Alcohol marker basics: create flowers with 3 markers

1. Intro : Hi, I'm Selene, an artist from the Netherlands. In this class, you learn the basics off alcohol markers. By the end of the class, you'll be able to make beautiful floor illustrations with just three markers. From the first time I saw alcohol, Marcus, I fell in love. But I also felt overwhelmed. This inspired me to share things. I've learned about alcohol markets in this class. In the first part of the glass, you go off some important information like the color system, picking your markers paper and blending. Don't worry. If you're not an expert on drawing flowers, there will be a section on growing flowers from reference. In the last part of the class, I will take you through the steps to finish your project. You'll see me using carpet markers in this class, but really with any brand you conjoined. Now let's get started clearly a role both in and I'll see you on the other side 2. Colorsystem: when I first bought some Marco's big colors that I liked, but they didn't seem to work that well together. Learning to use alcohol, Marco starts with understanding the color system. I'll discuss some concepts that will help you understand it, each brand as their own system. But it comes down to the same things. I leave some things below to some specific brands on the system. Alcohol Marcus can be divided in color groups. There are primary color groups like blues, reds and yellows, secondary collar groups like violence, Oh, Inches and greens and Ted Sherry color groups. For example, a blue violet or blue green. Each color group has a variety off different markers. This means that there are some things going on within the color group. Understanding these next three concepts will help you make the first step in your project picking your markets. The first concept, his saturation. This means how rich Abdulle Akala will appear. The more saturated the color, the more Richard will appear. The more de saturated the color, the more great it will look. Here's an example. Using the color group Blue on the left are saturated colors on the right de saturated colors. With each step, you see that the color looks a little bit more great. Within each type of saturation, you can find different values. I will show you an example off different values within the most saturated color value means the lightness or darkness off color. As we take the first most saturated color off blue, you can have these values going from dark to light. If you take a light mid toad and dr over the same situation, you will have a natural blending group. They are easy to blends and give a nice result. When you use colors with different values and different situation, the result can look muddy and weird. 3. Picking your markers: Let's get started picking out three markers for this project. We'll use the concepts you've learned from the previous lesson to pick the right markers. I want to start with nips. Alcohol. Marcos, come with two nips. It could be a combination off the tree. You see here a chiseled tip on the left which which comes in handy for coloring big areas, a small bullet tip and at right, a brush in it. Just try them out and pick the ones she like. We'll be picking a natural blending group. The first step is to decide which collar group you want. Your illustration. Toby. This could be any group you like. The second step is within the color group. Which saturation do you like, and what do you want your piece to look like? These saturated colors will give your piece of vintage or more realistic, look highly saturated. Colors will make your peace look very vibrant. The third step is picking the three different values a light mitts and a doctor. I prefer to get lightest value off color because dead way I come build up the color. Be careful that the colors you pick are not too far apart. The father part they are. The harder this to blends and make your peace look nicely rendered. Now you've picked a Marcus and we're ready for the next step. 4. Picking your paper: we're onto picking up paper. This is a very important step because the wrong paper can ruin your piece. It all comes down to what you want to peace, to look like. I want a smooth result. So this means that I need the paper toe blend easily. I wanted to darken if I put more layers on. I don't want it to Feder. I'll show you an example with normal copy paper feathering. It means that the ink spreads around through the paper. I'll show you a paper that doesn't do that. It will give a smooth edge like this also does another thing that can occur and it's bleeding bleeding through the paper. That means it will show up on the back of the paper. I don't really mind that much because you can always put another piece of paper underneath it. Now, what I want you to do in this part of the class is test on paper to make sure you're finished. Project warm this point, you, I'll show you the papers I tested and which one I picked. I tested four different kinds of papers. Clairefontaine Copy paper Strat. More market paper, sweat more Bristol paper as threatening all mixed media. You can go with any brand should like I tested, how the market would look when layered and when blended. The first ones are one layer than two layers and three years. As you can see, the Claire Fullerton copy paper those layer quite well, but it gives a bit of a weird look with e ink and also the blending instant really smoothly . So that's you know, then the market paper. There isn't too much different between the layers, especially two and three layers. The blending it doesn't look smooth Me. It's just the darker colors, just on top of