Alternatives to Copics

Ok so I know everyone wants Copics, but they are so expensive. So a better alternative (to me) is primsacolor pencils. Now you can do gamsol technique or  two other techniques Yup that's right two more. You can color and blend with a colorless pencil. Please see the following links Coloring , Coloring Continued, and Tips . Now the last way is to color like normal and then blend with a colorless marker. All of these techniques will give you a different look.  I tested each of these out to see which one I like. Now please excuse my boo boos. If this was for a card I would have stayed in the lines. LOL ok maybe not, but that's what scissors are for right?

 

So if I had to rate them I would say colorless marker, colorless pencil, and finally gamsol. I would have put the colorless pencil first, but I really like the blending of the marker. Now each technique has it's pros and cons. I will start with the colorless pencil.

Colorless Pencil Pros.

The biggest pro is you really only need your pencils( just keep going over with the lighter shade). If you choose to get the colorless pencil you get two to a pack for  around $3 at Michaels. Another pro  is the blender will never be tainted by another color.  Just scribble and it's gone. Any Ink will do( Dye Based). I normally use my SU ink.

Colorless Pencil Con:

 The biggest and only con is once you blend you can't really add anymore color. Now why is that? Well  your paper has some texture to it. You tend to flatten out the texture so it's smooth when you blend. This can be fixed if you add a fixative  to the paper. See this Video . She explains what happens and shows you coloring techniques.

Colorless Marker Con:

Well it stinks. So if your are sensitive to smell this is not for you. I think all alcohol base markers will smell. Another big con is if you forget to clean the tip you ruined your colorless blender. So Don't  Forget! Oh it cost almost 5$. You need to use Memento ink. I found that out the hard way.

Colorless Marker Pro:

It easily blends the colors. The final results are beautiful.

Gamsol Cons:

You need to buy odorless mineral spirits, and stumps. You also need to clean the stump when you change colors. If you don't you can transfer to color to another area. You need to use Staz On, or Memento.

Gamsol Pros:

You really just need to lay down a heavy area of color and just pull the color where you need to. By doing this it will gradually get lighter. The end result is a softer looking image.

** Some things you maybe wondering. All images were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black. The stamp is from Peachy Keen Stamps. It's PK-329 Chill Baby Chill Snowman Set.**

I hope this helped everyone who is trying to find a better alternative to Copics. One day maybe I will own some =) Thanks for stopping by.