Inktober & Chameleon Pen Tips!

Inktober No. 8 - Pigma Micron, Chameleon Pens on Artist Tile by Jessica Sanders

Hello, Friends :)

I hope this note finds you well!  

I am back from a refreshing vacation in beautiful Portland, Maine.  My husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary....I can't even believe it!  We had an amazing time.  

Now, I'm back to Inktober and art exploring!  

Today, I want to share with you a bit about my Inktober progress and Chameleon Pens + 10 tips.

---

Inktober Fun & Chameleon Pens

So far, I've really been enjoying Inktober.  
Sticking to my KISS-Keep It Super Simple goal has really made it doable!  
​Not every drawing has turned out perfectly, nor have I liked them all.  In fact, the sleeping baby below feels really scary to me!

Sleeping Baby...Inktober No. 7 (he kinda scares me!)

I'm trying to remember that this is a learning process, and focus on what I do like.  I do really like the skin tones I was able to get from the Chameleon Pens on the baby face.

Practicing skin tones for portraits is one of my major goals for Inktober.  I've been practicing drawing magical faces, and I think it would be awesome to be able to color them with markers, like Chameleon Pens or Copics.   

I thought it would be fun to share a bit of what I have learned about Chameleon Pens so far :)

---

Chameleon Pens

Have I mentioned that I love these Chameleon Pens?!!  
 
To try them out, I originally bought a single pen from Amazon.

I liked it, so, I bought a Blue Tones set from my local craft store, using my coupon, of course.  And I tried them out in my coloring book, Color Yourself Creative.  

Once I discovered their superpower, all bets were off!  
I bought 2 more sets -- Warm Tones and Skin Tones!!

I've been practicing with them every day!  

What is this SUPERPOWER you speak of?  you ask.

The power of GRADIENT COLOR!  I respond with a twinkle in my eyes.

Each marker has a blending chamber, and in this blending chamber, magic happens.  The toner flows down onto the nib, diluting the color.  The longer you fuse, the more diluted the color.  
You can achieve a barely there amount of color on the nib.  I love it!

​As you color, the color gradually becomes more saturated, until you are back to the original color.  

​Cool, right?!

To see it in action, check out my mini Cat + Chameleon Pen video over on myInstagram.

---

10 Tips for Chameleon Pens

1.  To fuse, allow the tips to touch inside the chamber, no need to snap it together.  Hold the pen vertically, with the mixing chamber above the colored nib to allow the toner to flow into the color.
2.  Fuse 5-15 seconds.
3.  Darker colors need more fusing time.
4.  Darker colors cover less area before becoming dark again. Multiple fuses may be needed.  Stop coloring before you get to the darkest tone, fuse again for a bit less time, and overlap where you left off coloring.
5.  Paper absorbency matters.
6.  The ink WILL bleed through most papers.  Protect your surface or coloring pages with 1-2 sheets of printer paper.  Coloring pages with blank backs work best.
7.   Keep a scrap piece of paper to test the color level as you go.
8.   The ink is TRANSPARENT.  You can overlay colors to create new colors and tones.  In the Cats + Chameleons drawing, I layed Sky Blue over Mellow Yellow to create a really nice green.
9.   Drawing circles from the center out is fun!  Try it.
10.   Experiment, experiment, experiment.

There you have it!  Let me know how it goes!  And, please ask any questions!  I will do my best to answer.

​xoxo,

P. S.  There are 2 new videos up on YouTube!  An alcohol ink mini demo, and a Mini Tutorial for Chameleons with a drawing for Inktober.

Supply list here.

P. S. S.  If you found this helpful, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share :)