Light source

Here is a quick post to show the different lighting sources on the same images...

Each column shows the same image with the lighting source changing. The top row the light is coming from the upper left corner, the middle row shows the light coming from the upper right, and the bottom row shows light coming from upper front.

This is one of the actual worksheets included in my new lighting source & shadows class. Being taught first at Pages in Progress in Tuscon, AZ the last weekend of this month.

Other locations coming soon include: Collective Journey in Redlands, CA, Scrapbooking Heaven in Westminster, Stamp Addict in San Diego, and many more locations.

Stay tuned for more sneek peeks on this awesome upcoming class.

Finding your Light source

Let's take baby steps on learning how to highlight and shade our images. Later we will advance into how to add a cast shadow.

First here are a few terms we need to understand.

Highlights - where the light first hits your image. We show a highlighted area by absence of color or a lighter color. Highlights are normally shown by using Copic colors ending with numbers like OOOO, OOO, up to markers ending in 03.

Shading - Where the light hits less than than another place on the image, but not the darkest. AKA mid-tones. This is your main color normally a Copic color number about 2 numbers brighter than your highlight color or numbers ending in no higher than a 5-6.

Shadows - Where the light hits least or not at all. This is normally shown by using a grayer or darker color.

Cast Shadow -A cast shadow is formed due to light not being able to pass through an object. The cast shadow simulates the image or object that is blocking the light. A cast shadow is not always gray, but a muted or darker color of the image it is revealing itself on. IE: The tree is casting a shadow on grass that was colored with YG03, I colored the shadow with a YG63 which is a grayer shade of YG03. I could have reached a similar outcome by shading with a N3.

Lighting Guide Template - a tool used to find your light source on each area of your image.

Let's start by doing a light study prior to starting to color our image. This is done with a Lighting Guide Template which can be made on a transparency with lines drawn on it. The lines represent the light. As light travels in straight lines.

Place the template over your image as shown in the first picture. I used my artist license to determine that my light source is coming from the upper right side of my image.

The area where the lines first hit my image(s) is where my highlight will be, and the last place it hits my image is going to be where I use darker colors to show a shadow or shading. Note that this tree is not one round image but several clumps of greenery. Each section is treated separately and as related to the others (ie: behind, in front of etc).

In the second image you can see that I used my lightest colors where my light hit my image first and gradually went darker as the light source became further away from my image(s). Under the canopy of the tree is shaded much darker as it receives less light than that of the top of the tree.

This image also shows a cast shadow, but let's leave that for another day.

Intermediate Certification Class - Phoenix

The new Intermediate Copic Certification Class is AMAZING. I took this class in January and absolutely loved every second of it. I came out of the class with a better understanding of how to shade, shadow, and just a better understanding of art in itself. This year the Intermediate certification classes are not going to be very plentiful and if you want to attend one, you may need to drive a bit.

Phoenix is a hot spot for Copic Certifications... we will be holding an Intermediate Certification Class in Phoenix on April 11th. Registration is opening this week. Be sure to fill out your application and return it ASAP. This class is expected to fill and have a long waiting list.

However.... please I encourage everyone that wants to attend to fill out an application! It is easier to get into the class than some think. We just want to make sure that you understand how to blend two colors together, and a few other basic Copic techniques. I honestly believe that this amazing class will help ANYONE wanting to improve their coloring.

INSTRUCTORS: The Amazing Debbie Olson & Colleen Schaan... both wonderful artists and instructors. You will be in awe! I will be there as well... Hope to see you there.

Hurry and fill out that application! www.copicmarker.com under the certifications button (great new website is very user friendly)

February Copic Card Classes - Stampendous

Here is a sneak peek at one of the cards that I will be doing in Tuscon later this month then locally in March. The image is amazingly fun to color. Note that I added highlights on many cylinder objects by just leaving "white space" a hard thing for me to do, but the outcome is amazing.

Image by: Stampendous

Ink: C1, C3, C5, BV00, E91, E93, E95, W1, W3, W5, G20, G82, G85, B000, Y35, Y32, E33 Blender pen.