaint choice because if it accidentally shines through a bit, it will look even more amazing!

BG18 is perfect for the job!

I snuck an extra marker into this swatch. This is because my penny isn’t a smooth color, there’s a lot of variation. I ended up with a wide range of values— from 8 all the way down to 1.

By the time you get to YR21 you might panic because that color can eat away at the deeper colors in the blend. YR21 has a large amount of colorless blender. But the mottling it causes makes for a nice worn penny.

Don’t be stingy with the ink! The secret to a good blend is to have enough moisture and then giving it time to dry before decide if it needs fixing. With the extra marker in the recipe, this one blends on it’s own if you let it!

Brown Workshops & Digital Stamps

Vanilla Arts Company - Painted Fox

Vanilla Arts Company - Pocket Watch

Violeta Ink - Online Coloring Classes

Looking for More Underpainting Combinations?

Elena Cazares is a Vanilla Arts student with beautiful sense of color and style. She is a hurricane of positive creative energy.

Elena runs Violeta-Ink.com, an online boutique shop specializing in Copic Markers, refills, and coloring accessories. Join Elena’s Copic Facebook group here for news and updates.