Copic Markers - A Beginner's Guide
Copic Markers are alcohol based markers that are easy to blend, and that comes in a huge variety of colors.
Copic Markers are very versatile and can be used for a variety of different art styles. They can also be combined with other mediums, like colored pencils or watercolors.
(To see how I made the frog, check out this post.)
Copic Markers come in 4 different types:
- Original – Bullet nib and chisel nib.
- Sketch – Brush nib and chisel nib, these are the ones I use.
- Ciao – Brush nib and chisel nib, smaller and cheaper than Sketch, but don't have as many available colors.
- Wide – One wide chisel nib, for coloring large surfaces with a flat, even color.
Copic Color System
The Copic Color System describes each color based on Color Family, Blending Group and Specific Value.
These codes can also act as a guide for picking out colors that will blend nicely in tone, saturation and intensity. Usually, colors within the same Blending Group and Color Family blends well.
The letters = Color Family
Identifies what kind of color you have:
- BV – Blue Violet
- V – Violet
- RV – Pink
- YR – Orange
- Y – Yellow
- YG – Yellow Green
- G – Green
- B – Blue
- BG – Blue Green
- E – Earthtones
- C – Cool Gray
- T – Toner Gray
- N – Neutral Gray
- W – Warm Gray
The first Digit = Blending Group within each Color Family
Refers to saturation:
- The higher the number, the more muted the colors will be
- 0 – very saturated
- 9 – almost gray
The Second Digit = Specific Value within each Blending Group
Refers to intensity:
- The higher the number, the darker the color
Color Suggestions
Suggesting colors to others is hard. What colors one prefers depends on art style and preference.
I recommend starting with 3 colors in each color family. The colors I have chosen are versatile colors that are easy to blend.
Violets:
BV11/13/17 (colder)
or
V12/15/17 (warmer)
Pinks:
RV000/10/11
Reds:
R22/24/27
Oranges:
YR61/65/68
Yellows:
Y00/Y11/Y13
Greens:
YG11/13/17 (warmer)
or
G21/24/28
or
G40/43/46 (more muted colors)
Blues:
B21/24/26
Blue Greens:
BG01/02/05 (bluer)
or
BG10/11/13 (greener)
Browns:
E31/33/35 (warmer)
or
E71/74/77 (colder)
Grays:
N1/3/5
Multiliners
When choosing multiliners it's important to pick liners that are alcohol proof, if not the markers will smudge the ink.
I have multiliners from Copic and Zig millennium, and they are equally good.
I suggest starting with black and sepia multiliners. Since you then will be able to achieve both the soft look that colored liners give, and the harder look that black liners give. I almost never use black liners, since the softer look suits my style the best.
Refilling Copics
Copics are refillable, but it can be a bit hard to determine when the markers are close to empty, and how much ink you should put in them when refilling.
Some call this a drug scale, I call it a Copic Marker scale
A full sketch marker weighs about 14 g with both caps on. I like to fill my markers up to 13-13,5 g, and I refill them as soon as they are under 12 g.
13 g (with both marker caps on) = 8 g (with both marker caps and chisel nib off)
When refilling your marker, remember to take both caps off. If not, pressure can build up inside the marker, which can cause spillage when opening the marker later. Keep the caps off for half a minute or so after refilling to avoid this.
Papers
There are a huge variety of papers available, and what paper you should choose depends on how you use your markers and what you prefer.
Generally: The thinner the paper, the less blending and layering it allows.
My art style involves a lot of layering and blending, so I prefer thicker papers that allows for that.
Strathmore Bristol Smooth
This is the paper I have used the most, and it is a great paper. Blending is easy and you can layer a lot before the color starts to lift. The downside is slight feathering (color that bleeds past the intended line), that makes the paper unsuitable for lineless work. Because it's so thick, it's quite hard coloring large areas with a flat color.
Canson Illustration
I don't like this paper very much. It's ok, but blending is not as smooth as with the Strathmore Bristol Smooth. It also takes less layering before the color starts to lift.
Arches Hot Press Watercolor Paper
My favorite paper for lineless work, since there's no feathering. Blending is smooth and it allows for endless layering. However, there are a few downsides. The texture of the paper damages the marker nibs (tiny paper hairs get stuck in the nib). The thick paper sucks up a lot of ink, causing the makers to dry out faster than with a non-watercolor paper. Since it sucks up a lot of ink, coloring large areas with a flat color is very, very hard.
Maintenance
Copic markers are all refillable and the nibs can be changed when needed. That means that these makers, even though they are pricey in the beginning, actually will be among the cheapest after a while.
The markers also needs to be cleaned when ink has built up inside of the cap. Generally that happens faster with darker colors. I use Copic Cleaner for cleaning the caps, it's quick and easy. You can use regular rubbing alcohol as well.
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Wow, cool! Thank you so much :D
Interesting! I have not seen where to buy
Thank you. You would have to google Copic Markers and your country for that :) Or check out Ebay of course.
Very informative .
Very detailed and well written.... I just checked out some of your other post too. Your awesome. Keep up the good work. :)
New follower....
This is a nice intro to markers! I've never used them in my work before, but have known some folks who really make beautiful pieces in this medium. Thanks for the post!
Nice, Im always looking for new mediums to explore. I feel like I've seen them before just never knew what the were.
thanks for posting this I have been curious after seeing a few people mention them.
I just checked prices on amazon for these...Won't lie, my jaw hit the floor. haha
Haha, yeah... But refilling is about a dollar, so in the long run it's not bad :)
If you live in the US, they're cheaper on dickblick (lol) I think.
Ah, I see.
Dickblick? Really? What a terrible name for a website...Or a genius name. haha
Oh wow, amazing. I decided to go to my history tab just to take a screenshot and prove what I was looking at last night:
I was literally looking up markers to order so I can start coloring my drawings. What a coincidence with this article, maybe a sign that I should really order them already, hehe! Would you say to start out with the Ciao ones as a newbie and then after maybe upgrade to the Sketch ones? How long do they last before a refill is needed?
Thanks!
Haha that's cool! :D Ciao and Sketch work the exact same way. Ciao is smaller/thinner. I have large hands, so I feel like Sketch fits me better. Ciao also looks a bit "cheap", more plasticy sort of. But they are exactly as good as Sketch. Same ink, same nib :) So there's no upgrade so to speak, just personal preference.
The only downside with ciao is that it holds less ink, so you would have to refill more often than with sketch. There aren't as many colors avaliable either.
How long before you need to refill highly depends on paper, coloring style and how often you use them.
If you use thin markerpaper, they would last a looong time. But if you use thick watercolor paper they will run out of ink a lot faster.
I have 200+++ markers and about 40 refills, and not all are used. One refill package can fill a sketch 10 times (i think) from emtpy to completely full. I've had mine for about 10 months, and I have used them a lot.
Awesome! Thank you very much for all the extra information! Made my choice a lot easier :)
Very excited now to start drawing sketches and have them ready for the markers when they arrive. :D Gotta make sure to check your posts some more about tutorials too! :)
Btw, does this mean
That the color won't run through even thin lines of the multiliner?
It means that the multiliners are copic safe, so they don't smudge when you use copics on top of them. If you use copics on top of a regular pen, the ink will smudge and it will look messy..
Ahh noo, that quote was from a website, sorry for the confusion.
Hahaa, yeeeah. I just couldn't understand why I had written that.. Time to go to bed I think XD
Cool post! Do you mind if I ask about a video of you drawing with them? It'd be amazing! :)