Copic Airbrushing Tips

Edit #2 diane mcvey said...
And you know what??? With Stampin' Ups die cut mini catalog sets, I am saving the "negatives" of the rubber sheet, as I thought they would make a great template for some of the shapes to use with the air brush!!!(e.g. the Xmas tree) What do you think? ? ? !!!

Well Diane, I think that's a STELLAR idea! Diane is talking about the SU! mini catalog sets this go round.....they come already die cut so they leave a nice negative image on the scrap rubber. You could place these down on your cardstock, airbrush in the basic shape and then stamp the image in a darker color over the airbrushed portion. Too bad mine got thrown in the bottom of the trash can yesterday.....and have tomatoe and zucchini peelings all over them. I ain't diggin' 'em out! Thanks for the tip though Diane, I will save my next ones!

Edited: Beth from New York(Hi Bethie!) asks "Hey Mish - do the cans cost a lot of money? How much is the system and where can you buy it? "

You can purchase the entire Copic Air Brushing Sytem, refills and markers at Ellen Hutson's online store. The starter system is $61.49 and comes with everything you need except markers. The markers can be purchased in sets of wonderful colors that Ellen has hand selected or you can purchase markers separately for $4.99.

I've been using my Copic Air Brushing System and I must admit that I LOVE IT!! I know this may be a new product for you so I'm going to answer some questions I know you might have. I can bet you're asking these questions: what is it, why do I need it, and what do I do with it? Good questions, right? Well I've done a comparison so that I can answer some of those questions. You may be familiar with the hand held Air Art Tool that uses a brush tip marker and quick bursts of air to force the color onto the paper. I loved this tool......until I discovered the Copic Air Brushing System! For the sample below, I masked the cupcake image using Eclipse Masking Tape. Then I did about 25 bursts by hand and then I got tuckered out! This tool requires you to do all the spraying by hand. And if you zoom in on the photo below, you'll see that the finished effect is dots of uneven ink. It's an okay look......but wait til you see the next photo!

Here's a sample done using the Copic Air Brushing System and a Sketch marker. Zoom in on the photo below and you'll see a very smooth, airy finish. This is due to the pressurized air that comes out of the air brush system. You have two cans....one that is the air and one that is the air adaptor that holds the air just before you press *the go button* so to speak. After you get the hoses all attached and insert the marker, you are ready to go. After a couple times of reading the directions, I got it down (which is good for me, the *non-instruction reader kind of gal*). You then are able to press the button and the ink sprays out effortlessly and very even with only the physical effort of pushing a button, not continous squeezing that makes your hands hurt. I applied the spray in a circular motion on this sample, but you can go back and forth or whichever way you want. Doesn't it look like this cupcake is just floating in space...such a fluffy little thing! It's by Karen Lockhart, by the way........you gotta love a cute cupcake!
Here's the samples side by side, can you see the difference now? Okay, so you see it but you're still asking why you need it right? Well, for me the Air Brush System is another fun tool for creating fun effects on my cards. And a girl can never have too many fun tools right? Another reason I love the Air Brush Tool is that by using the Copic markers, I can continue to refill my markers so that they never dry out. And once you get the mechanics down, it's SO easy to use. You can make sky scapes, rainbows, stripes, water, shading.......the possibilities are endless! I can't wait to experiment more with mine! Let me know if you get one, I will be glad to help you out!!
This is a finished card made with the airbrushed image. I used this fun layout again that has the scallop top. I cut a rectangle with a Spellbinder's Rectangle Scallop die, using just a portion for the top of the card. The bottom portion of patterned paper is a 4" x 4" square......you can get 9 pieces from one sheet of cardstock. Don't you just love this cupcake paper!? You cover the seams by tying some fun ribbon around the entire card front. The main image was adhered with Stampin' Up! dimensionals to simulate the look of a tag hanging from the ribbon.

( PHOTO REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION)

Tip of the day: Save your cutout masking images by placing them on the corresponding stamp image. No need to cut out that same image over and over because the Eclipse Masking Tape stays tacky.
Supplies from Ellen's Online Store: Spellbinder's Scallop Oval, Copic markers, Copic Air Brushing System, Decorative Pearls, Eclipse Masking Tape, Lockhart cupcake stamp

Other supplies: Heidi Grace patterned paper, SU! dimensionals, SU! Pretty In Pink cardstock, May Arts polkadot ribbon