Friday, February 13, 2015

Colorful Copic & Art Squares blog hop!

You are in for a treat today as Copic pairs up with the ever popular Art Squares by Inchie Arts.  There are so many things to love about this pairing!

Did you know: 
  • Art Squares are the perfect canvas for creating small-format art!
  • They come in 6 sizes (1 inch, 1.5 inch, 2 inch, 3 inch, 4 inch, and ATC).
  • Art Squares come in 7 colors (black, dark gray, light gray, kraft, dark cream, light cream and white).
  • They are perfect for wet or dry mediums.  
  • Copic markers and inks look amazingly vibrant and deliciously rich on Art Squares!
  • Copic multiliners glide smoothly across the surface.
  • Work on the “top” or toothy side for the best results. 
  • You can mix and match your mediums! No warping, bending or curling.  
You can find more information about both Copic products and Inchie Art Squares at the links below. 


Our teaching and design teams have been challenged to put marker (or ink) to these precision-cut matboard surfaces and see what happens! It's such an honor to be in this line-up!

This project was a bit of a challenge, because I have exactly 6 Copic markers to my name (B91, B95, E15, E07, YG95, R17)... but I think I made this work! This was my first time using Copics, actually, and I loved the ink flow on the Art Square surface. Blending with alcohol markers on the matboard squares is so easy, because of the way they absorb and hold the ink.

This is one of the images from my stamp line at Impression Obsession, called Couple Large (there is also a smaller version HERE). I colored the image in traditionally, laying down my lightest color first, and shading with darker tones.


Where I needed darker shading and lacked the right markers to use, I pulled out a Black Brown pencil (Derwent Coloursoft) to shade. The tooth on the Art Squares is great for pencil coloring, especially subtle shading like this. I almost always use pencil for more detailed shading with markers anyway - I just like the texture and precision I can get with pencils, and I love mixed media work, too.


I had some fun on the background - I scribbled a little marker ink onto a ceramic tile and picked it up with a waterbrush filled with rubbing alcohol to paint some loose shading into the area. In a few places I used drywall tape as a stencil. The ink was still wet on the tile, so I swiped a stamp through it and stamped to add texture in the corners.


For the edges, I tried something new - I drew a line on my tile with the chisel end of my marker, spritzed with rubbing alcohol, and then pushed the edge of the Art Square into the ink.


It gave a sort of vintaged edge to the piece, which worked well. I darkened the edges with a pencil.


That's my project!  Hop along with these talented designers as they show you some more interesting and exciting ways to pair up two great products!  Thank you for stopping by!

Dina Kowal ------------------------ You're here!!

13 comments:

  1. Wow! With only 6 markers!!! Now that is amazing. Your little masterpiece looks great and I love the details from the techniques you used on the background.
    Thank you so much for sharing. Going to take a look at my little stash of markers and see what I can do. :)

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  2. You did that with six markers?? WOW. The people look like they're popping right off the inchie. Magnificient!

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  3. I knew you would rock this! I love that you showed a variety of ways to use the markers and inks with other mediums as well. This is a beautiful piece! Lovely!

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  4. Awesome coloring and love how did the background.

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  5. Dina what a great job with so few markers!!! Love that background too! So creative!!

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  6. wow... amazing coloring and fabulous background idea! Can't wait to try out my Copics on some Inchies! The colors are so beautiful!

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  7. Dina, this background is amazing!!! You've inspired me to go "outside the lines." Awesome card!

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  8. Wow! What a great technique for the background. Very nice. Such nice big colors in a small area.

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  9. Oh, Dina, this is beautiful, and I love how you've achieved a "fabric" feel to their clothing!! And your background is amazing...so inspired to try something like this myself!! Hugs, sweet friend, and praying for your trip and all the "stuff" you need to do!

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  10. I just love the way your artistic brain works Dina! The things you come up with ! LOVE the vintage border and the texture in your background, as well as your coloring of the image! What a beautiful card!

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  11. I've yet to try art squares, but you make them look a fantastic buy. You have also proved that just a few colours can go a long way. Love your edging technique and the subtle texture from the dry wall tape.

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  12. Dina, your coloring is always amazing! I bought copics with my birthday money in Aug. They are so much fun and I'm glad I made the investment. I need to get some quality colored pencils. The shading you achieve with them is stunning.

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