Your eyes are the doorway to your heart. They reflect your emotions and your inner being. A lot can be concluded from the expression of your eyes. Thus it is no wonder that eyes have been the source of inspiration to poets, authors, and artists since time immemorial. – Author…
Art Block Sucks Nearly every artist struggles with art block at some point in their lives. For some it lasts only a few days and for others it may be months, but no matter how long it lasts, I think we can all agree on one thing – art block…
The combination of lines and colors is one of the most expressive tool sets an artist has at their disposal. Nearly infinite in its variety, this combination, when used with thought and purpose, can propel an otherwise mundane drawing to new heights. This combination of line and color has been…
Hi, Christopher Kerry here, and I’ve got something really exciting to share with you! For those of you who are regular readers of this blog or have signed up to join me on my email list, it’s nothing new to you for us to give away tons of free stuff……
It’s October… the season of monsters, makeup, and long black nights… In the spirit of the season, I’ve got a special treat for you… …How to make a monster 🙂 So in the tradition of the classic horror films of the 1930’s, let’s immerse ourselves in shades of gray and…
Have you ever wondered if Copic markers really are right for you? It’s a valid question… Most of the information you find on the internet about what makes Copic markers so great is written by people who are trying to sell them to you. They talk about Copics being the…
In this week’s tutorial we will be learning the rendering techniques to create illustrative realism. The over all look and feel of illustrative realism was established in the mid 20th century by artists such as Gil Elvgren, Norman Rockwell, and others. For this tutorial we will be studying the work of Gil…
Ask anybody and they will tell you… Copic markers are expensive. It seems no matter where you look, the best price you can find for an individual Sketch marker is just over $5. The reason for this is that the Too Corporation, the company that manufactures Copic markers, actually sets…
Wouldn’t it be great if you knew how to choose exactly the right colors every time you started a new work? How much more enjoyment would you get if choosing the right colors came easy? I mean really easy, as in, “no more worries that your finished page won’t look…
Marker Techniques for Colored Pencils I am so excited about today’s tutorial! Seriously, this may be the best tutorial I’ve done today! It’s no secret that I love my Copic markers. I honestly believe that Copics are the most versatile medium I’ve ever used. But they are expensive, and I…
Hi guys, Christopher Kerry here, and today I have a real treat for you. In March 2016 I had the honor of being a featured speaker at the Starfest Convention in Denver, Colorado, where I gave a live Copic demonstration and a talk on how to make a living as…
What’s This All About? A few weeks ago I did a tutorial on blending. In that article, I discussed the idea that the best blending starts in the mind and not the marker. While it’s a true statement that we should blend with our minds before our markers, it’s also…
One of the questions I get asked most frequently is, “How do you get your colors to look so smooth?” followed by the statement, “Mine always come out streaky and uneven!” Unfortunately, my answer to the question is, “I don’t.” Honestly, my color only looks smooth because of how many…
How Do You Get Good Blends? In early 2016 I attended the Starfest Convention in Denver, Colorado. The promoters had flown me in and put me up specifically to give a live “Coloring with Copics” demonstration, and it had gone really well. After I had completed my demo, the moderator…
I have always hated the word realism, at least as it applies to art. I think it’s because I’m not really sure what the word is supposed to mean exactly. In fact, not to get all existential on you here, but I’m not really sure the words art and real…
One of the main things that sets Copic markers apart from most other marker brands is the fact that you can refill an empty marker and replace the coloring nibs. With new nibs and fresh ink, an old marker becomes new again, and you should never have to replace it.…
In this post, I’m going to show you how to apply a 200 year old classical oil painting technique to your Copic marker drawings. To the best of my knowledge, there are only a handful of marker artists who know how to use this technique, but none of them have…
Copic markers are an amazing medium for capturing realistic textures. With proper layering and application of the colorless blender, nearly any natural or artificial texture can be accurately rendered. Their ease of application, coupled with the fact that nearly any “mistake” can be easily corrected, makes Copic markers a perfect…
