Hello and welcome to a Copic team blog hop and giveaway!
Marianne Walker’s Shadows & Shading book is now available at many of your favorite retailers (I know Ellen Huston currently has them in stock, HERE) so the Copic team wanted to offer a chance to WIN a copy for yourself!
Marianne’s new book, Shadows and Shading, is great for beginners, either papercrafters or artists. This is the reference book you have been looking for to help you add shadows to give your projects more dimension. The book does not teach you to draw, rather it helps you add shadows and shading to your artwork, for a more realistic look. This is a wire-bound book that comes with 4 clear printed guides to help you add shadows properly on your own work.
It is not Copic-specific; rather, it is filled with principles that can be used by people who love Copic markers, or people who can't imagine coloring with anything other than their colored pencils, or people who wouldn't dream of using a medium other than watercolors. Seriously, it's good stuff!
So far, the people who have read it love it! There's a lot to digest, so take it slow and read it often to let the concepts sink in. Some of these principles are covered in the Copic Intermediate Certification class, so if you are interested in getting more from this guide and spending a day with a live instructor that can help you in person with these principles, you may want to consider taking an Intermediate Certification class -- you can find an updated list of Copic classes being offered this year on my Copic Certification Classes page (usually updated every Tuesday).
(Click on any photo for a larger view)
Placing the lighting guides over your image helps you get a sense of lighting types and direction. Here's a cute My Favorite Things image I colored right at one year ago (full blog post with coloring tutorial can be found HERE), BEFORE taking the Intermediate Certification class AND applying the knowledge I learned from Marianne's book:
TODAY / AFTER: I reworked the image, using some of the principles from Marianne's book, applying more contrast in my shading and cast shadows (light source is from the upper right):
You can see that I added more contrast/shading primarily to the girl's left side and her basket (which would be getting less sunlight) and lightened up her hair in the upper right part of the image, where the sunlight would be hitting her first. I also added some cast shadows to the left side of her face, under her chin, under her basket, and a cast shadow to the ground. Can you see the difference? :) I also love that I CAN rework an image a year (or more) later with Copics and have it turn out even better -- just TRY "erasing" color with any other markers!
Now, a blog hop wouldn't be as much fun without BLOG CANDY! Each of the blogs listed below will be posting an opportunity to win. One lucky commenter will be selected from each blog, so you have lots of chances to win. That's right, simply leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered for a chance to WIN this fabulous book! You have until Sunday, March 27 at NOON Central to leave a comment on my blog or any of the following blogs (other blogs may have different ending times).
Here's the list of blogs you can comment on for your chance to win. Please note, this contest is only open to North American residents on the North American blogs, and Australian residents on the Australian blogs.
North American Residents only:
Copic Marker-USA
Sharon Harnist < That’s me!
If you live in Australia, you can win a copy of Marianne’s book from one of the Australian blogs:
Copic Oz (Australia)
Mandi-Lee Klinger (SE Australia Instructor)
Kathy Jones (NE Australia Instructor)
I'll announce the winner from my blog back here on Sunday evening. Happy hopping and good luck!
COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED . . . THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY! THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR ENTRIES!
