[SpeeDFX]

How do people do those clean concept drawings with markers? I see concept drawings of ships and vehicles...and they do large areas of very even color application with markers. My understanding is even if you go over teh same mark twice, that mark gets darker so how do they get it so even? I tried drawing with markers and it was hard as heck because I kept getting edges..

[el scoono]

the whole key is the blend marker. you can blend colors almost like paints using a blender. you always have to blend quickly, before the marker dries.

so, the way i would get a large area of smooth color is to lay it down as smoothly as possible and then go over it with the blend marker while it's still wet. you can also use a lighter shade of the color as a blender.

the type of paper you're working on also makes a HUGE difference. make absolutely sure you use marker paper. it doesn't soak up the marker inks very much, this allows you to smooth out your strokes. in addition, marker paper is translucent, this allows you to work on the back of the paper, to get a more muted, smoother effect. also, subtle use of colored pencil can also really help to add detail and smooth out mistakes.

markers are really cool, but a lot of people get frustrated because they've never taken a class in marker technique. hope i've helped you out some. i think this thread will be moved to discussion shortly....

[SpeeDFX]

thanks, that helps a lot, I've never heard anyone mention the blender pen. I don't have time for classes, know a book I should buy?

[maceface]

yeah el scoono basically went over it all except as a matter of preference i dont use the blending marker...never really found a use for it. with the markers just work light to dark. it takes a little practice...and you will usually hate them when you first start out. (i sure as hell did) but once you get comfortable with using them they become a really fun tool.
as for paper...i usually use bristol board...i just love that paper...i use it for everything (other than watercolors)

[jome]

I rarely use that blender marker. And if I do, this is my technique: I'm in a situation where I want to create a very gradual transition from one colour to white. Keep the colour you want to start from felt-tip to felt-tip against the blendermarker. You can now see the tip of the blender soaks up the ink of the colourmarker. Let it do that until you think it's enough. Start markering the transition plane. What you see now is the blender slowly releasing the colour ink, creating a smooth transition, until it's run out of ink. A simple trick. The blender doesn't suffer from this at all.

[Sumaleth]

(Moved to Discussion)

[gekitsu]

having a book about marker technique would help me a lot, too.

as far as blending goes, i am tryinto master that maself, but as fr as i did it, a way is having the paper saoked full of ink/blender. after that, colors you draw in will fade like hell. i mostly paint the lights first, quicjly paint over with darks, fill it with blender and then tweak the gradient with the lighter color.

i actually have some examples on ma homepage (handmade gallery) if someone finds points for critics and tips, feel free i want to learn...