the other color. And that's also a little bit off feathering going on. I don't know if you could see it on the edges. Not a lot, but that's also. Then there's just two left with both. Once I like the blending a little bit more, this one, especially because it's really smooth book. But the breast so is really light gives a really light result, and I want my piece to be more vibrant, so I will go with the straight moments. Media paper 300 grams 5. Blending techniques: I'll show you two different blending techniques using the paper that I just picked, and I will use two different kinds of Marcus showing both techniques. The 1st 1 just flicking. This means you make a flicking motion with your hands like this with darker color. You're saying there's already gives a bit off a blend, but if you wanted to be smoother, just go over it with the lighter color again with flicking motions, you should be careful with the lightest colors and mixing them into Dunkirk Wallace or blending them into darker colors. Because if you have a darker color and your reporting a lighter color in it, the lighter color will take away the dark color. So you see, it's to bake over step between these two markers to blend nicely. So now, with three tones, meto and doctors, then the second technique this one's making circles for blending. With this one, you want to make sure close to make the couple's plans like this. Personally, I like the flicking motion better, But this technique may come in handy with using different Marcus like, for example, pro Marcus with the bullet tip. You can also use a flicking motion with this marker, but it may be a little bit more difficult in the beginning. Now get your paper and let's get started on these techniques. Don't get frustrated if it doesn't work out immediately. Give yourself the time to build up some muscle memory and practiced these moves. Remember the flicking move, touching the paper and flicking up and the circular move making little circles. 6. How to draw a flower: before we get started with our markers, I want to take you through the process of drawing flower. This can come in handy if you knew to drawing flowers. Or maybe you like to see a different approach and think best from that, I do recommend going outside and taking your own reference pictures. For me personally, it's hard to find the right reference on the Internet. I have a certain idea in my head, off the flower, how I wanted to look and which angle I wanted to be. And that's hard to find. Going outside, I can play with the angles, and I can look for the right flour that I want in my piece. Now onto the drawing, I look for the biggest shades like this in the center, there's a circle circle round. It does leave more oval like a bit of a triangle shape around here. Ah, heart shape and another hot dish. Check the's shaves, Always sketching. We are able to see the bigger shapes you can go on on, make a sketch, so first start, I'm going to start out with small circle in the middle. Then there's the oval shape. Try and be losing this face because there's no need to be paying attention to detail that a big up circle, that triangle shape with a little bit off curve, the heart shape and Deana hot shape to show the shapes more clear. I made harder lines. Normally, I wouldn't do this. Now it's time for the details. I pay attention to how to leave rep around flower where they start or touch and wrinkles that given natural look twice practice, replicating big shapes, then move on to focusing on details. 7. The sketch: If you feel confident drawing flower, you can move on to making the sketch for your illustration. Big colored pencil in the same color group to make your sketch. Do it really lightly. Don't pick a graphite pencil because this will contaminate your marker nip. 8. Coloring: in this part, you see me coloring the flower with three Marcus I selected. I sped up the video because it took me half an hour in real time. First I put down the base layer. I outlined each petal so that I will be able to see the pedals in a later stage. I followed the shapes. When coloring, Make sure you know beforehand where you want to put your lights and darks after the first layer, you can already darken those bits up with the lightest tone. Things that are further away will be darker. So, for example, the leaves in the back. I also darken up curves, increases to emphasize the shapes off the flower. - In third layer, I use a metal again following the forms off the flower. You see me come in with the light value to create the smooth blend. There are spots that you want even darker than a mid tone, but not the darkest Oh, you can't create a tone in between by putting and little bit off the dark tone down and going over it with the mid tone. Immediately, you'll push the darker color out. In the last part, you can at the darker stone. Build this up slowly so you won't go to dark. Keep working between the three tones until you fail. Okay? With the results, I stopped a little earlier than I would normally do. But this gave the illustration a bit off. A softer look. 9. Assignment: I hope you've enjoyed this class. I certainly did. I'd like you to experiment with stuff you learn in this class, start a project and share the following things. The color she picked, the paper you chose and why This can be helpful for your fellow students blending exercises , reference material and the finished illustration don't have state toe. Ask any questions in the discussion section and take a look at what your fellow students share. Thank you for taking this class and leave a review if you'd like to. This will help me out teaching in the future.