Being an artist is hard. We spend hours working on an original drawing. We pour our hearts out using every trick and technique we know in an attempt to make the best work we’ve ever made and then if we’re brave enough, we put it out on our social media…
Coloring dark skin tones can be a challenge, and the truth is, there’s not a lot of good information out there to help. Oh sure, a quick search on how to color dark skin with Copic markers will bring up tons of tutorials, but do you really need a tutorial…
For centuries, artists have been captivated by the human skull. From renaissance vanity paintings to modern day tattoo art, images of the skull remind us that life is short and the time to live our dreams is now. For an artist working today, understanding how to draw the human skull…
“Welcome to my color theory class. Today I’m going to teach you everything you need to now about using and matching colors. It’ll only take 15 minutes. Understand, I’m not going to teach you everything there is to know about color, but I can teach you everything you need to know to…
If you asked me whether or not I thought developing your own signature art style was an absolute necessity before you begin selling your art, I would say no. I might then go on to explain how I know dozens of artists who make their living selling their art that…
This video is the fifth tutorial in a series of tutorials that cover the techniques I use for coloring light skin tones. How to Color Skin, Part 1 How to Color Skin, Part 2 How to Color Skin, Part 3 How to Color Skin, Part 4 How helpful was this…
“What white do you use?” The question of which white to use to highlight your Copic marker drawings seems to be a very personal choice. Some artists use gel pens, while others like the opaque white made by Copic. Still, others use whiteout or white Prismacolor pencils. So which one is…
In my opinion, inking is one of the most misunderstood processes used in the creation of a drawing. If you’ve ever seen the Kevin Smith movie, Chasing Amy, you understand that the argument for what inking actually is, is a much heated topic. In the comic book industry, the task…
This video is the fourth tutorial in a series of tutorials that cover the techniques I use for coloring light skin tones. How to Color Skin, Part 1 How to Color Skin, Part 2 How to Color Skin, Part 3 How to Color Skin, Part 5 How helpful was this tutorial?…
In the traditional model of color theory, complementary colors are colors that lie opposite each other on the color wheel. When most people think of compliments, they generally think of them as they relate to the primary colors – for example, since red is directly opposite of green on the color wheel, red and…
This video is the third tutorial in a series of tutorials that cover the techniques I use for coloring light skin tones. How to Color Skin, Part 1 How to Color Skin, Part 2 How to Color Skin, Part 4 How to Color Skin, Part 5 How helpful was this…
When preparing for this post, I decided to do a quick search on warm-cool color contrasts. What I found was disheartening and confirmed my suspicions. There really isn’t a lot of good information out there. Nearly every site I found that made mention of warm-cool color contrasts used the most simple…
This video is the second tutorial in a series of tutorials that cover the techniques I use for coloring light skin tones. How to Color Skin, Part 1 How to Color Skin, Part 3 How to Color Skin, Part 4 How to Color Skin, Part 5 How helpful was this…
Coloring skin tones can be one of the most challenging subjects for beginners and longtime colorists alike, and while there are plenty of tutorials out there on the subject, all of them seem to approach the problem from pretty much the same place, using pretty much the same markers. The…
This video is the first tutorial in a series of tutorials that cover the techniques I use for coloring light skin tones. How to Color Skin, Part 2 How to Color Skin, Part 3 How to Color Skin, Part 4 How to Color Skin, Part 5 How helpful was this…
While waiting at the counter for my morning coffee, the barista and I struck up a conversation. She mentioned that she wished she had artistic talent, but could barely draw a stick figure. I smiled and asked her, besides making coffee, what was it she was really good at, and…
If you’ve already read my free guide on how to get hundreds of Copic colors without buying more markers, then you’re familiar with the basic process this video demonstrates. The video is not meant to be a substitute for the guide, so if you haven’t read it, please sign up…
Hi! I'm Christopher, and I'm the certified Copic instructor at CopicMarkerTutorials.com
Whatever your artistic goals may be, I'm here to help you reach them!
