Just coloured: Copic butterflies

Normally my colouring process consists of picking an image, picking some colours and colouring without too much thought for technique or purpose. This was a little different.

I wanted to colour some more realistic butterflies; specifically some of the ones I remember from my childhood. I wanted the shapes and the colours to match real life and not end up looking like a cartoon version. I picked a simple butterfly stamp and started by stamping half a dozen butterflies.

I used Ink on 3’s Fadeout ink, which is designed for no-line colouring. Because it mostly disappears under Copic (with the exception of some very pale colours) it allowed me to alter the shape of the stamped images with very light pencil marks to more accurately match the outline of real butterflies.

Working from Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland, I tried to match the colours. First looking closely at the illustration so that I didn’t make assumptions about the colours I was seeing, and then playing with layering Copics until I got a match I was happy with.

It was a fun exercise and I’m rather pleased with how they turned out, especially the peacock and tortoiseshell.

Supplies:

• colour:
  Copic markers
• stamps:
  Visible Image – VI minis #1
• ink:
  Ink on 3 – fadeout ink
• paper and card:
  Neenah solar white 216gsm

This image was coloured in August 2023.