How much do you love coloring people?!
I know I love to color up cute little characters. So I decided to do a post All About How to Color Skin Tones Using Copic Markers.
Awesome, right?
I know it gets overwhelming when you see 350+ marker colors and have no idea where to start. As a matter of fact, if you are unsure about what Copic Markers to buy check out THIS POST!
There’s seriously endless possibilities for coloring skin tones using Copic Markers but I’m going to share what works perfect for me!
To color all these different Skin Tones I’m actually using the same colors — give or take one.
Just to clarify, it’s all about how much ink you lay down of certain colors.
Copic Skin Color Combos
All 3 of these images are using the same color for their cheeks, R30 and R32 however; an alternate combo that I also use is R20 and R22.
Light Skin – For the light skin, I’m using E11, E00, E000, E0000 and a touch of E13 for shadows. The E00 and E000 are the colors mostly used.
Medium Skin – Then for the medium skin tone I used E13, E11, E00 and E000. The colors used most are E11 and E00.
Dark Skin -Finally the darker skin tone I’m using E25, E13, E11 and E00. The colors mostly used are E13 and E11.
Where to add the shadows when coloring skin
Did you ever read my post — Stop trying to find the light source!
Basically, I’m going back to that same rule. Therefore; If you are a beginner Copic user or even coloring with any medium, really doesn’t ‘Where is the light coming from’, just confuse the heck out you? I know it confused me…
Instead think of this. There’s technically light all around us, right?
Therefore, unless you are coloring a night scene or something that specifically calls for a light direction, for example, like a flashlight or lamp, you really shouldn’t worry about any light direction (as a beginner).
Whenever you start to feel overwhelmed by light source ask yourself this, ‘Where do the shadows make sense in this image?’
As a result, the shadowed areas on this FREE Digi would be…
- Around the hairline (where the hair is falling around her face).
- On the right side of the nose because of the angle her nose is.
- Just a little under the lip.
- On the neck just under the chin area.
- The insides on the arm.
- On the backside of her hand where her wrist is bending.
- In the fold of her arm where her arm is bent.
FREE DOWNLOAD
This is a great image to practice those Color Combos. You can even write on the back of these little 4×4 cards and create a little keyring of your favorite Hair and Skin Color Combos.
I printed my image at 3.4 inches tall on my Copic Xpress it Paper.
You can download your FREE Digi Stamp and practice how to color skin tones using Copic Markers!
Coloring Skin Copic Marker Tutorials
I’ve compiled a few helpful tutorials that I have done – all coloring skin. The top 3 are step by step photo tutorials. Then I’ve post 3 videos for you to check out.
The first video is a very basic coloring skin tutorial in real time, explaining what I’m doing, how I’m using the marker and why.
On the other hand, the second video is older, much older – 8 years old, actually. It’s a time-lapse video – there’s no sound. It actually took me a couple of hours to color it, however it’s a fun image to see come to life.
Finally, the last video is a tutorial I did for My Favorite Things a few years ago. I’m coloring using the no-line technique.
Need more help with coloring Skin?
Join the Coloring Club!
Join the Coloring Club and you can participate in this exclusive challenge that will completely transform your coloring – in the areas you need most!
When I was teaching in person classes, I’d often get students coming up to me after the class saying that they didn’t like how their hair came out, or there wasn’t enough depth in the shadows.
With their permission, obviously, I would show them on their image and give suggestions to what to do differently. Eventually, my students would surround me so they can all learn how to fix an image or get the result they struggled to achieve.
So, I’ll color on your image! Moreover, show you how to get the look you want, so despite the frustration while coloring, particularly adding those specific steps to their Copic coloring, so you know how to get the look you want..
All in all, this is so benefiting to all members seeing the different variations of the same image!
See what members are saying about the coloring club!
In love...!!!!
I’m soooo excited about this club!!!
I love all talent I’m seeing, all the awesome support, and ideas for when you are unsure about how to make things look better.
Thank you Mindy for starting this and I can’t wait to see what comes next… ❤️❤️❤️