Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Copic Colours For Beginners...

Following on from the post I made earlier, here's my personal opinion and advice on Copic markers when you first start off...

I made a *LOT* of research on Copics before deciding to invest in some and also before deciding which type of marker to go for. Below is a photo of my Copics at the moment. I use Copic Sketch markers. I haven't counted them but I think I have around 3 figures at the moment.

First of all, the difference between Ciao and Sketch markers:

* Sketch markers are oval so they don't roll off the table like Ciaos do (big thing to me as you pick up and put down your markers a lot while colouring!)

* You need the Sketch markers if you ever want to use the Copic Airbrush system

* Sketch markers hold more ink than Ciao markers do.

* Sketch markers have the colour name + code marked at each end of the pen (on the caps) which Ciao markers don't (very useful to have this info when you're looking for a certain colour)

* Sketch markers come in the complete (as of right now) colour selection of 334 colours while Ciao markers only are available in 144 colours.

Me? I went for the Sketch for several reasons. The info at each end and the fact that they don't roll off the table. I also think they both feel better in the hand (shape) and look better. And (maybe a bit silly) but I like everything to look the same and I would have been very unhappy to start buying Ciao markers only to want some colours not available in the Ciao collection and therefore having to mix in a few Sketch pens anyway. LOL!

The only negative thing I can think of where the Ciao is better than the Sketch is that the Ciao is cheaper. On the other hand, the Sketch markers hold more ink... so per ml of ink, who knows, it might work out the same anyway...?

Now onto some suggestions for what colours to buy as a beginner. It's a bit tricky because the main point of Copic markers is of course the pretty blending & shading you can do. And to do nice blending you need several shades of the same colour. So you can't really recommend 10 markers to start with as it might only be 3 colours or so. But I'll try my best to limit my choice :)

Please keep in mind that I have only had my Copic markers since October (or was it early November?) so most of the images I have coloured have been Christmas images. Therefore I have mainly worked with skin colours, browns, greens and reds. But anyway...below are my suggestions on what markers I would recommend to buy first, based on what I have used most.

Colours I used most/recommended for beginners:

Red: R27 + R29 (R24 also if you want a third) plus R20 (which is a great blush colour for cheeks)

Orange: YR04 + YR07

Yellow: Y13 + Y15

Green: G17 + G29

Blue: B21 + B24 + B26 (if you want some nice light muted denim-type colours try: B41 + B45)

Brown: E33 + E35 + E39 (very useful browns I think!)

For light skin colours: E50 + E51 (plus E11 if you want a bit deeper shading), or if you want a slightly more pink skin tone then go for E0000 + E00 (and E11 again)

Grey: N0 + N3 + N5

I could easily go into pinks (RV23 + RV 25 are nice) and purples (BV02 + BV04 + BV08) too, but I think the ones I mentioned above are a bit more important to get when you start off. Also I would say, do not do the mistake of buying a black marker (which I did!) as you really won't need it. What's the point of having pure black if you want great shading, right? If so, it's better to go with a darker grey and also add N9 to your grey set :)

Right that took some thinking (and writing!) LOL! I hope that was of some help to some of you out there, and Kat in particular. Please do not hesitate to ask if you want to know something more. I'll do my best to help when I can :)

11 comments:

scrappyjacky said...

Have atarted using copics fairly recently....so found your colour suggestions very helpful.

JO SOWERBY said...

such a helpful post. i've been looking at investing in pens for a while and this has really put things in perspective
Jo xxx

Liberty :) said...

Great post Anso.

Jessica said...

Hey Anso, boy you really have some pretty copics! I started with the Ciao, and have now decided to by the Sketch markers from here on out. But I buy them 2 or 3 at a time, so I don't have a huge amount at this time. I think your suggestions for new users is perfect! I agree with everything you said. Boy santa must have been very good to you? Lucky lady! I'm sure you are enjoying them.

Nadine said...

thanks for sharing anso!
I am about to start buying copics
and needed these suggestions/tips! (:

melissa said...

thank you for the comprehensive review. I am going to have to give these a try

Amy Pitts said...

Great post on Copics I LOVE mine! I am actually coloring today on my lunch hour.

Sallie424 said...

Love your post! So helpful and I felt as though I was reading a description of my own thought path :)
I found your blog researching ideas for which Copics purchase first. Thanks!

Tamara said...

My Hubby just broke our Bank to get some sketch markers I got the 72 count and found no help Its like I am missing every single color you mentioned and In no way can I spend over thee.oo dollars and still not be able to use them... and I did!!

Christopher Starr said...

You give some great advise on Copic color suggestions for beginners. I have 36 colors now and am looking to add 12 more at a time.

I have:
E00 E30 E31 E33 E35 E37 E44 E47
110 C3 C5 C8 0 B0000
YG05 YG07 YG95 YG97
G28
R21 R22 R27 R29 R39
BV02
B24 B26 B37 B93 B97
V15
YR15 YR18
Y13 Y15 Y17

I would like your advise, if possible, on the next 12 colors to buy, so I'll have 48. Next year I will buy another dozen or two.

As per your post, I am considering getting:
RV23 RV25
B21 B41 B45
G17 G24 G29
E39 E50 E51 E11

Add'l colors I am considering (if I go over 12 more, or instead of one listed above), are:
N0 N3 N5 N9
BV04 BV08

If you can provide any advise, that would be great!

Thanks,

Christopher Starr
starrentertainment@mac.com
Toronto ON Canada

Anso said...

In reply to Christopher (I have alwos e-mailed you this info):

Thanks for your comment on my blog :)

It's always tricky to give advice on colours as it's all personal preference and also what kind of images you colour (ie what colours *you* need)...

But looking at your current Copics, and thinking about what colours I use the most right now, I would probably suggest:

R20 - a great colour for cheek blush, animal noses/inside of ears etc

Some more "G" colours:
G14, G16, G19 perhaps?

Some of the lighter "BG" colours are great for snow/"white" areas (using only at the edges of snowballs etc)
BG0000, BG000, BG10
...these would also be great colours for shadows.

E50, E51 and E53 I find that I use a lot for skin tones at the moment.

Then finally looking at what you have, and considering that you usually work with the markers in colour groups of 2 or more, I would get:

BV04 (to go with your BV02)
YR12 (to go with your YR15 and YR18)

Having said that, all the colours that you have suggested in your post are great colours so I would just go with whatever you feel that *you* need. Hope this was of some help :)