Sunday, August 28, 2011

Copic Markers - Testing Papers


I thought today might be a good day to talk about Copic markers and papers.  The picture above is of the Art Journal I've made for myself.  For the pages I decided to use Neenah cover stock because that's what I prefer to use with my Copic markers. It's a smooth finish 80 lb. 216 gsm weight.  Paula talked about paper weights in this Operation Write Home post here so I won't get into that because I think she explained it very well.


Here's a close up of the left side of the page.  I used one Copic marker and the colorless blender to do the effects.  You can see in the close up that I don't have any bleeding outside the lines and a pretty smooth blend where the green fades to white on the C and I.  I'm not an expert at the technique yet but there's hope for me that one day I might be. 


I have another close up of the right side of my art journal.  Hopefully you can see the nice blending transition from one color to another here.  The hard lines of demarcation have disappeared into a nice blend.

 
Next I have colored with two Copic markers using a sheet of marker paper.  On the cover of the pad it says "works beautifully with pen or pencil & alcohol and solvent markers won't bleed through".  Hmmm, I'm not sure what they mean by "beautifully".  

In my test the Copic marker did bleed through to the back, that's not a bad thing though.  I thought the blending of the two different inks on this paper was interesting.  The first C I colored was the last C in Copic, kind of a neat effect.  As I kept coloring letters though I had a hard time not getting streaks and my ink just didn't blend well.

Can you see under the "P" where the ink bled out from the line?  I did try to clean that up with the colorless blender a couple of times but that's the best I could do.


Here's the marker pad with my colored piece, as you can see it's pretty thin. I didn't think it was a good investment of my $14.99.  I have a friend who draws Anime, I hope he can use it!


Moving on to my next sample using Hobby Lobby's The Paper Studio cardstock.  It's an okay blend but can you see on the right side at the loop on the "C" where the ink bled outside of the lines?  I tried to clean that up with my colorless blender three times and figured that was as good as it gets.  


Here's a look at the reverse side of this "cardstock" and also my scratch paper that was under it when I colored.  The packaging on the paper calls it cardstock but doesn't give a weight or gsm on the label, the package is also wrapped in plastic so the buyer has no way of knowing how heavy or light weight it really is until after the purchase.  


Above is my finished piece with the package of cardstock it's on.

I didn't try blending any more than two Copic marker colors on the second two papers.  When I color I generally blend 3 to 5 markers to get a good gradation in shading.  I don't believe these papers/cardstock would be suitable for that.  My ink was bleeding out of the lines using only two colors.

I also found one last quarter sheet of X-Press It blending card a friend sent to me and used it for today's testing.


This is a wonderful paper/cardstock to color on, the ink just kind of melts together for you. The only flaw I can see with X-Press It is all the tiny white spots in my colored image.  You may not be able to see them until you click on the photo and make it larger, but they are there.  Every piece of this cardstock I colored on did this and I'm not sure why.  I was disappointed with the end result because of the white spotting.  It's an expensive choice for Copic paper and even more expensive if you buy it and don't/can't use it. 

There's my experience with four different papers using Copic markers.  Do you have a favorite paper/cardstock for Copic markers?  I'd love to know what you've found that you like to use.

Living in such a small town most of my craft supplies including paper/cardstock are ordered on line and shipped.  We do have a Hobby Lobby and Michaels 45 miles away in Lake Havasu City, does anyone buy their paper/cardstock for Copic markers at these stores, if so what works for you?

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

12 comments:

Susan said...

Hi Jan,

I use the X-Press It Copic Blending Card and I love it. I always get great results with this paper so I don't use anything else these days.
Thanks for sharing!

Susan xxox
http://stamponme.blogspot.com/

AllisonG said...

What an informative and helpful post today, Jan! I love it! I've been waiting to buy any paper to use for Copics because I didn't want to waste my money on something that didn't work well. I think I'll look for your Neenah cover stock online today. THANK YOU!

jimlynn said...

Thanks so much for this Jan! Great info.
Lynn

Anonymous said...

That was a helpful demonstration today. Thanks. Pat K.

Carolina Girl (Cely) said...

I use HP Premium Choice Laser paper which I get at good price at Office Depot, but Staples has it to. It's 32 lb and not as thick as card stock, but I always use a DP or other cardstock behind anyway. I've been pleased with it, doesn't bleed and tested it against some very expensive paper that people swear by for copic. People voted on my HP paper over the other two when I posted on my blog. The other paper I like but expensive to buy and shipping cost even more is the paper from SU. Love what you did today and share with us.

paige said...

TFS this! Your info was very helpful. Have you tried PaperTrey Ink card stock or Gina K Pure Luxury heavy weight cs?

Angie said...

Do you have a Walmart? If so, try Georgia Pacific 110 lb cardstock. It works great and is inexpensive too!

Susan said...

Hi Jan,
Thanks for visiting me. I have not noticed any of the white spots on my X-Press It Card and I have been using it for over a year. Maybe you have a bad batch? You could always send X-Press It an email with a link to your post or attach the picture.
Good Luck!
Susan xxox

Cathy P in AZ said...

What a cool tutorial and paper comparison! :) I know coloring cardstock is a very personal preference, but my faves are Cryogen Iridescent, Neenah Solar White, Cougar and Copic X-Press. Be careful of coated CS (Gina K - sad cuz I wanted to love it) which can ruin your nibs or any other run of the mill paper Copic doesn't recommend.

Candy's Creations Blog said...

My favorite is AW Curious Iridescent - Cryogen White (89 lb.). My local scrapbook store special orders it. It is $15 for 50 sheets, but it is beautiful paper with a shimmer and Copics blend wonderfully on it!

Karen Howard said...

For my digital images so far I've only been able to use Papertrey Ink's white cardstock without the printer ink bleeding. Otherwise for stamped images I love Flourishes or Neenah!

Corinne said...

I just LOVE Cryogen White, it is just amazing and I just love the shimmer in it.. Marco Paper carries it..