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Ok, this is going to sound INCREDIBLY basic to most of you, I'm sure! I am new at stamping. I have been making cards for a couple years and my limited stamping experience is mostly with "sentiment" stamps, words only. Those are easy because no coloring is involved! But when it comes to those cute little image stamps...I'm clueless. I stamp it on the paper, but then what? Do I color it in using colored pencils? Chalk? Markers?
Yes, yes, and Yes! There are several different mediums you can use to color a line art image and you named 3 of them. There are so many techniques for coloring, the possibilities are endless. Also, many stamps are bold image stampa which require no coloring. I found myself gravitating toward those when I was new as they were easier for me since I didn't like to color. I suggest looking through the gallery. If you have the name of a stamp set you like but don't know what to do with it you can find hundreds of samples there. Welcome to the addiction!
Oh my that's a whole new addiction! I love using watercolor pencils and then blending them with the SU blender pen. You can also use SU markers, regular pencils, crayons, or chalks. If you don't have a lot of supplies yet, get one of the Blender pens and dab the end on your stamp pad and color with that. Good luck!
Along with the other suggestions, you can also use a small artist's brush and the ink from your stamp pads, not the reinkers, since the pads will give you a drier brush. Using the pads also means the colors are vivid.
Rainsong
__________________ Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. Voltaire
Start with a set of watercolor pencils...they are easy to use and you can be very exact with where you put the color. Then blend with a blender pen, or even a wet q-tip if you just want to try before spending too much.
Then you will quickly be moving on to everything you mentioned...the ink pads do work great, and if you already have them it's a great way to start. Once you try it all, it seems like we each kind of find what we like best and what works easiest for what we do most.
Good luck!
__________________ Cher No longer stamping...on to bigger things.
One more thing...I got all Zig brand *aqua painter* things on Ebay...they are only about $4-5. Sadly, as an SU demo, I tell people this and don't make them spend the money on the catalog ones. Haha! Zig ones are called BrusH2O or H2Os....and they come in 4 sizes, instead of just 2 from SU and each size is a different color so you can grab the right one easier.
__________________ Cher No longer stamping...on to bigger things.
Another point, make sure you are using waterproof ink (like SU's black, Palette Noir, Stazon) or pigment ink and embossing powder that has been set when using water or blending pens with whatever medium you choose.
__________________ "There is a very fine line between hobby and mental illness." -- Dave Barry
And here is a frugal tip from a person who can't spend ALL the grocery money on stamping stuff...
You can really do a decent job coloring images (in my opinion) with a set of inexpensive colored markers. Roseart makes a set of 50 different colors for about $6 to $8 bucks for the whole set. I think our own GinaK recommended them on Craft Critique, and I already had bought them.
Wanted to give some hope to those of us who may not be able to afford the more expensive markers, which can run $3 or $4 for each one.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
And a favourite method of mine at the moment is to colour in a stamped and embossed image with Twinkling H2Os. The embossing resists the colour so no worry about going over internal lines and the outer edge acts as a reservoir to keep the colour in the image. And those colours are so bright and shimmery too :-D
I am totally into colored pencils. You don't need to buy them all at once, but I think getting Prismacolor ones are worth the money. But, if you already have ink pads, watercolor with them and you aren't out any more $$ except for a brush.
It helps to have watercolor paper and definitely waterproof ink. I think SU says its black is only waterproof on certain types of paper, so i tend to use something else -- usually Memories. Good luck!
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
Oh my goodness! So much advice, and all of it sounds good...I don't know where to start!
Let me ask another question - I do have lots of ink pads, so I'll probably start off just using those and a brush, and see how that works for me. However, I recently got some of this ink that's called "chalk ink" and I find that it doesn't seem to ever dry! Has anyone used this and run into this same issue? Am I supposed to do something to set it?
Now I think I need to write down all these product names you all have mentioned here and go hunting on ebay. ;-) Any excuse to shop....lol...
I started with the chalks/pastels and Blender Pens. I still use that technique when I want to put lighter colors on dark cardstock.
Next, I got hooked on the Watercolor Pencils - using first the Blender Pens and later the Gamsol (Odorless Mineral Spirits).
Third, I got the Watercolor Wonder Crayons - again using Blender Pens with them.
In between all of these purchases, I tried using the stamp pads and refill inks and a watercolor brush - with some success, but the pads are too light for what I want and the refills are sometimes too intense a color for me.
I like and use all these techniques - depends on what I'm coloring and possibly what mood I'm in, LOL!
__________________ Do or do not - there is no try! (Yoda) / SCS Featured Stamper FS730 / Dirty Dozen Alumni
Oh my goodness! So much advice, and all of it sounds good...I don't know where to start!
Let me ask another question - I do have lots of ink pads, so I'll probably start off just using those and a brush, and see how that works for me. However, I recently got some of this ink that's called "chalk ink" and I find that it doesn't seem to ever dry! Has anyone used this and run into this same issue? Am I supposed to do something to set it?
Now I think I need to write down all these product names you all have mentioned here and go hunting on ebay. ;-) Any excuse to shop....lol...
I've never had a problem with my chalk inks not drying but you may want to use your heat gun to set them.
Rainsong
__________________ Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. Voltaire
No, I don't own any either but SU isn't in the UK yet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by card_making_mama
(...and am I the only one here who doesn't own any SU supplies? SHHH! Don't tell anyone! I'm truly showing my newbie-ness now.)
Watercolour pencils are a great way to start and a blending pen (I think we call it waterbrush?). I have the Colorbok chalk ink queues and they work perfectly with my waterbrush, tend to dry very quickly.
Have fun, you'll love colouring in and it's very soothing.
Coloring stamped images
