Hello Copic readers! In our previous blog, we added acrea to two common greeting card designs, “Thank you!” and “Congratulations!”. Today, we’re going to add both acrea and alcohol markers to two more common greeting card designs, “Yay!” and “Happy Birthday!” using the 6pc Essentials set and 5 Copic alcohol markers. And with that, let’s get started by taking a look at the two designs below!

Since we’ll be using two different marker types in this blog, the designs of the cards were intentionally made for showing off layering. Notice how both of the cards have overlapping shapes - the “Yay!” card has layering in the background, and the “Happy Birthday!” card has layering within the letters themselves. 

Alcohol markers are perfect for layering, especially when two different colors are involved, and that’s where we’ll get started! By swatching our colors and coloring with the alcohol markers first, followed by acrea on top.

The 5 individual alcohol marker colors the artist chose for these cards are BG02, BV34, Y35, R83 and YG03. These colors consist of soft primaries and two secondary colors, making them a great choice for layering. The 6 acrea marker colors chosen for these cards come from the 6pc Essentials set. These colors are perfect neutrals that can complement nearly any marker combination, or look good on their own.

Beginning with cool colors, the artist began coloring the different shapes throughout the “Yay!” composition with alcohol markers first, ensuring the different colors would overlap with one another. The Super Brush nib is great for covering large areas with smooth, consistent color! 

Once all of the large shapes were colored and layered twice (for a deeper, richer result), the artist started to use Silver to create a drop-shadow underneath the lettering. After the silver was added, all other essential acrea colors (except Gold) were added throughout the design - either on top of other areas or free-handed. The final touch was going back over some parts of the black “Yay!” again to cover a few smudges and make sure the lettering looked crisp. These two types of markers work together seamlessly!

Alcohol markers used (in no particular order): BG02, BV34, Y35, R83 and YG03. 

Acrea markers used: Silver, Snow White, Rich Black, Cool Gray and Sepia from the 6pc Essentials set. 

The next card to be colored, “Happy Birthday!” follows a similar coloring pattern with layering the alcohol markers in the background as the primary feature. Working from Blue-Violet to Blue, the artist also layered each color twice to ensure smooth blends and darker, richer colors. You can also use the Medium Broad nib for coloring these large areas, but the artist chose the popular Super Brush nib for its flexibility.

After the bubble letters of the word “Happy” were colored with alcohol markers, the artist chose the one color NOT used in the previous card (Gold) to trace over the loose cursive “Birthday” inscribed across the card. Pressing lightly to the paper, the artist traced over the word a few times to thicken the linework and show more of the brilliant gold. The artist also chose to add decorative sparkles in the top left and lower right corners of the card, making this a simple, cheerful design. 

Alcohol markers used (from left to right): BV34, R83, Y35, YG03 and BG02. 

Acrea markers used: Gold from the 6pc Essentials set. 

And with that, we wrap up today’s blog! To give this lesson a try yourself, download the above  template here from our line art gallery and print it on a thick sheet of cardstock suitable for alcohol and paint markers. We recommend either Neenah Bright White Premium Cardstock 65 lb. paper (which was used in this blog) or Neenah Exact Premium Cardstock 110 lb. paper. Then, after you’ve printed the template, grab your Copic markers, swatch your colors and color your design! Once you’ve finished, cut the card out and use it to leave a note for a friend or loved one.

Until next time, don’t forget to follow us across our social media channels @copic_official_us, and sign up for exclusive discounts and prizes by joining the Copic Club! One last thing - use #copicwithus or tag us @copic_official_us for a chance to have your drawings or workspace featured on our Copic US social media channels.

Thank you so much for reading and enjoying Copic markers as much as we do! 😀