Category Archives: Supplies

Markers, Supplies

Resupplying the well

It is inevitable, at some point your marker is going to run dry. Hopefully that is due to all the amazing art people have you doing or you are doing for yourself. When that day comes, you need to go out and resupply. 

One of the reasons that we decided on using Coptic markers is that they are refillable and the tips are replaceable. Fortunately refill ink is a little cheaper per pack than the market was, and it will refill a marker at least 4 times. So a cheaper market is easier to start with, it will be much more expensive in the long run. 

The same goes for the liner markers. Sadly you can’t just pour in the ink, but the refill cartridges are cheap. Though really we trade out tips far more often than we need new ink just mangling them accidentally (especially the smallest ones)

So here is my latest haul from OtakuFuel. Their shipping is quick.  The service is amazing. To top it off they have more in stock (at a great price) than anyone else I have run across. They are not paying anything for this endorsement. I just hope to be able to do business with them for a long time to come. So go check them out and stock up with confidence.   

Convention, Markers, Supplies, Technique's

Mod Podge @MotorCityFurCon

I’ve been looking for a mass supply of gears to decorate my MCFC 2016 badges. I finally found Mod Podge.  

    
 
So I made a few and through some trial and error came up with some success. 

   
   
Then I realized they were missing something. Most of you have a passing familiarity with my work and know I use copic markers. The instructions call for paint but I didn’t have any so I grabbed my markers and went to town. Then I tested to make sure simple water didn’t smear the ink. While I haven’t washed it to determine if it’s completely water proof, I am confident these guys are safe for general use. 

  
After I trim off the extra I think these will look great attached to badges. 

Buisness, Markers, Supplies

Material logs @Copicmarker @copic_official @blick_art 

I have the copic marker app and a list of copics I own in iPhone reminders program yet this is my favorite log. 

  
I can look and at a glance see what I’m missing and how it interacts with the colors around it. Everytime I buy a marker I just fill in the box and I know what I need next. It’s a great tool and really aimed at those of us who are visual learning people. I have to see and do before I really know something. 

Here’s a link to print your own. 

Click to access 358_Blank_Color_Chart_ltr1.pdf

(Btw, as of the date of this post, I need more E’s before the convention in April cause steampunk is the theme.) 

For artists and those that love an artist, I go to the blicks art store in Dearborn, MI. They have a large selection of copic markers and an online store where you can also get gift cards. The people are usually helpful even when you get the occasional art snob. 

Markers, Supplies, Technique's

Refilling copic markers #art

this process took me two hours but this takes moments to explain. There are two possible ways to fill your markers. You could use the needle method to fill but this is not the way I do it. 

  
First I gather everything markers, refill packs, paper towels (minions aren’t required but would make this process so easier) scale, replacement nibs, and tools. 

   
   
I fill my blender pencils most often and I can’t imagine any using a color more often then blender. 

  
I have both sketch, square, and refill pictured above. That’s because the weights are different and that’s important for this style refill. 

First step – gather supplies. 

Second step – take off both caps

Third step – take the chisel nib out 

   
 
Use the tool and not your fingers if you don’t want to destroy your nibs and need to replace them. 

Fourth step – weight markers to see how much ink they need

   
Sketch weigh (on average) 9.4 grams with both lids off and chisel nib out. 

 The square markers weigh (on average) 14 grams with both tips off and chisel nib off. 

Anything below that and you might as well fill them up while you have it out. 

Fifth step – drip ink from the correct refill (and yes check to make sure cause you don’t wanna deal with the consequences of filling it with the wrong color). 

Try not to over fill cause it drops out the other end if you do. It’s slightly messy and might stain stuff (it’s why I do everything over paper towel). Don’t worry to much if you over fill. You can bleed off extra (it’ll just expensive and expensive and did I say expensive). 

If you drip on something try removing it with rubbing alcohol and hand sanitizer. Dark colors, red, and orange can be trickier. 

Make sure to clean your nib removal tool (tweezers) between markers. Transfer isn’t hard to bleed off (like filling with wrong color) but you might not realize you need to correct it until you’ve ruined some bit of art you’re working on. 

Good luck and have fun filling. (Oh and you might wanna have a book on tape or some music cause the more markers you have the longer this will take)

Buisness, Convention, Supplies

Convention materials: Scanner

Now, I wont say this is an essential… obviously not since I don’t see most people carrying it. However, I really enjoy my portable scanner. It is somewhat like the model below (a slightly newer version of my VuPoint Magic Wand).

Now, for my scanning at home I would never pull this out. It is too low a resolution, doesn’t interface well with a computer, and has some issues recording all the way to the edge.

However, it does something my home scanner just can’t do… travel. I pop in two AA batteries, a microSD card, and I am ready to go. These models do 600dpi, and have reasonable image quality. It has wifi and an app to transfer the files, but skip it unless you absolutely have to. It is just too much of  pain. Instead just pop out the card and throw it in a phone or tablet with microSD support.

To top it off, it is $45-$100 (depending on accessories). If it gets dropped, stolen, or just dies on me, I can replace it.

Now, why would I want one? I like being able to provide a good digital copy to my customers. After all, badges get lost, or damaged. With luck the badge I made for them is special enough they would miss it in that case, and at least they would have the digital one. It also allows me to keep a copy of my work (so I can post for all of you regularly). And best of all I could actually reprint it. The techniques I use to make prints can turn out something really close, if someone actually needed it.

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