CMC Advanced Review

Wow, it has only been 4 months since I took this course, but I still want to come and provide my review that I started and did not finish.

You can find my review of the Beginner/Intermediate Class here.

The class description below is taken from her class website followed by my review.  Visit CMC Road website here for more details, class schedule and availability.

 

Advanced  Class

You This class features harder techniques and colors! You need to know the basics before you take this class as I do not repeat that information. If you take the Beg/Interm. class YOU WILL be ready for this class!

*coloring with reds and blacks (the most difficult to blend)

*advanced hair coloring
*glassy objects, round objects
*feathering and background techniques

*coloring landscape

*coloring textured items

*metallics

*coloring folds, pleats, ruffles with light sourcing

*flowers/leaves

*high contrast coloring

*intro to airbrushing

My Review

Although i had debated whether or not to take the Beginner/Intermediate class, I knew i needed to take the Advanced.  If you are like I am, and feel you know the basics and are looking to learn more...then this class is for you.   This class really pushed me.  In response to my review of Suzanne's Beginner/Intermediate class, she commented on me "abandoning" images.  There was no question that i was "abandoning" images in the Advanced class.  Suzanne gave us multiple copies of the same image to practice our coloring.  There were times where my image was going in the wrong directions (PLEATS and FOLDS).  So i "abandoned" (PLEATS and FOLDS) it and moved on to another copy of the same image to start over. Did i mention that pleats and folds were my biggest challenge.  You will see.  


As i mentioned in my earlier review.  Suzanne always took the time to provide individual feedback on our technique and coloring. If you have the opportunity to take one of her On The Road classes....i highly recommend it.

I'll explain a little bit about what we did as i share some of the images i colored.  The first image we did was coloring a glassy object.  The challenge here is that glassy objects have reflections.  If i had to choose which technique I thought would have been the most difficult, I would have selected this.  Now i know it is PLEATS....did i say pleats again?  


This image was colored using the Cool Grays.  I need to find a cute saying to go with this image.

This next image was also using the Cool Grays, but this time to color a metallic object. I think it will pop more once i add some vibrant colors to the flowers.

We worked on feathering techniques in small images.  Although I know most apples are not completely red or green.  I typically color them that way. This next image we did made we realize how utilizing the two colors together really make the apples more realistic.

So...now onto the PLEATS and FOLDS.  We did a progression with the pleats.  The first image has the pleats well defined which made it easy to know where to place the shading. In the second image you can determine where the pleats and folds should be based on the curvature of her dress.  In the last image, we had to determine the location and use shading to define the pleats and folds.

In the image above, the stamp provide details of the location of the pleats making it easy to determine where to highlight and shade.

 In the image above, you can tell by the curvature at the bottom of her dress and the stamps image where the pleats and fold should go.  With this image I did find difficulty in determining the length and width of the shading i needed to add.  In hindsight, it did not turn out as bad as I originally thought.    You can also see in this image that we worked on coloring black hair.

 This is where it all started "abandoning" my work.  This image required you to determine where the shading should be and i was having some difficulties.  I think i could have gotten it if i had a visual.  The next time i have to this i will make my own visual.  I don't recall which image i started first but I can say that Suzanne did help me fix the one on the left.  Can't you tell...it doesn't look half bad.  

In the class I was in, we did not get to the airbrushing. 

Just like the Beginner/Intermediate class, we received a manual for the classes including the techniques we covered and much more that we did not. 

I hope my overview was helpful.  I found Suzanne's classes to be worth every penny.  Having someone with her experience providing personalized feedback is not something you can get from watching a video or reading a blog.   If you want to improve your Copic skills, consider checking out her on the road classes.  If that isn't possible, look into her online classes.